In the early days of printing, the sole responsibility for the look of each page was given to someone called a "typesetter." This individual was not just a craftsman but also a skilled tradesman, making decisions about dropped capitals, hyphenation, accented... [more]

In the early days of printing, the sole responsibility for the look of each page was given to someone called a "typesetter." This individual was not just a craftsman but also a skilled tradesman, making decisions about dropped capitals, hyphenation, accented characters, mathematical formulas, rules, tables, indents, footnotes, running heads, ligatures, and more. In many cases, the typesetter would even rewrite bits of text in order to effectively squash hanging indents, widows, or orphans -- here, to the dismay of the writers, aesthetics were definitely held above content. In fact, Mark Twain (himself a typesetter early in his career) found this hacking of his work to be so irksome that he invested in the production of a keyboard-based typesetting machine that would be immune to editing fever. As part of their skill set, typesetters had to be well-read enough to know how reconfigure text into the best possible design for many different readers. In the early days, most typesetters were members of the International Typographical Union, which was intended to "prevent the use of labor saving improvements." Though this may seem counterproductive, the union simply meant to ensure the status of typesetters as irreplaceable artistans. Indeed, Typography, as it's come to be regarded today, owes as much to artistry as to technical mechanics. Modern Typography is the art of arranging not just words, but letters, styles, fonts, artwork, all in the service of something slightly more esoteric than captions and stories. Typographers craft new fonts as painters apply hues or composers lay down notes. In magazines, advertising, and books, type design has become an end unto itself. As in the early day of typesetting, aesthetics can rise above content -- this time, however, letters are not simply hacked out, but rather visually interpreted. Just as painting can sometimes capture reality in a way that photography cannot, Typography suggests the essence of textual meaning at levels missed by the actual words. [show less]