typography: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 14, 2026

Photos and Videos

Morison, Stanley: Times New Roman sample

Illuminated manuscript page with Latin text in gold and black ink, featuring large gold letters at top and bottom and smaller black text in the center, from a 1505 Roman inscription collection.

Japanese typefaces

A large, red and white capital letter G diagram labels key typeface features: barb at the top, curved stroke on the left, serif at the upper right, bracket connecting the serif, and spur at the lower right.

Ornate wood type specimen sheet from 1888 by E. Toni and C., featuring colorful decorative letters, elaborate borders, and names like Gutenberg, Elzevir, Bodoni, and Castaldi.

Two pages from Virgil's Opera printed by Aldus Manutius in 1501, showing early italic typeface with decorative headings and an illustration at the bottom of the lower page.

A page from the Gutenberg 42-line Bible showing two columns of dense black Latin text with an ornate capital letter in the center.

early roman face types

Pages from Virgil's Opera printed by Aldus Manutius in 1501, featuring Latin text in both upright and italic typefaces.

Printed page from the Imprimerie Royale specimen book showing Philippe Grandjean's Romain du Roi typeface, with samples of roman and italic text in French and Latin.

Hear Maria Amidu talk about the techniques used for making a banner in 2015 celebrating the 1628 Petition of Right which was sent to Charles I

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

slug typeface movable type block book Bifur Avant Garde Typos Times New Roman Subiaco Schwabacher proofreading print revolution in India 3D printing printing press Intaglio offset printing letterpress printing colour printing transfer printing planography

Key People

default image

Ambroise-Firmin Didot

French printer and typesetter

default image

François-Ambroise Didot

French printer and typesetter

default image

Firmin Didot

French printer and typesetter

default image

Pierre François Didot

French publisher and printer

default image

Henri Didot

French printer and typesetter

El Lissitzky cover

El Lissitzky

Russian artist

default image

Jan Tschichold

German typographer and author

Times New Roman

Stanley Morison

English typographer

A legendary graphic designer

Milton Glaser

American graphic designer and illustrator

default image

Giovanni Mardersteig

Italian printer

Bodoni, engraving

Giambattista Bodoni

Italian printer

default image

William Caslon

English printer

Fell, portrait by Sir Peter Lely; in the City Art Gallery, Bristol, county of Avon

John Fell

English educator, priest, and author

default image

Bruce Rogers

American typographer

Walker, Emery: Brooks's in the Olden Time

Sir Emery Walker

English printer

default image

Christophe Plantin

French printer

Goudy, Frederic W.

Frederic W. Goudy

American printer and typographer

default image

John Baskerville

English printer

default image

Sir Francis Meynell

English designer

default image

Daniel Berkeley Updike

American printer and publisher