Type: The Secret History of Letters - Hardcover

Loxley, Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1850433976 ISBN 13: 9781850433972

Publisher: I.B.Tauris, 2004

Synopsis

""Good typography should be invisible"", so goes the old maxim--the typeface should carry the message, but not distract with its own personality. But if you've ever wondered how type was developed, exactly what a Goudy Friar is, or if Baskerville has anything to do with Sherlock Holmes, then Type will answer these questions and more. This is the story of the faces behind type, letters and typography: it tells of the passions and obsessions of its creators, of war, persecution and political upheaval, of business and technological breakthrough, of rivalry, death and disinterment. With the skill of a novelist, Simon Loxley weaves the story of letters through the history of our time. From Gutenberg's first moveable type to the internet, type has grown out of ambition, jealousy, desire, treachery and love. Never again will you look at your letters, your bank statements or your books in the same way.

About this title

About the Author:

Simon Loxley is a practicing typographer, designer and teacher.

Review:

Times Higher Education Supplement: "surely the perfect book book to spark an interest in type design among world-weary students." "potentially boring details...are made easily understandable and quite thrilling." Times Literary Supplement: "Simon Loxley's quirkily elegant Type: The secret history of letters follows hard on the heels of Lynne Truss's Eats, Shoots and Leaves. It is better designed and typeset than that unlikely bestseller, and its subject, type, is central to the experience of every reader..." "compelling romp...a heady mixture of intrigue, personal achievement and corporate greed." History Today: "Simon Loxley reads between the lines in Type...underscoring the passion and ambition of its designers and highlighting the role that business and technological breakthroughs have had on the way we print and read today." Boston Globe: "you'll never look at Renner's elegant circles-and-lines font Futura in the same way again." MEDIAEVISTIK 19 'Simon Loxley takes the reader on a fascinating journey peppered with anecdotes concerning type designers and their creations.'THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PRINTING HISTORY ASSOCIATION'remarkably good'

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B.Tauris
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1850433976
• ISBN 13: 9781850433972
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256