![]() The 20th century renewed interest in and appreciation for Baskerville's typefaces. In 1963 a petition was presented to Birmingham City Council requesting that he be reburied in unconsecrated ground, according to his wishes. Christ Church was demolished in 1897 so his remains were then moved, with other bodies from the crypt, to consecrated catacombs at Warstone Lane Cemetery. However, in 1821 a canal was built through the land and his body was placed on show by the landowner until Baskerville's family and friends arranged to have it moved to the crypt of Christ Church, Birmingham. This Doubtless to many may appear a Whim perhaps It is so-But it is a whim for many years Resolve'd upon, as I have a Hearty Contempt for all Superstition the Farce of a Consecrated Ground the Irish Barbarism of Sure and Certain Hopes &c I also consider Revelation as it is call'd Exclusive of the Scraps of Morality casually Intermixt with It to be the most Impudent Abuse of Common Sense which Ever was Invented to Befool Mankind. In a Conical Building in my own premises Hearetofore used as a mill which I have lately Raised Higher and painted and in a vault which I have prepared for It. Death and interments īaskerville died in January 1775 at his home, Easy Hill. He worked with paper maker James Whatman to produce a smoother whiter paper, sometimes called "wove paper", which showcased his strong black type. An atheist, he nonetheless printed The Book of Common Prayer in 1762 and a splendid folio Bible in 1763.īaskerville innovated in printing, paper, and ink production. It took three years to complete, but it made such an impact that he was appointed printer to the University of Cambridge the following year. In 1757, Baskerville published a remarkable quarto edition of Virgil on wove paper, using his own type. ![]() He also pioneered a completely new style of typography, adding wide margins and leading between each line. His typefaces were greatly admired by Benjamin Franklin, a fellow printer, but were criticised by jealous competitors and soon fell out of favour. Baskerville was a member of the Royal Society of Arts, and an associate of some of the members of the Lunar Society.īaskerville directed his punchcutter, John Handy, in the design of many typefaces of broadly similar appearance. He practised as a printer in Birmingham, England. Baskerville established an early career teaching handwriting and is known to have offered his services cutting gravestones (a demonstration slab by him survives in the Library of Birmingham) before making a considerable fortune from the manufacture of lacquerwork items ( japanning). Life A modern sample of the Baskerville typefaceīaskerville was born in the village of Wolverley, near Kidderminster in Worcestershire and baptised on 28 January 1706 OS (1707 NS) at Wolverley church. He was also responsible for inventing "wove paper", which was considerably smoother than "laid paper", allowing for sharper printing results. John Baskerville (baptised 28 January 1707 – 8 January 1775) was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and type designer. ![]()
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