TYPE I: Who is John Baskerville? What makes Baskerville so unique?

John Baskerville was born in Worcestershire in 1706. The rest of his life was spent in Birmingham. At the age of 17 he was beginning his career in typography by engraving tombstones. John was forty when he seriously took up the business for which he is known for today. The masterpiece, the Holy Bible of 1763, is known to many as the finest book printed in English. He was known to break tradition and start his own. Before Baskerville was created, the Standard English type of the early 18th century was Caslon. This was considered a tradition which started all the way back to Aldus Manutius from the 15th century. John is known for improving existing types, producing clearer, blacker type than anyone else and improving ink and presses. After four years' work, he created the first of the elegant Baskerville fonts. His type was constantly criticized because his lines were very thin strokes. It was said that his work would 'blind the eye.' His type was considered a failure and was not revived until the 20th century. John was considered to be the greatest printer of England. What makes Baskerville so unique is the curved strokes and more circular shape of the letters, making the characters became more regular. All of this created a greater consistency in size and form.