Claude Garamond was born in c. 1480 in Paris, France and died 1561 in Paris, France. He was a type founder, publisher, punch cutter and type designer.
In 1510 he trained as a punch cutter with Simon de Colines in Paris. In 1520 he trained with Geoffroy Tory. 1530: Garamond’s first type is used in an edition of the book “Paraphrasis in Elegantiarum Libros Laurentii Vallae” by Erasmus. It is based on Aldus Manutius’ type De Aetna, cut in 1455. 1540: King Francis I commissions Garamond to cut a Greek type. Garamond’s ensuing Grec du Roi is used by Robert Estienne in three sizes exclusively for the printing of Greek books. From 1545 onwards: Garamond also works as a publisher, first with Pierre Gaultier and later with Jean Barbe.
The first book he published is “Pia et Religiosa Meditatio” by David Chambellan. The books are set using typefaces designed by Garamond. In November 1561, following his death, his equipment, punches, and matrices were inventoried and sold off to purchasers including Guillaume Le Bé, Christophe Plantin, and André Wechel. His wife was forced to sell his punches, which caused the typefaces of Garamond to become widely used for two centuries, but often with attributions becoming highly confused. The chaotic sales caused problems, and Le Bé’s son wrote to Plantin’s successor Moretus offering to trade matrices so they could both have complementary type in a range of sizes. Egelhoff-Berner brought out a specimen in 1592 of types by Garamond and others, which would later be a source for many Garamond revivals. The typefaces Garamond produced between 1530 and 1545 are considered the typographical highlight of the 16th century. His fonts have been widely copied and are still produced and in use today.
Publications include: “Essai d’un nouveau caractère de fonte pour l’impression de la musique”, Paris 1756; “Manuel typographique” (2 vols.), Paris 1764–66.
Garamond’s Works
Garamond 1540 Grec du Roi Garamond 1549 Page
References:
Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. “FONT DESIGNER – CLAUDE GARAMOND,” www.linotype.com/414/claude-garamond.html
Adrian Mckenzie 