Five Centurie< of German Fraktur by Walden Font - Tipografos.net

20 Pages·1999·0.82 MB·English

FiveCenturie<ofGermanFraktur
byWaldenFont
Johanne< Gutenberg 1455
German Fraktur represents one of the most
interestingfamiliesof typefacesinthehistoryof
printing. Fewtypeshavehadsuchaturbulent
history, and even fewer have been alter-
natelypraisedanddespisedthroughout
theirhistory.OnlyrecentlyhasFraktur
beenrediscoveredforwhatitis:abeau-
tifulwayof puttingwordsintowritten
form. Walden Font is proud to pres-
ent,forthefirsttime,aneditionof 18
classic Fraktur and German Script
fonts from five centuries for use on
yourhomecomputer.Thisbookletdescribesthehistoryof eachfontand
providesyouwithsamplesforitsuse. Alsoincludedarethestandardtypeset-
ting instructions for Fraktur ligatures and the special characters of the
GutenbergBibelschrift.
WehopeyoufindtheGutenbergPresstobeanentertainingand
educationalpublishingtool.Wecertainlywelcomeyourcommentsandsug-
gestions.Youwillfindinformationonhowtocontactusattheendof this
booklet.
VerehrterFrakturfreund!
Wir hoffen mit unserer "(cid:147)Gutenberg Pre%e(cid:148)" zur Wiederbelebung der Fraktur=
schriften-ohnejedwedenpolitis#enNebengedanken-beizutragen.Leiderverbieten
un< die hohen Produktion<kosten eine Deutsche Version diese< Be=
nu@erhandb(cid:252)chlein<herau<zugeben,SiewerdenaberdenDeutschenTextaufden
Programmdisketten finden. Bitte lesen Sie die (cid:147)liesmich(cid:148)" Datei f(cid:252)r weitere
Informationen.Wirfreuenun<auch(cid:252)berIhreKommentareundAnregungen.
KontaktinformationensindamEndediese<B(cid:252)chlein<angegeben.
A brief history of Fraktur
Attheendofthe15thcentury,mostLatinbooksinGermanywereprintedin
a dark, barely legible gothic type style known as Textura. What little was
printedinGermanusedtherougherandmorebaseSchwabachertype. When
theGermanemperorMaximilian(reigned1493-1519)decidedtoestablisha
splendidlibraryof printedbooks,hedirectedthatanewtypefacebecreated
especiallyforthispurpose. Thistypefacewastobemoreelegantthanthe
boorish Schwabacher, more modern than the gothic Textura and yet dis-
tinctly(cid:147)German(cid:148)inthatitshouldnotincorporateelementsof theAntiqua
thatweretherageinItalyatthattime.
BasedontheBastardahandwritingusedbythescribesoftheEmperor(cid:146)s
chancery, the calligrapher Leonhard Wagner designed a typeface to these
specifications. ItsoonbecameknownasFraktur(pronouncedfrac-toor)for
thebrokencharacterofitslines.
Onlyfourof Maximilian’splanned130editionswerecompletedinhis
lifetime,andFrakturwouldhavequicklyvanished,butthebooksthatwerein
fact completed had been sent for illustration to the foremost German
Renaissanceartists,D(cid:252)rer,CranachandGr(cid:252)n.Theseartistsbecameinspired
by the novel typeface and used it in their publications. Albrecht D(cid:252)rer(cid:146)s
(cid:147)Unterweysung(cid:148)isstilloneofthemostfamousbooksprintedinFraktur.
WhenthereformationmovementsweptacrossGermany,afloodof
printedpropagandacamewithit. Muchof thismaterialusedthe
new,freshFrakturtype,whichhelpedtopopularize
itextensively. Itallowedforaneasydistinc-
tion of catholic and protestant publica-
tions: Protestants printed in German,
using Fraktur; Catholics printed in
Latin,usingAntiquatypessimilarto
theonesweusetoday. Oneedition
oftheBibleevenhadeachversestart
with a Fraktur letter when the topic was
salvationorotherpositiveevents,butAntiqua
when Satan, hell, and damnation were the
topic. It was this separation that caused
Fraktur to be known as the (cid:147)German(cid:148) and
Antiquaasthe(cid:147)Latin(cid:148)font.
