''A Tally of Types'' is a book on

typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

authored by the type designer

Stanley Morison Stanley Arthur Morison (6 May 1889 – 11 October 1967) was a British typographer, printing executive and historian of printing. Largely self-educated, he promoted higher standards in printing and an awareness of the best printing and typefaces ...

. It was first published in 1953, and showcases significant

typeface A typeface (or font family) is a design of Letter (alphabet), letters, Numerical digit, numbers and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display. Most typefaces include variations in size (e.g., 24 point), weight (e.g., light, ...

designs A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

produced during Morison's tenure at the Lanston

Monotype Corporation Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc., founded as Lanston Monotype Machine Company in 1887 in Philadelphia by Tolbert Lanston, is an American (historically Anglo-American) company that specializes in digital typesetting and typeface design for use wit ...

for their hot-metal

typesetting Typesetting is the composition of text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other ...

machines during the 1920s and 1930s in England. According to Brooke Crutchley, University Printer at the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, the book "first appeared in 1953, when it was issued as a Christmas keepsake to 'friends of the University Printer in printing and publishing'"; only 450 copies were printed and distributed of this original edition. The author, a scholarly British pioneer historian and typographer, was the driving force behind Monotype's dynamic typographic programme of research and revival of representative historical typographic models. The book was compiled and written at Crutchley's request. ''A Tally of Types'', now republished many times, has proven to be an important source of information on typography. In the 1973 edition, three appendices were added, describing typeface designs developed since the original printing. A recent edition includes an introduction by digital-typography pioneer Mike Parker. ''A Tally of Types'' holds a critical account, in Morison's erudite style, of the typeface designs cut under his watchful eye during typography's most influential typeface revival project, turning his detailed insight into the inner workings of early 20th century type design into an enduring record of the practice of typography.

Typeface designs discussed

* Bruce Rogers' Centaur Roman * Alfred Fairbank's

Arrighi Italic Arrighi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Christine Arrighi, French politician *Ernest Arrighi de Casanova, French Bonapartist politician *Gianluca Arrighi, Italian novelist *Giovanni Arrighi, Italian sociologist *Giuseppe Arr ...

, also called Bembo Condensed Italic * Bembo Italic, based on the work of

Francesco Griffo Francesco Griffo (1450–1518), also called Francesco da Bologna, was a fifteenth-century Italian punchcutter. He worked for Aldus Manutius, designing the printer's more important humanist typefaces, including the first italic type. He cut Roman, ...

for

Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; ; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and Renaissance humanism, humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preser ...

around 1495 * Poliphilus Roman, based on the work of Francesco Griffo for Aldus Manutius around 1495 * Blado Italic, based on the work of

Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi (1475?–1527?) was a papal scribe and type designer in Renaissance Italy. Very little is known of the circumstances of his life. He was born in Cornedo Vicentino. He may have started his career as a writing mas ...

Garamond Garamond is a group of many serif typefaces, named for sixteenth-century Parisian engraver Claude Garamond, generally spelled as Garamont in his lifetime. Garamond-style typefaces are popular to this day and often used for book printing and bod ...

Roman, thought to be based on the work of

Claude Garamond Claude Garamont (–1561), known commonly as Claude Garamond, was a French type designer, publisher and punch-cutter based in Paris. Garamond worked as an engraver of punches, the masters used to stamp matrices, the moulds used to cast metal ty ...

but now known to be the work of

Jean Jannon Jean Jannon (1580 – 20 December 1658) was a French Protestant printer, type designer, punchcutter and typefounder active in Sedan in the seventeenth century. He was a reasonably prolific printer by contemporary standards, printing several hun ...

* Granjon Italic, based on the work of Jean Jannon (as above) * Fournier roman and italic, based on the work of Pierre-Simon Fournier * Barbou Roman, based on the work of Pierre-Simon Fournier *

Baskerville Baskerville is a serif typeface designed in 1757 by John Baskerville in Birmingham, England, and cut into metal by punchcutter John Handy. Baskerville is classified as a transitional typeface, intended as a refinement of what are now called ...

Roman and Italic, cut for

John Baskerville John Baskerville (baptised 28 January 1707 – 8 January 1775) was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and type designer. He was also responsible for inventing "wo ...

John Handy John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933) is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor saxophone, tenor and baritone saxophone, baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and ...

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

Roman and Italic, cut by Richard Austin for John Bell * Goudy Modern Roman and Italic, by

Frederic Goudy Frederic William Goudy ( ; March 8, 1865 – May 11, 1947) was an American printer, artist and type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Goudy Old Style and Kennerley. He was one of the most prolific of American type designers ...

* Perpetua Roman, by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

* Felicity Italic, by Eric Gill * Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent's

Times New Roman Times New Roman is a serif typeface commissioned for use by the British newspaper ''The Times'' in 1931. It has become one of the most popular typefaces of all time and is installed on most personal computers. The typeface was conceived by Stanl ...

Appendices added in the 1973 edition

Jan van Krimpen Jan van Krimpen (12 January 1892, in Gouda, South Holland, Gouda – 20 October 1958, in Haarlem) was a Dutch typographer, book designer and type designer. He worked for the printing house Joh. Enschedé, Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé. He also wo ...

's Van Dijk, written by Netty Hoeflake * Ehrhardt, based on the work of Miklós Tótfalusi Kis, by Harry Carter * Jan van Krimpen's Romulus, written by John Dreyfus

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tally of Types Typography 1953 non-fiction books

Typeface designs discussed

Appendices added in the 1973 edition

Further reading

References