Garamond: The Blacksmith & Entrepenuer of Type
Claude Garamond, born in Paris in 1499, is one of the most iconic typography designers and publishers. Before his call to fame, Garamond was a punch cutter. In the days of traditional typography, punch cutting was a craft to cut letter punches in steel. which resulted in metal type. Punch cutters were known to be amazingly talented and patient craftsmen who sculpted their typography. The process consisted of using tiny gouges and files that would be used to sculpt letters in their needed size, in reverse.
Keeping this in mind, Garamond was one of the first few punch cutters who worked independently from printers; instead, he sold his punches in retail to them. Not only did he profit from his sales by doing so, but he also changed the type industry as well. Many others in the field of typography began to mimic his punch retail, which resulted in new typefaces being shared and readily accessible.
Despite being in the era of type that replicated a scribe’s handwriting, Garamond deviated from this standard and created a type that was legible when printed. The typeface’s letterforms were thin, which allowed for the ink to bleed without distorting the letters or causing excessive smudging. It became a classic font due to its elegance and legibility in different sizes.
Garamond’s legacy seemingly ended as it had begun; after his death in 1561, his wife sold his punches. The punches found their way to boundaries, which served as an inspiration to create new typefaces as well as varying fonts of Garamond. In recent times, Garamond remains as an iconic go-to Old-Style serif typeface as is more accessible than ever. Adobe even took it upon themselves to create a revival of the typeface, as they created a revamped Adobe Garamond Pro in 2000.
Works Cited
“Claude Garamond.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Garamond.
“Garamond.” Sitewide ATOM, http://www.meaningfultype.com/garamond.html.
Willetts, Brandy. “How Claude Garamond Changed the Type Industry.” Medium, Medium, 3 Aug. 2019, https://medium.com/@brandywilletts/how-claude-garamond-changed-the-type-industry-d287200bef2f.