ohn Baskerville was born in England in the early 18th century. He had a number of professions in the first part of his life including writing teacher, headstone engraver, and "japanned" goods dealer (varnished metal household items). His varied experience allowed him to develop manual dexterity and technical proficiency, while gaining an appreciation for inks and other tools of the print trade.
By 1750, Baskerville was independently wealthy and pursued type and printing on a full-time basis, which he did with fanatical perfectionism. It took him six years to complete the drawings for his type and another two to oversee its cutting. He also redesigned his own printing press and made his own paper in order to capture the delicacy of the type. In addition, he invented an ink that was uncommonly rich, black and lustrous in appearance.
Although Baskerville's books were criticized in England as being too difficult to read, his efforts were praised by his peers in both Continental Europe and the United States. Printing and typographic luminaries no less than Ben Franklin and Giambattista Bodoni were great admirers and lively correspondents.
Unfortunately, Baskerville lost a considerable amount of money on his hobby. After creating his masterpiece, a folio bible printed for Cambridge University in 1763, he spent the remainder of his life trying to dispose of his equipment. His wife ended up selling his punches and matrices to a French dramatist after his death, who used it to print the works of Voltaire in Germany.
The equipment changed hands many times, losing its value as popular taste in type moved away from classic faces. Then, in the early 19th century, the Monotype Corporation led a revival of classic, roman typefaces. Baskerville was successfully introduced to a new era of book designers in 1923.
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Helvetica | Copperplate | Stone Serif | Stencil | Perpetua | Baskerville