A Typographic Workbook: Ch 1-4
A written language of characters formed by the arrangement of small wedge-shaped elements and used in ancient Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, etc. writing.
...Cuneiform.
Tortoise shells etched with symbols have been excavated from the Jiahu site in Henan province in central China. Shells found appear to be part of funerary ritual in Neolithic graves that have been dated to approximately 12000-7800 BCE
...FALSE, Shells have dated back to 7000-5800 BCE.
The year 5100 BCE is considered the peak of arts and learning during the Golden Age of Greece, approximately 300 years after the adoption of the Phoenician alphabet.
...FALSE. 500 BCE is the peak of arts and learning during the Golden Age of Greece.
Found in 1908 at the ruins of the Minoan palace, the Phaistos Disk is dated to app. 3700 BCE. The text is made of 51 words with 85 different symbols occurring a total of 24 times.
...FALSE. Dated to 1700 BCE. Made up of 61 words with 45 different symbols occurring a total of 241 times.
With the expansion of the Greek Empire under the rule of Frederick the Great, Greek Culture spread.
...FALSE. Greek culture spread under the rule of Alexander the Great 356-323 BCE.
Hieroglyphics commonly run in horizontal rows, read from right to left. All the people and animals face the left in any given passage.
...FALSE. Read from whatever direction the animals or people are facing... From top to bottom.
Some historians assume that writing began with small tags of parchment inscribed with pictographs that were attached to jugs by string intended to represent the contents of the vessels during shipping.
...FALSE. They assume it was small tags of clay inscribed with pictographs that were attached to jugs by strings.
Around 500 BCE the hieratic script eventually evolved into demotic script (of the people). This writing style is visually complicated compared to hieratic script.
...FALSE. Visually simplified compared to Hieratic script.
Pictorial material relating to or illustrating a subject or the traditional or conventional images or symbols associated whit a subject and especially a religious or legendary subject; the imagery or symbolism of a work of art, an artist, or a body of art.
...Iconography
A sign or character that represents and idea or concept often comprised of two or more pictographs.
...Ideograph
A character or symbol used to represent a word, syllable, or phenome.
...Phonogram
A name used to designate a group of Asiatic and African languages, namely: Hebrew and Phoenician, Aramatic, Assyrian, Arabic, etc.
...Semitic Languages
Because of their diverse trade and travel, the culture of the Phoenicians was influenced by many other people show lived around the Mediterranean sea, including the Greeks Minoans, Etruscans, and Sumerians.
...True.
Most original parchment texts no longer exist, as they deteriorated in the moist Mediterranean climate, while many of the copies on papyrus survived.
...True.
Repetition of agreed-upon shapes is the essence of a writing system.
...True.
Today many spoken languages that exist have no written form.
...True.
Geofroy Tory
A Parisian printer, typographer and author who studied in Italy and was a well-known professor before going to work as an editor for the elder Henri Estienne
Watermark
A design embossed into a piece of paper during its production used for identification of the paper and papermaker. It is visible when the paper is backlit.
Mnemonic
A device, such as a formula, verse or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering.
True
A primitive typewriter was patented in 1714, but it was not until 1829 that William Austin Burt patented a practical writing machine in the United States
Charlegmagne
A standardized lettering style was decreed throughout the empire of this leader which extended through much of the area that comprises modern-day Europe
...Pictograph
A symbol that is used to wholly communicate a simple message without words, such as in traffic signs and restroom door signage. This may be used as a signature, otherwise known as distinctive mark indicating identity.
Carolingian
Alcuin York is credited with the introduction of the _ (meaning during the reign of Charlemagne) style of lettering that was dictated as the standard copying text
Demotic Script
An Egyptian script that lasted for about 1000 years following hieratic script, and belongs to the last period of ancient Egyptian history. This script was used for business and literary purposes. It has a cursive form, signs are more flowing and joined, and the signs themselves are more similar to one another, making it slightly more difficult to read
Robert Granjon
An apprentice of Claude Garamond's who cut a famous typeface, based on the popular handwriting style of the day, named Civilite, which is considered the first cursive face.
Codex
An early form of the book
Of or relating to a time early in history, or to those living in such a period or time; especially of or relating to the historical period beginning with the earliest known civilizations and extending to the fall of the western roman empire in 476 CE.
Ancient
William Caslon
Around 1730 this goldsmith designed a type that included Roman and italic called Old Face. This typestyle was an instant success in England
True
Around 330 ce the emperor Constantine united the eastern and western portions of the Roman Empire and expanded into the area known today as Russia.
