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Grecs Du Roi
''Les grecs du roi'' (lit. "the king's greeks") are a celebrated and influential Greek typeface cut by the French punchcutter Claude Garamond between 1541 and 1550. Arthur Tilley calls the books printed from them "among the most finished specimens of typography that exist". The ''grecs du roi'' were ordered by Robert Estienne on behalf of King Francis I of France in a contract dated 2 November 1540. The design was based on the handwriting of the Cretan copyist Angelo Vergecio, and includes many alternate letters and ligatures. The ''grecs du roi'' were influenced by types cut by Francesco Griffo and used by printer Aldus Manutius in Venice. The types formed the basic model for Greek typefaces for the next two centuries. History Garamond contracted to cut the ''Grecs du roi'' types on 2 November 1540. They are cut in the sizes Manutius used, but are more complex. It took Garamond nearly 10 years to complete all the sizes. In 1543, he completed the medium sized 16pt character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Estienne 1550
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus, culminating in his trial and death and concluding with various reports of his post-resurrection appearances. Modern scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically, but nevertheless, they provide a good idea of the public career of Jesus, and critical study can attempt to distinguish the original ideas of Jesus from those of the later authors. The four canonical gospels were probably written between AD 66 and 110. All four were anonymous (with the modern names added in the 2nd century), almost certainly none were by eyewitnesses, and all are the end-products of long oral and written transmission. Mark was the first to be written, using a variety of sources. The authors of Matthew and Luke both independently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldus Manutius
Aldus Pius Manutius (; it, Aldo Pio Manuzio; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preservation of Greek manuscripts mark him as an innovative publisher of his age dedicated to the editions he produced. His ''enchiridia'', small portable books, revolutionized personal reading and are the predecessor of the modern paperback. Manutius wanted to produce Greek texts for his readers because he believed that works by Aristotle or Aristophanes in their original Greek form were pure and unadulterated by translation. Before Manutius, publishers rarely printed volumes in Greek, mainly due to the complexity of providing a standardized Greek typeface. Manutius published rare manuscripts in their original Greek and Latin forms. He commissioned the creation of typefaces in Greek and Latin resembling the humanist handwriting of his time; type ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punch (typography)
Punchcutting is a craft used in traditional typography to cut letter punches in steel as the first stage of making metal type. Steel punches in the shape of the letter would be used to stamp matrices into copper, which were locked into a mould shape to cast type. Cutting punches and casting type was the first step of traditional typesetting. The cutting of letter punches was a highly skilled craft requiring much patience and practice. Often the designer of the type would not be personally involved in the cutting. The initial design for type would be two-dimensional, but a punch has depth, and the three-dimensional shape of the punch, as well as factors such as the angle and depth to which it was driven into the matrix, would affect the appearance of the type on the page. The angle of the side of the punch was particularly significant. Process The punchcutter begins by transferring the outline of a letter design to one end of a steel bar. The outer shape of the punch could ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
