Metallurgy and typefaces

Composing stick
Compositor
I understand that typefaces were first following the way handwriting had looked, but by 1470, Jensen, a master printer previously mentioned, made changes to the roman typeface that was beginning to be developed in Venice, developing a typeface that was easily read. (He then also developing ‘Italics’ a sloping typeface which could accommodate more words to a page, and somewhat resemble writing.)

The roman typeface slowly gained popularity. It was based on the ancient Latin script, and also influenced by the Carolingian (C8th) script. "Carolingian miniscule was revived during the Renaissance and has survived as our lower case letters (the capital letters come from ancient Rome)"quoted from. (The Carolingian, or Frankish, Empire of C8th preserved the classic Roman and Greek classics, and also translated some works into the vernacular) More about roman typeface and Carolingian Empire.

The humanists preferred the roman script for their books. Generally the gothic script persisted in scholarly and legal works, and also in Germanic areas where it was better understood than the roman type. For instance, Martin Luther’s first printings were in roman script, but later he used gothic as that is what the surrounding population was familiar with.

But by the year 1550, almost all books were printed with a form of roman script, for its ease of readability. The new roman type of print soon took over Europe, and the older Gothic style we see in Gutenberg’s work became obsolete.

The design of the metal mold that created the movable type is considered by some to be Gutenberg’s greatest contribution, allowing type to be accurately cast in different sizes and in large numbers. This was the technological breakthrough that made it all possible.

Throughout the centuries, master craftsmen have created typefaces that they considered aesthetic, and my understanding now is that the art of creating a beautiful and functional typeface was painstakingly developed by artistic craftsman of exceptional ability.

As cast letters wore out, metal craftsman were constantly either adding to the typefaces at a printers workshop, or creating new typefaces. The alloy of metal used to make the cast letters and the matrices (molds) was a combination of lead, tin, antimony, copper, and iron. It took great skill to mix these metals in a satisfactory way in order to produce a lasting product. They were constantly experimenting to get the best mix for clarity and durability.

The typefaces developed are names we see every day on our computer font types, for instance Garamond, Baskerville, Bodini, Italic, New Roman.

My Process -
I needed more detailed information at this point, and turned to the authoritative resource of Britannica Online. What a great source of information it is. And very user friendly as well. I found the public Britannica Online, which needs no subscription (see citation below).
I wanted to know about the development of typefaces that had been alluded to in the books I was reading, but I had not found enough detail for me to understand the historic process. Britannica Online spelled it out clearly and in detail. At this time I also received a book I had ordered from my local library, The Coming of the Book, cited below. Between these two sources I pieced together the more complete picture of the events in play at that time.
I found this great clip art sight, Clipart Etc, which has quality educational clipart. Google images lead me to this free access site, with a citation for each piece of clipart.


Resources
Composing Stick clipart
Source: William & Robert Chambers Encyclopaedia - A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1881)1151

Compositor clipart
Source: The Popular Cyclopedia of Useful Knowledge (New York: F. M. Lupton, 1888)237

Febvre, L and Martin, H J 1997, The Coming of the Book, Verso, London.
Boise State University, Idaho, USA.
Roman typeface, Encyclopedia Britannica Online, viewed 1 May 2010.
Clipart ETC, Educational Technology Clearinghouse, Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida. Last update: 10/12/09, viewed 1 May, 2010.