Baroque era
Art from this period is seen as based on the expression of emotion in vibrant colors. Artists of the time turned to classical themes while others placed Christian heroes in ancient settings
True
Because the religious texts were most commonly reproduced using a Gothic lettering style, unavoidable associations between the two have resulted. The Gothic black letter hand still resonates with religious overtones hundreds of years later
Crusades
Beginning in 1096 and continuing until about 1291, the Holy Wars were fought by Christians from central Europe against the Middle East. The correct term for the campaign is called
Black Death
Believed to have been a combination of bubonic and pneumonic plagues that entered across Europe along Eastern trade routes it swept across Europe between 1347-1350
Textura
Black letters were made with great precision and were evenly spaced to such an extent that the texture on the page resembled woven fabric were referred as
True
Books became cheaper during the Middle Ages once it was discovered that paper could be made from rags and plant fibers creating an alternative to expensive parchment
Writing with alternating lines in opposite directions; one line is written from left to right, then the next line is reversed.
Bousterephedon
True
By 270 CE the Chinese were printing from woodblocks.
Rustica
Condensed version of Capitalis Quadrata that came into popular use between 100 bce and 100 ce
Roman Du Roi
Developed by the French Academy of Sciences, this is the first recorded face based on precise mathematical analysis and consistency as compared to artistic approaches used by calligraphers previously
True
During the Gothic era multiple forms of the same letter were used in a single manuscript to showcase the scribes' talent and creativity
Before the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, hieroglyphics had been completely and correctly deciphered.
False
True
From approximately 1200 through 1400 the Gothic aesthetic in art and architecture was at its height throughout Europe
Johann Fust
Goldsmith who agreed to underwrite the cost of Gutenberg's printing experiments, provided Gutenberg to pay him
Geofroy Tory
He believed that one of the tendencies of this era was the desire of the elite to conceal knowledge from the rest of the population. In recognizing knowledge is power his concerns revealed a new social understanding
Johann Gutenberg
He was taken on as a craftsman for the archbishop of Mainz in 1465 and died in relative poverty three years later
A writing system developed in ancient Egypt that used pictographs to represent words and sounds.
Hieroglyphic
Henri Estienne
His foreman, Simon de Colines succeeded him in the business and eventually married his widow
True
In 1702 Philippe Grandjean royal punch cutter cut a face called the Romain du Roi (Roman of the King)
Giambattista Bodoni
In 1788 in Parma, Italy he introduced the first Modern Style typeface
Henry Fourdrinier
In 1803 this Englishman engineered a continuous roll papermaking machine revolutionizing paper manufacturing
True
In his De Divina Proportione of 1509 Leonardo da Vinci analyzed the construction of letterforms using geometric elements
False (1500s)
In the 1300s during the Renaissance in Europe book design and type design evolved as a formal area of study. Painters and sculptors were dependent on the patronage of the wealthy and they broadened their practice to include different skills so as to produce what their patrons desired.
False, Celtic and Rustica
Inspired by earlier Textura and Rotunda lettering, the Romanesque integrates decorative insets, overlaps, and fused letters in manuscripts and engravings.
Black Death
It was spread by rats carrying infected fleas and eliminated between one-fourth and one-third of the population in its first wave
Cloister Old Style
Jenson's first pure Roman typeface characterized by contrast between the thick stem and thin hairline strokes; serifs were blunt and heavily bracketed with an oblique stress
Greeks
Just as the Greeks borrowed the alphabet from the Phoenicians, the Romans borrowed from the _
Victorian era
Many faces from this period of time feature curlicues intertwined with natural, leafy themes not seen since the Middle Ages
Renaissance
Often described as the rebirth of learning the _ lasted approximately two centuries from the mid-1400s to the late 1600s
False (Trajan's column 114 ce)
One lovely example of the structure and weight of Roman capitals is the inscription at the base of Charlemagne's column in Rome carved 114 CE. This inscription is regarded as the finest extant example of chisel-cut lettering
Albrecht Durer
One of Aldus Mantius' most famous works Hypnerotomachia Poliphili was a distinctive typographic masterpiece using clear cut Roman letters richly ornamented with decorative woodcuts and illustrated by
Geofroy Tory
One of his most significant writings was Champfleury, dated around 1529 in which he outlines and elaborates on the theory behind the design of his Roman capitals.
True
One of the most popular and widely available texts of the Renaissance in Europe was the Book of Hours
True
Part of the success of the Roman Empire in unifying Europe, Egypt and parts of Mesopotamia and Northern Africa is attributed to the use of a single language (Latin)
Proofs
Preliminary test prints that allowed the pressman to check for a clean crisp impression
True
Printing enabled the dissemination of ideas over great distances without requiring large assemblies of people
Pictures and/or pictographs assembled in an order so as to represent the syllables in a word or words, from which meaning can be deciphered.
