Garamond: A Font Fit for a King
Francois I is known for his military triumph at the Battle of Marignano, his frenetic building and rebuilding of chateaux and his love of art but perhaps less known as a bookworm. A trunk of his favourite books went wherever he went. A bibliophile, he paid agents all over Europe to hunt down and buy Greek manuscripts despite the strong disapproval from the Sorbonne. The Sorbonne not only banned books in Greek it prohibited the study of Greek which was considered heretical.
Francois was very interested in the Greek language. He even chose Angelo Vergecio, a Greek librarian, to look after his books. Vergecio copied more than fifty original Greek manuscripts for the King’s library.
The King asked the classical scholar Robert Estienne to donate a copy of every book he printed in Greek to his library, which he made freely available to scholars. Estienne’s Greek classics were much admired for their typographical elegance. He worked on original texts. Estienne, the first to use apostrophes and grave and acute accents in France, also printed small, inexpensive, educational books.
To end the use of Latin as the sole language of learning in France, Francois made French the national language and opened the Collège Royal de France where students could study Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic and to the horror of the Sorbonne, Greek. Although he was dubbed le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres (the Father and Restorer of Letters), the College was his sister Marguerite’s idea. Francois was clever. Marguerite, even more so.
Through his friendship with Estienne, Francois became interested in publishing, printing and typography. In 1539 he appointed him The King’s Printer which again angered the Sorbonne because Estienne was a Protestant.
When Francois asked Estienne to print a series of books in Greek for his library, Estienne consulted Claude Garamont (pseudonym garamondus). Paris born and bred, Garamond, a pioneer type designer and punch cutter was one of the most respected and influential men in typographic history. His skill was in demand by all the finest printers in France.
Estienne commissioned Garamond to design a new Greek typeface for the King’s exclusive use. His inspiration came from the beautiful handwriting of Angelo Vergecio, the King’s Greek librarian. Known as Grecs du Roi, it was the basis for Greek typeface design for two hundred years.
Among the first books Francois wanted in Greek was the history of Dionysius and a pocket edition of The New Testament.
Garamond established the first type foundry, he was the first to create faces, cut punches, and then sell the type. An innovator, his roman typeface replaced the gothic, or blackletter.
When the French Court adopted the Garamond font Roman for its publications, it became fashionable all over Europe.
Alas his story does not have a happy ending. Like many creatives, he was no good at business and died in poverty. In the introduction to one of his books he said his work ‘feathers the nest of publishers and brings honey to their hive’. Disillusioned, he gave up publishing.
His Grecs du Roi punches remain the property of the French government.
Modern designers say Garamond is timeless, one of the best fonts in existence. Elegant and legible, it has stood the test of time. It’s also one of the most eco friendly types to print because it uses less ink than other similar faces. The Garamond typeface now has many variations inspired by the original punch cuts designed by Claude Garamond in 1540. Gone but not forgotten!
Post by Pamela, Photography by Mark
