John Baskerville was born in England in 1706. He is remembered for being a skilled typographer. He was a member of the Royal Society of Arts. With the help of his punchcutter, John Handy, he designed many typefaces. The University of Cambridge hired him to print works in 1758. He also printed a folio Bible in 1763 despite his atheist beliefs. Since the 1920’s new fonts have been created based off his work and mostly called ‘Baskerville’.
Not only was Baskerville skilled at typography but he also was quite the inventor. He developed ways to produce a smoother whiter paper, which was excellent for showing the contrast between black type. He also established a new style of typography by adding wide margins and leading between each line.
The font New Baskerville reinvents Baskerville’s original forms while refining the font. It has a larger x-height than the Monotype, which improves legibility and makes the face more economical to use. The family also includes a small-cap font. New Baskerville is unique because of its extended range of weights, which consist of roman, semi-bold, bold, and heavy. It is extremely effective when used in larger text sizes and looks very graceful.
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