• Book publishers, advertising typographers top users of Baskerville
• Type founders and composing machine manufacturers expand series
• Baskerville regarded as first important break from oldstyle

One of the most insistent questions put to typographers concerns trends in type use, such as “When is such and such type going to go out of style?” Or it may be put this way, “What is the next type which is going to be popular?”

Since the conditions which govern taste are affected by so many factors, these questions are always difficult to answer. For example, most typographers gave the wide gothics a relatively short lifespan when they were revived in 1953. These types are still very much in evidence, however, as are the Clarendons which were also shrugged off by many printers a year ago.

Ever since the mid-twenties, when advertising display types began to dominate the typographic scene, traditional printers have looked fondly but generally in vain for a revival of interest in classic roman letters for display purposes. From time to time such faces have had brief flurries of popularity, but they have failed to halt the strong use of the sans serifs and square serifs.

For a time Weiss Roman seemed the classic face to do the job, and then came Bulmer, Egmont, Bernhard Modern, and others. Of course, Caslon and Bodoni were always in favor during this period, but even these perennial favorites took second place to the sans serifs.

Baskerville Types Favored

Once again there is a slight trend toward the use of one particular type, molded in the classic roman form. This revival is still rather quiet. So far it has been noted primarily by specialists. The traditionalists are keeping their fingers crossed. The type which raises their hopes is Baskerville—not the original face cut for John Baskerville in the 1750’s, but the imitation sold by the Fry and Pine Foundry in 1766, some ten years after Baskerville’s press first began to produce the flow of printing which made him famous.

The craft of typefounding in England had its greatest boost from the contributions of William Caslon, a young engraver who in 1725 designed and cast the type which now bears his name. At a time when Caslon’s letter was practically the standard for English printing, John Baskerville decided in 1750 to become an amateur printer. Almost 50 years of age, he rook his entrance into the printer’s craft most seriously. He is now remembered primarily for his type, but he made many other innovations which were farsighted for his period.

Since Baskerville had become wealthy in the manufacture of japanned paper, he could afford to indulge his whims as a printer. He therefore deliberated several years in a study of printing presses, papermaking, ink formulation, and experiments with letter form. Finally, in 1757 he produced his first book, The Georgics of the poet Virgil.

The Baskerville type was rather closely related to the general form of Caslon’s letter, but with somewhat greater contrast of stroke and a refinement of serif structure. It is regarded by modern typographers as the first important departure from the oldstyle form, but not quite as radical as the later 18th century faces of Didot and Bodoni. Baskerville, therefore, is a transitional form between oldstyle and what is styled the modern classification.

There are dozens of anecdotes about Baskerville as a person. His eccentricities—which were many—undoubtedly affected his associations with English printers, who remained cool to his books even when these were popular with collectors of printing. One of the greatest criticisms of his work stemmed from his experiments with paper and ink which resulted in sharp, crisp, and solid impressions. The heating of copper plates placed between printed sheets produced an almost glossy finish which sparkled when contrasted with the uninspired work of many of his competitors.

It was on the continent of Europe that Baskerville’s ideas were received with the greatest degree of interest. Enthusiastic about the improvements instigated by Baskerville, Bodoni in Italy and Didot in France endeavored to learn from him his ideas. Upon the death of the Englishman in 1779 his widow was unable to sell his punches and matrices in England. Instead they were purchased by the French dramatist Beaumarchais for use in the printing of a 70-volume edition of Voltaire.

When this work was completed, some of the fonts were sold to other printers. In 1818 the daughter of the playwright sold the remainder to Pierre Didot. At some later date the Fonderie Bertrand (now Deberny and Peignot) acquired the old punches. By this time the punches were no longer in style, and their origin was forgotten until 1919 when Bruce Rogers, the great American book designer, discovered them in the Bertrand foundry and recognized them for what they were.

Several Versions of Baskerville

The first important recutting of the Baskerville types was made by the Monotype firm in 1923. Linotype Baskerville was copied in facsimile from a 14-point casting of the original matrices under the direction of George W. Jones, a director of the English Linotype organization. This version appeared in 1931. The Intertype cutting followed somewhat later.

All of these copies of Baskerville are very much in evidence today. The type is one of the most popular book faces in this country and is used almost as much for every kind of commercial job. Essentially, the competing designs are quite similar, but in one respect the Linotype version may be easily recognized. The capital “T” of Linotype Baskerville has a very slightly concave top. All versions have the distinctive lower-case “g” with its lower bowl open at the left.

However, the Baskerville which is currently in favor as a display face is not one of the recuttings of the original design, but is the version which Americans call “foundry” Baskerville. In England it is known as Fry’s Baskerville.

To trace the origin of this model, we must journey to the England of Baskerville’s lifetime. In 1766 a medical doctor, Joseph Fry, became interested in printing. In company with William Pine he established a type foundry. The firm engaged the services of a punch cutter, Isaac Moore, who produced a type “cut after the Baskerville models.”

Updike, in his great Printing Types, Their History, Forms, and Use, reproduces the first specimen sheer of this foundry, dated 1766. No great success was attached to this venture, owing to Baskerville’s unpopularity and the continuing success of the Caslon types.

By the end of the 18th century the Caslon face was in disrepute. The Caslon foundry then introduced a type somewhat similar to the Fry copy, but by this time the innovations of Bodoni and Didot had made such headway that the oldstyles and modified oldstyles were out of fashion. Fry’s foundry was purchased by the Fann Street Foundry of William Thorowgood in 1829. Later, in 1905 the present firm of Stephenson and Blake took over the Fann Street firm. The Fry type, therefore, is the Baskerville now offered by S. & B., the most important English type foundry which began operations when William Caslon cast his first type.

In the United States the Fry Baskerville became the model for Morris Benton when in 1915 he cut the version for American Type Founders which has become known as “foundry” Baskerville to differentiate it from the other types of the same name. Under the ATF label the face had sporadic use. It appeared in the famous 1923 specimen book and again in 1941, but in the postwar edition it was missing. Its use was primarily in large sizes, as the Monotype face is available only in sizes up to 36-point.

A growing demand for foundry Baskerville prompted ATF to restock the type about two years ago. It has steadily increased in popularity. Possibly its use in the redesigned Saturday Evening Post has accelerated its acceptance by modern designers. A further instance of the trend is its appearance in photolettering fonts, and most currently in all of the publicity material for the new Studebaker car.

Recognition of the Fry Baskerville is centered in the serifs of the caps which are needle-sharp, and in the very strong contrast of thick and thin strokes. In lower-case the “g” is similar, but in the “e” the counter space is quite small and the stroke in the bowl of the “a” is unusually swelled at the left.

How long this resurgence of interest in the roman letter form will last is anybody’s guess in the rapidly revolving world of print, but certainly all the designers who love the classic letters are hoping this rebirth is of long duration.

This article first appeared in “The Composing Room” column of the January 1959 issue of The Inland Printer.