![]() His process was to punch a character-say, the letter "a"-into a bar of metal, fit it into a matrix, fill it with molten metal, and let it cool. His enhancements of the process centered around his knowledge-as a goldsmith-of the punch, the matrix, and the adjustable mold. (See Printing.) Even though Gutenberg may or may not have invented the process, it was he who first made it practical. It was only after Gutenberg, and after his process spread through Europe, that printing became a force to rival handwritten manuscripts. ![]() The invention of printing from movable metal type in Europe is commonly attributed to Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith who, in the mid-fifteenth century, produced the first printed books, notably his "Gutenberg Bibles." It is believed that the Dutch developed the process first, a man named Coster being held to have invented printing. The first use of metal type dates from 1403 Korea, and printed books from these types began to appear in large numbers. ![]() In 1314, Wang Chên used wood in the making of type, which was more practical at the time. Tin eventually replaced clay, but neither of these two types gained widespread use. Pi Sheng used clay to make raised letters from which prints could be made. The first use of movable type was in China in the middle of the eleventh century. The invention of movable type is inextricably linked to the invention of printing it was movable type that made printing commercially viable. Typography refers to the rules and conventions that govern the assembling-or composition-of type into aesthetically appealing and legible pages.Īlthough in this age of desktop publishing we tend to take type for granted, typography was at one time considered something akin to an art form. I retain the original pronunciation with ou as in out." (Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.The term type is used generally to mean letters and other characters assembled into pages for printing or other means of reproduction. However, I find that occasionally a stranger pronounces the word with ou as long o in go, sometimes as ou in soup, or goo and less frequently with the ou as oo in good. My brother, in Chicago, still spells with the w. Later, learning that the old Scots spelling was 'Goudy,' he changed to that form, while I, for some years, retained the old way. During the next 36 years, starting almost from scratch at an age when most men are permanently set in their chosen vocations, he cut 113 fonts of type, thereby creating more usable faces than did the seven greatest inventors of type and books, from Gutenberg to Garamond."Īsked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest "When I was a boy my father spelled our name 'Gowdy' which didn't offer any particular reason for verbal gymnastics. "At 40, this short, plump, pinkish, and puckish gentleman kept books for a Chicago realtor, and considered himself a failure. It has also been said that the original verb was "fuck," and that like "steal," "shag" was a more recent toning down of the original. Goudy was the originator of the well-known statement, "Any man who would letterspace blackletter would shag sheep." (This is often misquoted as: "anyone who would letterspace lowercase would steal sheep" and "anyone who would letterspace blackletter would steal sheep.") Others doubt this story, as the Briticism "shag" was unknown in American slang. His wife, Bertha Goudy (1869–1935), was a compositor of type. By the end of his life, Goudy had designed 122 typefaces and published 59 literary works. Beginning in 1927, Goudy was a vice-president of the Continental Type Founders Association, which distributed many of his faces. His most widely used type, Goudy Old Style, was released by the American Type Founders Company in 1915, becoming an instant classic.įrom 1920 to 1947, Goudy was art director for Lanston Monotype. Wells anthology published by Mitchell Kennerly. ![]() In 1911, Goudy produced his first "hit," Kennerly Old Style, for an H. However, in that same year the Village Press burned to the ground, destroying all of his equipment and designs. In 1908, he created his first significant typeface for the Lanston Monotype Machine Company: E-38, sometimes known as Goudy Light. This venture was modeled on the Arts and Crafts movement ideals of William Morris. In 1903, Goudy and Will Ransom founded the Village Press in Park Ridge, Illinois.
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