Masthead
Introdeedby Dennis Balleyin 1982 ith aa Fes
2 anissue hich established che journal's graph
Jetemplate),themasthead foraaFilesissetin
‘igCaslon,a display ype subsequently revived
bbyMatthew Carterin 1994, and modelledona
tmid-eghteenth-centuryspecimen fromthe
Cason ype foundsy- When William Caslon
bbegancuting punchesin thecaly 17205 there
wasstila tendency in Britain o relyon imported
‘matrees.Caslontookthe fashionable Deh
Ole Paces ashi model (ve continue the godt
ollandatse inthe new body face), and scon the
foundry developedan English styles wellas
the rst sans-seifprinting ypecizea 1816)
‘which would become the standard model for
much ofthe century Inthisissue ora les
‘wel maintained the Big Casion masthead
‘ape buthave madeslligature out ofthe wos,
-acontextua, decorave form consistent with
‘other ypographle changes inside he journal,
Boxy Text
“Thenew bod face foraa Fess setin Arshem
Blond (not quite light) andthe headings in
Amlem Fine, refined, erisperand lighter or
larger sles designed byFred Smeljersin 2002.
‘heauthors namesare set in them Fine alle
~thetype family memberwhich mostcleaely
shows the infhuenceofeighteenthceneary alles
producedbythe French punch-eutterPieere
‘Simon Fourier. Writing on Steljers Amher
‘ppefaces, andy Crewdson notes that like many
ofthe most enduring modeen text ypefaes,
Arnliemaddresses the past nan ineligent ay
while mekinga contribationvery much ois
‘own time’ Smeijers eraf-centred approach to
‘ype design andthe techniques of making ype
‘byhand trough othe transition o designing
Agta ypeare explored inhisbook.
‘Counterpunch 3996)
Display ype
ydisplayemean thecategor/oftype devised
forhighlighting parcularwords and letters
rather chan for continaows reading. Theinnovs-
tions English puneh-eutters inthis category
‘ofleter form were fist develope inthe ei
teenth and early nineteenth centurytomeetthe
‘demands ofcommerc,printand monumental
Inseeptions. Many ofthe new nineteenth
century deplay letter forms originated with sign
‘writes and architests-reversed ype on. black
background work like stucco inlayson a Regency
building; shadowed andshaded eters appear
ashes relief architectural leering and per-
haps theorgin ofa nineteenth: and ewentith-
century sans srifletter forms canbe found in
John Soane's architectural drawings from 1780.
‘Yerwithin the many novelvariantsofform,
colourand contrast fund in Tuscan, sans
seritsand Egyptians (the hree essential variants
‘within any peface there appeatsto bea shared
e
A Note
on the Type
John Morgan
letter form—vehat James Mosely has alle
‘he inglish Vernacular Mosely, aslibrarian
atthe St Bride's PrintingLibraryon Fleet Steet,
expanded histhesisthat there was an unslt
‘conseiousvernacular tation inletter forms
‘which grew out of de letering used by sign
writers and cuter of eghteenth-andnine-
teenth century gravestones He called it Engtish
‘Vernacular because twas largely fee fom
outside influences.
IRs development, however, was interupted
bythe broad-pen lettering of ward Johnston's
‘writingmanval and the establishmentofthe
“Trajan Norm. The Architectural Room setup
tthe South Kensington Museum in 185 (which
survives inthe present vaa) provided a plaster
astofthe Trajan column. The mueb-admieed
{nseription on ts base eeame the model or
inseriptional tering WR Leth, nis
‘sprincipal ofthe Cental school of Arsand
Crafts hada copy made forhisstudentsand
‘with ithe ‘Trajan norm’ an inperial model,
\wasestablished. Toooften thisledtoa dull,
stereotyped classical leter(as used and encout-
aged by municiplarchitets andy the Ministry
lf Works on allpubliemonuments}andto the
ddemiseofthe ft faces Fypptans,Tuscansand
Crotesques in both publicleteringand ype
founding. There have been revials-notablythe
cay ninetsenth-century Egyptian pest the
2951 Festival ofetsin where Brish model
(‘as trsh asancarly locomotive’ acording
to Mosely) wasfeltmoretingthan te nlsed
Classical Rom norm,
‘Ourplan forthisand ftureissuesof «ales
Istoexploreand develop the English Vernacular
indisply ypeswith Paul Bares (co~esigner
ofthe new Guardian newspaper Egyptian body
face) Thisisnotan atempeto produce pas
tichehistrial ype familybutratherta continue
toexplore the once vitalvarationson the theme
ofthe tnglish Vernacularand see what newideas
thiestimulates,Wehave begun quietly wlth
aversionof Caslon foundry sansand allan.
‘Themuch-abused, so-called ‘taian'semi-
‘omamentalypeshownonthesepagesis‘an
yyptian with horizontal stressandextra serfs
reversed and joined tothe letter by point
‘crude expression ofan idea of perversity
sccordingto NicoleteGrayin NinetenthCentury
‘Omamented typefaces, 1938-Unashamedlywe
hhaveadded shadow, lendingthree-dimensional
formtoperversiy.
anenues 57