Indeed, Fraktur itself could even be classified as another Bastarda, but I have given it its own category, because it became the most-widely used blackletter text style in German typography. Schwabacher is a style of Bastarda that has been traditionally used in Germany. Gotisch (gothic) alone has several styles… from the Romanticist Fette Gotisch (pictured) to the so-called “jackboot grotesques” of the 1930s (not pictured). Old English, & Gotisch designs are further evolutions of the Textura idea. For example, a German Fraktur would be a poor choice for an English Pub, while almost any style could look right on a certificate, depending on its overall design.
Understanding classification schemes can be the key to choosing the right typeface. Only since the beginning of the post-war era has blackletter disappeared from the German mainstream media environment.įigure 4: The basic blackletter styles-Textura, Rotunda, Bastarda, Fraktur, and “Experimental.” While many contemporary designs fall under the lattermost category, classical revivals are still being undertaken across the blackletter spectrum.
Blackletter remained immensely popular in Germany through the 20th century even as late as 1900, perhaps half of all printed items there were still set in it. The first type sorts cast in lead - that were, in all likelihood, cast in Mainz - were blackletter designs. Traditional serif typefaces (called Antiqua type in German) are to be found in abundance, as are Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, and of course, blackletter typefaces. The Gutenberg Museum library’s specimen collection is broad, drawing on holdings from all over Europe. The Gutenberg Museum library’s oldest specimens all take this form.įigure 3: Detail from Johann Erasmus Luther’s 1678 specimen. Centuries earlier, many type specimens tended to take another form: large, over-sized single sheets, on which a type founder would display paragraph settings of each of his types at their various sizes - almost like a poster. Increasingly, they post their designs online thus minimizing print advertising costs. Today, type foundries tend to design and produce folded or bound catalogs to show off their typefaces. Mori published several works during his lifetime, but one of his most significant volumes was published posthumously in 1955: a folio book reproducing his collection of type specimen from Frankfurt-based founders from the 16th through 18th centuries. Frankfurt’s University Library also includes a Mori collection of type specimen. Stempel AG type foundry, one of several large type foundries in Frankfurt at the time. Over several decades, Mori was an employee at the D. Just 40 kilometers east of Mainz, Frankfurt has played an important role in the book trade for almost 500 years. Mori may be most known for his work collecting type specimen from Frankfurt am Main. These were largely collected by Gustav Mori (1872–1950) during the first half of the 20th century, especially the large, one-sheet specimen from German type foundries. Aside from trade and academic titles on printing and typographic history, the library has a large collection of type specimens from the 17th through 20th centuries. Lesser known is the museum’s small library, which is open to the public. This forms a large part of the base of what we refer to as “Old English”-style fonts today. In addition to their famous serif typefaces, the Caslons cut seminal a blackletter type called Caslon Black.
Several incunabula books are on display - including three Gutenberg Bibles - as well as printing presses and bits of city paraphernalia.įigure 2: 1785–1786 specimen from William Caslon’s foundry in Great Britain (dimensions not recorded by the author). Next to the city’s landmark Romanesque cathedral, the Gutenberg Museum presents the history of Western (and some Eastern) printing. Almost any graphic designer who has passed through Mainz has stopped at the Gutenberg Museum. See figure three below for larger detail.įor hundreds of years, this small German city along the Rhine has been known for Johannes Gutenberg and his invention - printing with movable metal type. Figure 1: Oversize type specimen from Johann Erasmus Luther’s typefoundry, the Luther’sche Schriftgießerei.
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