Porson was a classicist with very careful Greek handwriting. His biographer wrote that he "excelled ... in writing with neatness and beauty" and "wrote notes on the margins of books with such studied accuracy that they rivalled print".[1]
The punchcutterRichard Austin was commissioned by the Cambridge University Press to cut a type based on his handwriting, probably from 1806 onwards.[2][3] It was cast by the Caslon foundry, but it never appeared in their specimens, seemingly as the type was proprietary to Cambridge.[4] It was completed and used only after Porson's death in 1808, seemingly first in 1809 and more in 1810.[5]
Legacy
After its first appearance, it was soon copied by other founders.[6] By the end of the 19th century, it has become the predominant Greek type used in Britain,[4] with Victor Scholderer's New Hellenic typeface (favored by Cambridge University Press) the only notable exception. A version was released by Monotype for hot metal typesetting with some changes in 1912.[7]
The standard model for Greek typefaces from the 1540s until the mid-eighteenth century was the Grecs du roi type cut by Claude Garamond and its many imitations from other punchcutters, also known as "Old Style".[8] However, by the mid-eighteenth century tastes in handwriting had changed. Comparing with Greek types used previous to it, Porson is characterized by its simplified forms and its abandonment of the many ligatures and alternative forms historically popular when writing Greek.[4][9]
It has been described as "calm yet energetic",[7] and was used by the Oxford Classical Texts for over a century.[7] John Bowman describes it as "the single most important contribution to Greek type design in Britain"[10] and two designs based on it by from the Figgins foundry as "the most beautiful Greek type ever".[11]
Bowman, J. H. (1992). Greek Printing Types in Britain in the Nineteenth Century: A Catalogue. Oxford: Oxford Bibliographical Society. ISBN9780901420503.
Bowman, J. H. (1996). "Greek Type Design: the British Contribution". In Macrakis, Michael S. (ed.). Greek Letters: From Tablets to Pixels. Oak Knoll Press. pp. 129–144. ISBN9781884718274.
Bowman, J. H. (1998). Greek Printing Types in Britain: from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. Thessaloniki: Typophilia. pp. 104–118. ISBN9789607285201.
Johnston, Alastair. (2013). Transitional Faces: The Lives & Work of Richard Austin, type-cutter & Richard Turner Austin, wood-engraver. Poltroon Press. ISBN978-0-918395-32-0.
Lane, John A. (1996). "From the Grecs du Roi to the Homer Greek: Two Centuries of Greek Printing Types in the Wake of Garamond". In Macrakis, Michael S. (ed.). Greek Letters: From Tablets to Pixels. Oak Knoll Press. ISBN9781884718274.
Mosley, James (1960). "Porson's Greek Types". The Penrose Annual. 54: 36–40. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
References
Bowman, J. H. (1992). Greek Printing Types in Britain in the Nineteenth Century: A Catalogue. Oxford: Oxford Bibliographical Society.
Bringhurst, Robert (2004). The Elements of Typographic Style. Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks.
Sandys, Sir John Edwin (1998 [1903-1908]). A History of Classical Scholarship. Vol. II . Bristol: Thoemmes Press.
Watson, John Selby (1861). A Life of Richard Porson, M. A.. London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts.
External links
Greek Font Society - free download of GFS Porson, based on the Monotype version
The Greek Font Foundry - free download of Porson 0.8 Beta from an archived site resource
January 10, 2023
porson, typeface, porson, influential, typeface, greek, alphabet, based, handwriting, english, classicist, richard, porson, contents, creation, legacy, notes, cited, literature, references, external, linkscreation, editporson, classicist, with, very, careful, . Porson is an influential typeface in the Greek alphabet based on the handwriting of the English classicist Richard Porson Contents 1 Creation 2 Legacy 3 Notes 3 1 Cited literature 4 References 5 External linksCreation EditPorson was a classicist with very careful Greek handwriting His biographer wrote that he excelled in writing with neatness and beauty and wrote notes on the margins of books with such studied accuracy that they rivalled print 1 The punchcutter Richard Austin was commissioned by the Cambridge University Press to cut a type based on his handwriting probably from 1806 onwards 2 3 It was cast by the Caslon foundry but it never appeared in their specimens seemingly as the type was proprietary to Cambridge 4 It was completed and used only after Porson s death in 1808 seemingly first in 1809 and more in 1810 5 Legacy EditAfter its first appearance it was soon copied by other founders 6 By the end of the 19th century it has become the predominant Greek type used in Britain 4 with Victor Scholderer s New Hellenic typeface favored by Cambridge University Press the only notable exception A version was released by Monotype for hot metal typesetting with some changes in 1912 7 The standard model for Greek typefaces from the 1540s until the mid eighteenth century was the Grecs du roi type cut by Claude Garamond and its many imitations from other punchcutters also known as Old Style 8 However by the mid eighteenth century tastes in handwriting had changed Comparing with Greek types used previous to it Porson is characterized by its simplified forms and its abandonment of the many ligatures and alternative forms historically popular when writing Greek 4 9 It has been described as calm yet energetic 7 and was used by the Oxford Classical Texts for over a century 7 John Bowman describes it as the single most important contribution to Greek type design in Britain 10 and two designs based on it by from the Figgins foundry as the most beautiful Greek type ever 11 An open source digitisation has been published by the Greek Font Society 3 12 Notes Edit Watson 361 Bowman 1998 p 106 a b Johnston 2013 p 10 a b c Bowman x Bowman 1998 pp 109 110 Bowman 1996 pp 133 135 a b c Bringhurst 278 Lane 1996 Leonidas Gerry A primer on Greek type design Gerry Leonidas University of Reading Retrieved 14 May 2017 Bowman 1998 p 118 Bowman 1998 p 128 19th century Greek Font Society Retrieved 31 December 2021 Cited literature Edit Bowman J H 1992 Greek Printing Types in Britain in the Nineteenth Century A Catalogue Oxford Oxford Bibliographical Society ISBN 9780901420503 Bowman J H 1996 Greek Type Design the British Contribution In Macrakis Michael S ed Greek Letters From Tablets to Pixels Oak Knoll Press pp 129 144 ISBN 9781884718274 Bowman J H 1998 Greek Printing Types in Britain from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century Thessaloniki Typophilia pp 104 118 ISBN 9789607285201 Johnston Alastair 2013 Transitional Faces The Lives amp Work of Richard Austin type cutter amp Richard Turner Austin wood engraver Poltroon Press ISBN 978 0 918395 32 0 Lane John A 1996 From the Grecs du Roi to the Homer Greek Two Centuries of Greek Printing Types in the Wake of Garamond In Macrakis Michael S ed Greek Letters From Tablets to Pixels Oak Knoll Press ISBN 9781884718274 Mosley James 1960 Porson s Greek Types The Penrose Annual 54 36 40 Retrieved 31 December 2021 References EditBowman J H 1992 Greek Printing Types in Britain in the Nineteenth Century A Catalogue Oxford Oxford Bibliographical Society Bringhurst Robert 2004 The Elements of Typographic Style Point Roberts WA Hartley amp Marks Dictionary of National Biography 1917 Vol XVI London Oxford University Press Sandys Sir John Edwin 1998 1903 1908 A History of Classical Scholarship Vol II Bristol Thoemmes Press Watson John Selby 1861 A Life of Richard Porson M A London Longman Green Longman and Roberts External links EditGreek Font Society free download of GFS Porson based on the Monotype version The Greek Font Foundry free download of Porson 0 8 Beta from an archived site resource Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Porson typeface amp oldid 1101172927, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
