Weidenfeld Nicolson Baskerville The Biography of a Typeface (The ABC of Fonts).

The ABC of Fonts

by Simon Garfield

The classic elegant English typeface, still widely used as a book text more than 250 years since its creation. Baskerville is a transitional design, poised between the first metal types and modern styles, notable for its combination of fat and thin strokes. When it was first used there was genuine concern that it would damage readers' eyes.John Baskerville was a maverick lacquer maker and printer in Birmingham, a flamboyant dresser, an important figure in the Enlightenment. Though it earned him little money, he was obsessive about both his typeface and its appearance on the page, a perfectionism culminating in his magnificent Bible. The story encompasses one of the first powerful women of the printing world, his wife Sarah Baskerville, and the many typefaces the Baskervilles inspired. And it examines why John Baskerville's body was dug up and buried many times before it was finally allowed to rest in peace.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Design

144 pages, Hardcover

Published November 9, 2023

About the author

Simon Garfield is a British journalist and non-fiction author. He was educated at the independent University College School in Hampstead, London, and the London School of Economics, where he was the Executive Editor of The Beaver. He also regularly writes for The Observer newspaper.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baskerville by Simon Garfield is an astonishing look at the man behind the visually appealing and practical Baskerville font. Invented by John Baskerville after countless hours of meticulous thought and perfecting form, shapes, thicks and thins, proportion and weight in 1757, this font was not without controversy. As a perfectionist, he was also a japanner and master printer who was accustomed to painstaking work.

So much punch is packed into this slim illustrated book including the beauty of letters (also italics), history of printing, paper, craftsmanship, typeface and its importance to instilling confidence. On the human interest side, the author details Baskerville's personality, his skill and intensity, his death and exhumations, and preservation of his original steel punches by his wife Sarah, also in the printing business.

If you, too, are a logophile who is utterly captivated by the thought of letters strung together to form words and sentences, this book has your name on it. As stated in Baskerville, the book also weighs the value of words. This vibrant passion, plethora of light bulb moments and conversational tone could not be more captivating. Everything I have read by Simon Garfield is fantastic. He has a special way of making each word count and his topic choices are always compelling.

My sincere thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this eye-opening and riveting book.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely enjoyed. Garfield's Just My Type was my entire personality in the 9th grade. Reading this was a pleasant throwback. I do love the concept of a deep dive into a niche subject (at which point it becomes abundantly clear there is depth everywhere you may turn). For some reason I didn't enjoy how every picture was taken with an iPhone, which began as a suspicion, then furthered by the shadow of a phone in a picture, and subsequently confirmed by the author himself in the text. I get that these aren't grand sweeping works, they are casual tiny books, but it did feel ironic when stood next to Baskerville's supposed artistry and care. And also in a footnote Infinite Jest is misspelled as Intimate Jest, which is just embarrassing. But was a nice little read on a Christmas day.

[Mary Warnement · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect the introduction in this to be the same as for Albertus, the first book in the series. Garfield is showing us how it compares it a different font. I'm enjoying this series and look forward to the next, Comic Sans, a surprise. I'd have expected Caslon or anything other than what may be the most mocked font out there. But of course that leaves more scope for a story.

I read this book during two "read and rides" on the bike at my Planet Fitness. Time flew!

Again, great list of resources at the back.

I hope I win the copy up for lottery through Goodreads.

[Tim Jarrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A better read than Garfield’s companion book on Albertus (though both are excellent), both because of the hard-knock professional experience of Baskerville the printer and his grisly, improbable afterlife. A great read for those who care about type, eighteenth century England, or who relish a good grisly story—or preferably all of the above.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good that it's a short read, as there isn't as much as I was expecting about the design of the font itself. Most of the book was about the designer of it. Those parts were still enjoyable and informative. I look forward to reading the, at least two, other books by this author about specific fonts.

[LillyBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short but charming nonfiction book about the life of the typesetter who created the Baskerville font, and also how that font has been used throughout history. It was lively and educational. I thought it maybe could have been a little longer, but the brevity was refreshing, too.

[Jessica Keesling · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a nerd.... I loved this book. I will be reading the series.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for this ARC. #giveaways

Interesting read about a typeface and the creator, having given little thought to this previously, I found it a good learning experience.

[Jennybeast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as interesting as I hoped it would be. I’m not sure if there isn’t really enough source material to turn this into a narrative, or if I just didn’t love the style — which is weird because I liked Just My Type very much. Not my cup of tea.

Advanced Readers Copy provided by edelweiss

[Jim Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the second in a trio of books that looks to explain fonts. In this book, the development (and developer) of the Baskerville font is explained.

It's an interesting read. I'll be honest, I didn't think you'd be able to write 130+ pages about a font, but Simon Garfield manages to communicate his love of writing, and the people who produce books in a readable way. The book's probably not for everyone, but those people who... have a mind for this sort of thing will enjoy this book.

[Sofia Ljungberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toppen! Kanske lite VÄL ingående i Baskervilles personliga liv, men gillade att det inte bara handlade om själva typsnittet.