The New Digital "Monticello" Type: History and Inspirations
Matthew Carter and Charles Creesy
Tuesday, 25 February 2003, 6 p.m.
The Grolier Club
47 East 60th Street
New York, N.Y.
Matthew Carter and Charles Creesy will speak on Tuesday, 25 February 2003, at
The Grolier Club about the new digital "Monticello" typeface. This typeface
can claim a lineage stretching back to Thomas Jefferson and America's first
type foundry, Binny & Ronaldson. Because Jefferson admired Binny &
Ronaldson's types, the typeface was named in honor of his home, Monticello.
Originally commissioned by Princeton University Press for the Papers of
Thomas Jefferson, "Monticello" represented the desire of editor Julian Boyd
and the Press to present modern documentary editing in historically allusive
typography. Princeton University Press's Charles Creesy will talk about Binny
& Ronaldson, their relations with Thomas Jefferson and how their 1797 type
inspired the 1950 Linotype face "Monticello." Type designer Matthew Carter
will build on this history to discuss his 21st Century digital version of
this distinctively American typeface. Attendees will receive a keepsake, the
first showing of Carter's new digital "Monticello," courtesy of Princeton
University Press.
Matthew Carter, a type designer with more than forty years' experience of
typographic technologies ranging from hand-cut punches to computer fonts, has
designed ITC Galliard, Bell Centennial (for U.S. telephone directories),
Mantinia, Big Caslon, Miller, and the screen fonts Verdana and Georgia. The
recipient of numerous awards, including the Chrysler Award for Innovation in
Design, the Type Directors Club Medal, and the AIGA Medal, Carter is a
principal of Carter & Cone Type, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Charles Creesy, Director of Computing and Publishing Technologies at
Princeton University Press, was honored by the Association of American
University Presses in 1996 for his efforts to help publishers adopt digital
technologies. Creesy became interested in fonts while setting headlines by
hand for Princeton's student newspaper in the 1960s, a skill he later applied
to editing a magazine for the Peace Corps in Ecuador. Upon his return to the
U.S., he worked for the New Leader in New York and became editor of the
Princeton Alumni Weekly, which made the transition from hot-metal composition
to computers during his tenure from 1975 to 1988. His article about the
creation of the original Linotype "Monticello" and the new revival by Matthew
Carter will appear in the Princeton University Library Chronicle.
This presentation is part of APHA's "On the Road" series of events in 2003,
held across the United States. It is co-sponsored by The Grolier Club, the
Society of Typographic Aficionados (SoTA), and the Type Directors Club, and
is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required but seating is
available on a first come-first served basis.
About the sponsors:
The American Printing History Association (APHA), founded in 1974, encourages
the study of printing history and related arts and skills, including
calligraphy, typefounding, typography, papermaking, bookbinding,
illustration, and publishing. Website: www.printinghistory.org.
Established in 1884, The Grolier Club is America's oldest and largest society
for bibliophiles and enthusiasts in the graphic arts. Named for Jean Grolier,
the Renaissance collector renowned for sharing his library with friends, the
Club's objective is to foster "the literary study and promotion of the arts
pertaining to the production of books." The Club maintains a library on
printing and related book arts, and its programs include public exhibitions
as well as a long and distinguished series of publications. Website:
www.grolierclub.org.
The Society of Typographic Aficionados (SoTA) is an international
organization dedicated to the promotion, study, and support of type, its
history and development, its use in the world of print and digital imagery,
its designers, and its admirers. Website: www.typesociety.org.
The Type Directors Club is an international organization for all people who
are devoted to excellence in typography, both in print and on screen. Founded
in 1946, today's TDC is involved in all contemporary areas of typography and
design, and welcomes graphic designers, art directors, editors, multimedia
professionals, students, entrepreneurs, and all who have an interest in type:
in advertising, communications, education, marketing, and publishing.
Website: www.tdc.org.
Mark Samuels Lasner
Vice-President for Programs
American Printing History Association
Senior Research Fellow
University of Delaware Library
marksl@udel.edu
Biblio@aol.com
Tel. (302) 831-3250