Baskerville is a serif typeface in the Transition (Louis XV) style, designed in 1757 by John Baskerville in Birmingham, England, and engraved in metal by the engraver John Handy. Baskerville is classified as a ‘Transition’ style font, the aim of which was to refine what are now known as the ‘Old Style’ fonts of the period, particularly those of his most eminent contemporary, William Caslon.
Compared to the more archaic font styles popular in England at the time, Baskerville increased the contrast between solid and smooth strokes, made the serifs sharper and more tapered, and rotated the axis of the rounded letters into a more vertical position. The rounded strokes have a more circular shape, and the characters become more regular.
These changes created a greater consistency of size and shape, influenced by the calligraphy Baskerville had learned as a young man. The Baskerville typeface remains very popular in book publishing and there are many replicas, which add various variants such as bold characters that did not exist in Baskerville’s day.
About ANRT
The Atelier National de Recherche Typographique was set up in 1985 by the French Ministry of Culture with the aim of giving new impetus to typographic creation and type design.
1985-2006
Originally housed at the Imprimerie nationale, the Atelier, directed from 1990 by the internationally renowned Swiss typographer Peter Keller, was later housed at the École nationale supérieure des Arts décoratifs de Paris (ENSAD); at the end of the nineties, it was renamed the Atelier national de Recherche typographique, before moving to the École nationale supérieure d’Art de Nancy.
As a centre for experimentation in typographic design, ANRT offers specialised training, at post-master’s level, in the fields of typographic design and type design. The course is aimed at graduates of art schools specialising in visual communication (Master’s level or 5 years’ higher education), as well as designers, architects, professionals, visual artists, academics, engineers and teachers with an equivalent level of education – with no age limit.
Students are invited to define the projects they will work on themselves and/or to respond to international competitions or calls for projects. This research is regularly supervised by highly qualified typographers, graphic designers and type designers. The Atelier also welcomes guest speakers, organises seminars and welcomes students from various countries. The languages of instruction are French and English.
ANRT is open to all media, practices and forms of typography: fixed, animated, digital, paper publishing, web design, television, cinema, etc.
Over the years, the studio has built up an international reputation and made a major contribution to the training of today’s leading graphic designers.
Un nouveau départ à la rentrée 2012
The reopening of the ANRT, which has been closed since 2006, is part of an ARTEM educational network involving the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Nancy, the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy and the ICN management school, in partnership with public and private bodies (universities, research laboratories, etc.).
Chaired by François Barré and led by Christian Debize, the ANRT’s steering committee defines the workshop’s challenges and prospects: to be open to all the media, practices and forms of typography: fixed, animated, digital, paper publishing, web design, television, cinema, and applications in the fields of architecture and urban space. It is positioned as a place for experimentation, invention and innovation, and as a research centre serving all designers in the field. Its location in Nancy, at the heart of the Grand Est region, which has a strong historical book culture and is close to an arc which, from Amsterdam to Basel and Zurich, is the epicentre of typographic research in Europe, will strengthen its international profile and make it more attractive to students and researchers from these regions.
The voyage had begun, and had begun happily with a soft blue sky, and a calm sea.
History of Jacob typography
Titre 1
Titre 2
Titre 3
