Type Revivals

For typographers, revival type forms an integral part of their font repertoire (whether they realize it or not). Older classics such as Baskerville, Garamond, and Bodoni are ubiquitous as imbedded fonts in standard operating system collections. They continue to serve their users well, being the trusted go-to tools of professional designers. Yet all revivals are interpretations of lost originals, or, in the rare instances where some original material survives, have been translated into digital fonts that can be used on today's computers. In almost every case, there is, and has to be, considerable selection, revising, and re-formatting involved. The nature of such work is little understood or appreciated. Indeed, the definition, application, and use of type revivals has been neglected in literature, or worse, this has been almost totally misunderstood. Jerry Kelly's Type Revivals sheds new light on the subject, reviewing hundreds of important modern versions of earlier typefaces, and presenting clear and concise discussions of their origins, permutations, and contemporary digital availability. No one in a position to select a typeface, or use type in a book work, should be without it.