Rebus
True
Reportedly the first printing press was established in the American colonies in 1640. By 1775 there were 50 printers in the thirteen colonies despite the tax on paper and advertising
..Phonetic
Representing speech sounds by means of symbols that have one value only' of or relating to spoken language or speech sounds
False, Garamond
Robert Granjon understood that there are more lowercase letters than uppercase letters on a page and therefore paid special attention to thier design.
Burgundians, Vandals, Franks, Ostrogoths, and Lombards
Rome was sacked by a succession of invaders, beginning around 410 CE - first the Visigoths, followed by the
A black basalt stone found in 1799 that bears an inscription in hieroglyphics, demotic characters, and Greek and is celebrated for having given the first clue to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Rosetta Stone
The smallest conceivable expression or unit of speech. a unit of spoken language that is next bigger than a speech sound and consists of one or more vowel sound alone or of a syllabic consonant alone or of either with one or more consonant sounds preceding or following.
Syllable
True
The Assyrians were quick to adopt cuneiform as a practical writing system. Cuneiform writing has been used in several languages, and was in use for about 3000 years.
True
The Muslim Arabs expanded across Persia, Arabia, and the north coast of the Mediterranean at an unprecedented rate between 620-730, bringing political stability to the region.
True
The Old style face was readily and widely accepted and was used almost exclusively in Europe for three hundred years
Visigoths
The Western group of Goths who sacked Rome and created a kingdom in present-day Spain and France
Bartarde
The first book printed in the English language was set in a flourishing angular gothic face called
True
The first printed book in England was created by William Caxton, a very wealthy silk merchant turned printer.
Rococo era
The flamboyance of the style of this era of art and typography was expressed as fine lines and curvilinear flourishes
Bodoni
The geometric precision of this Modern Style face imparts a classical feel with its vertical stress and small x-height in proportion to the capital letter height as well as in the details seen in sharp right angles of the serifs and the ascenders that are the same height as the capital letters
William Caslon IV
The introduction of sans serif type in 1816 by this person referred to as Grotesque in Europe and Gothic in America as many felt it was barbaric-looking and strange
False
The lithographic printing process is based on the principle that oil and water mix
Aloys Senefelder
The lithographic printing process was invented around 1796 by _ however the process did not gain commercial popularity until the beginning of the 1900s
Cartouche
The oval band symbolizing continuity encloses hieroglyphs of a gods or pharaohs name into one visual entity.
Papyrus
The pith of a plant cut in strips and pressed into a paper-like substrate or material to write on.
Kerning
The practice of filing away a portion of the base of one character, allowing part of the letter to rest on the base of the adjacent character
False, L-shaped pieces
The precision mold was composed of two N-shaped pieces of metal that could be opened and closed to accommodate letters of constant width while varying the height and depth of measurements
Humanism
The study of the ancient Roman and Greek texts developed into a philosophical, secular movement known ______. This school of thought placed humans at the center of the universe, without divine intervention.
Capitalis Quadrata
The written counterpart to the classic carved Roman capitals. Written with a reed pen, the thick and thin strokes incorporate an organic unity of curves and straight lines that form square-shaped capitals
False; Gutenberg did.
To approximate the handwriting of the scribes Claude Garamond cast almost 270 pairs of kerned or ligature pairs of characters as one punch
...Phoneme
To sound or utter any of the abstract units of the phonetic system of a language that correspond to a set of similar speech sounds.
Anthropologists believe that the domestication of animals was a strong factor in the development of human societies.
True
The Semitic languages comprise those of the Far East (Syria, Lebanon, israel, China, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, etc)
True
Greek culture spread. The growth of the Hellenistic culture caused the spread of the Greek alphabet.
True.
True
Ts'ai Lun was credited with the development of paper in China in about 100 CE
The style, arrangement, and appearance of typeset matter; typography is sometimes seen as encompassing many separate fields from the type designer who creates letter forms to the graphic designer who selects typefaces and arranges them on the page.
Typography
True
Uncials (from Latin uncia, meaning a twelfth part, referring to the measurement of an inch) are believed to be the precursor of our upper- and lowercase letters.
Rotunda
_ lettering is believed to have been adapted from earlier Gothic lettering although it is wider and less ornate perhaps it is a hybrid produced by a combination of Gothic and Carolingian
true
around 1100, papermaking was intorduced in Sicily, and by the end of the 1200s a small paper mill was established in Fabriano, Italy
Geofroy Tory
he is known for introducing accents, the apostrophe, and the cedilla nto printed French texts
