Johnny

John Baskerville

John Baskerville was born on January 28, 1706 in Birmingham. After he finished school he became a printer in Birmingham, and a member of the Lunar Society. Baskerville later opened up his own business. The business was mainly offering services of the printing sort but include japanning and papier-mâché as well. One of his famous works is the Bible he printed for Cambridge University in 1758. Around this time he gained more popularity and his style (font) became known as ‘Baskerville’. His typeface was more modern, and dealt with a lot of contrast between the thickness of the lines used and the serifs. His works besides having a different typeface were slightly larger in page size, had wider margins, and had a great deal of thought and craftsmanship. John Baskerville prided himself on his new more type forward thinking and workmanship. After Johns Baskerville’s wife died he became extremely depressed and stopped printing. He then sold most of his type to private businesses and the wealthy. The Beaumarchais, a wealthy family, bought most of his types. Soon after John Baskerville died. Although his later years he didn’t produce much he has still made his mark in the world of type.