Baskerville: The Biography of a Typeface

Baskerville: The Biography of a Typeface

Simon Garfield • Norton & Company, Incorporated, W. W.

ISBN-10: 1324086203 · ISBN-13: 978‑1324086208 · 2024

Live offer for this book: 13 live copies of this book from $8.14 (as of 2026-09-03).

Dimensions: 9.8 × 5.9 × 0.6 in

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Completeness 48

Cover quality: good

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By Simon Garfield When Baskerville was first created in 1757, there was concern that it would damage readers’ eyes with its combination of thin and thick strokes and tapering serifs. Yet 250 years later, it remains one of the most commonly used typefaces in books of all kinds. As best-selling author Simon Garfield tells it, the tale of this elegant typeface is one of painstaking dedication. The font’s creator, John Baskerville, was a maverick lacquer maker and master printer who made it his life’s mission to achieve the font’s perfection. His efforts culminated in his magnificent Bible, acclaimed as the finest ever made. Garfield explores why Baskerville’s own body was dug up and buried many times before finally being allowed to rest in peace, and examines his legacy through the work of his wife, Sarah Baskerville—one of the first powerful women in the printing world—and the archivists and enthusiasts working to preserve the font’s original steel punches today. Includes Bibliography and List of Further Reading, as well as an index Book 2 of Garfield's ABC of Fonts Series Jacket design by Derek Thornton Published by W. W.

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