John Baskerville: An Influential Typographer

Considered one of the most influential typographers in history, John Baskerville made a significant mark on the world of print and type founding. Although considered a failure at printing during his lifetime he produced some of the works we look to today when we speak of the development of the typography and printing fields. An influence to other well-known typographers such as Bodoni and Didot and printers such as Benjamin Franklin, Baskervilles’ works met with hostility in the English Isles. Baskerville was more than a typographer; he was an artist, printer and stonecutter. He developed his own inks and papers, seeking the perfect surface and substances for many of his endeavors including printing and japanning.

John Baskerville was born January 1706 on Sion Hill in Worcestershire. He was raised on a farm with an income from an inheritance of about £75 per year. There is much wonder as to from where and why this money came to him. One theory says that it was an inheritance from a prominent line of Baskervilles. What we do know is that at seventeen John Baskerville decided to venture out on his own and leave the money of his inheritance to his parents. He first went to King’s Norton, an old settlement near Birmingham where he acquired employment as a footman in a clergyman’s home. The clergyman there discovered that Baskerville was a young man of talent and skill; he constantly had a pen in his hand creating intricate letterforms. The clergyman had Baskerville begin teaching the poor boys of the parish to write, with the appointment Baskerville had gained the title of writing master for the poor at a young age. It was clear though that Baskerville was meant for better things, he did not stay long at this small village and vent...

... middle of paper ...

...e University Press, 1959.

III, Kenneth Innes. The McCune Collection. 30 12 2009. 06 May 2014 .

“John Baskerville | I LOVE TYPOGRAPHY.” I Love Typography RSS. 23 Sept. 2007. Codex magazine. 06 May 2014 .

“John Baskerville of Birmingham.” Birmingham City Council. 06 May 2014 .

Philip B. Meggs, Alston W. Purvis. Meggs’ History of Graphics Design. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2006.

Rabinowitz, Tova. Exploring Typography. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson/ Delmar Learning, 2006. Ralph Straus, Robert Kirkup Dent. John Baskerville: a memoir. Cambridge: University Press, 1907.