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William Caslon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses or meanings of Caslon, see Caslon (disambiguation).
William Caslon, also known as William Caslon I (1692–1766) was an English gunsmith and designer of typefaces. He was born at Cradley, Worcestershire, and in 1716 started business in London as an engraver of gun locks and barrels, and as a bookbinder's tool cutter. Having contact with printers, he was induced to fit up a type foundry, largely through the encouragement of William Bowyer. The distinction and legibility of his type secured him the patronage of the leading printers of the day in England and on the continent.
Caslon's typefaces were inspired by the Dutch Baroque types, the most commonly used types in England before Caslon's faces. His work influenced John Baskerville and are thus the progenitors of the typeface classifications Transitional (which includes Baskerville, Bulmer, and Fairfield), and Modern (which includes Bodoni, Didot, and Walbaum).
Caslon typefaces were immediately popular and used for many important printed works, including the first printed version of the United States Declaration of Independence. Caslon's types became so popular that the expression about typeface choice, "when in doubt, use Caslon," came about. The Caslon types fell out of favour in the century after his death, but were revived in the 1840s. Several revivals of the Caslon types are widely used today.
The grave of William Caslon is preserved in the churchyard of St Luke Old Street, London.
- His typeface, Caslon
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "Caslon", a publication now in the public domain.
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