For the next five centuries, Germany and
many Scandinavian countries held on to Fraktur,
swaying betweenunanimous support of it and cursing
the(cid:147)anachronisticmonk(cid:146)sscribbles(cid:148)dependingonthe
Maximilianu< Imperator
currentlevelof nationalsentiment. Mostworksintendedforageneralaudi-
encecontinuedtobeprintedthiswaywellintothe20thcentury,whilebooks
of amorescientificnatureusedthe(cid:147)learned(cid:148)Latintype. Inthemeantime,
mostotherEuropeancountriesadoptedAntiqua,andstilluse ittothisday.
After World War I, Fraktur gradually went out of style as German
society became more cosmopolitan and open to international influences.
Ofcourse,theNazisputanendtothatwhentheyrosetopowerin1933. All
things German wereglorified,and Frakturwas declaredtheonly (cid:147)Aryan(cid:148)
type. Manypseudo-FrakturandGothicfontswerecreatedthen,mostdis-
playingtheharshspiritof the(cid:147)NewGermany(cid:148)andallof themstiff and
ugly.
ItisironictolearnthatitwasHitlerhimself whofinallyterminated
Fraktur printing. By January 1941, Germany had conquered most of
Europe,andtheGermantypehadbecomeacommunicationsbarrierwith
thenew(cid:147)vassals(cid:148). FrakturwasreplacedbythestandardAntiqua. Inatypi-
calideologicalabout-face,HitlerdeclaredFrakturtobe(cid:147)Un-German(cid:148)and
(cid:147)of Jewishorigin(cid:148),andsoitwasofficiallyabolished. Hitler(cid:146)sorderdirected
all newspapers and publishing houses to switch to Antiqua at the earliest
practicabledate. Thiswasaneconomicimpossibilityformanyprinters,so
thedecreedidn(cid:146)thaveanyprofoundeffectuntillateinthewar. Theallied
forcesnaturallycouldn(cid:146)thaveagreedmorewithHitleronthelegibilityissue
andpromptlyorderedtheregulationtoremainineffect.
Followingthewar,Germanprintersandtypedesignerslookedfornew
directionsthatwerenotreminiscentof Germany(cid:146)smilitaristpast,andeven-
tuallydevelopedastylesimilartotheBauhausdesignsofthe1920(cid:146)s.
During the next forty years, Fraktur became associated closely and
solelywiththeThirdReich. Frakturbecame(cid:147)Nazi-print(cid:148). Thisimagewas
enforcedbymanymovies,documentaries,booksandarticles,anditproves
almostimpossibletocorrecttoday. Nonetheless,printersandtypedesigners
are carefully pulling the old treasures back into the light and hope to free
themofpoliticalconnotations.
Wehopethatourlittlebundleof 18fontscontributestothatend,wecor-
diallyinviteyoutoenjoythisnew,old,beautifulwayof puttingthoughtson
paper.
The Font<
GutenbergBibelschrift
Onlyintoday(cid:146)sageof capitalismandhightechnologyareweabletoappreci-
atenotonlytheartisticvalueof JohannesGutenberg(cid:146)swork,butalsothe
immense business acumen and vision that this man possessed. At a time
whenlaboriouslyhandwrittenbooksfetchedastronomicalsumsinthemar-
ket, Gutenberg conceived of a method to mass-produce books of equal
quality,thusopeningupatruegoldmine.Forthetwentyyearsittookhimto
develop the art of printing, Gutenberg never lost his vision, overcame
immensetechnicalandfinancialdifficulties,andfinallyproducedbooksof
suchatechnicalandartisticqualitythattheycannotbeduplicatedbytoday(cid:146)s
printers.Howsoonwestartedtotaketheartofprintingforgrantedisshown
bythefactthatGutenbergwasquicklyforgottenafterhisdeath.Ourentire
knowledgeof themanandhislifeisderivedfromahandfulof legaldocu-
ments,mostof whichweredestroyedina19thcenturyfire.Theonlymonu-
menttothemanJohannesGutenbergistheonehebuilthimself:his42-line
Bible.
The Gutenberg Bibelschrift font is an accurate rendition of the
typedevelopedandusedbyGutenbergforhis42-lineBible.Hisaimwasto
imitatethebeautiful,buthardtoreadTexturacalligraphythenusedformost
books.Tothatend,hehadtorendernotonlythelettersof thealphabet,but
alsoagreatnumberof commonligaturesandabbreviations.Tostrengthen
theimpressionof originalhandwriting,healsocastseveralslightlydifferent
versionsforeachletter,sothathisentirefontconsistedof 290types.We
havereproducedthemostcommonversionof thealphabet,aswellasthe
ligatures and abbreviations used. The original font had no numerals.
Whatevernumberingwasrequiredwasaddedinredinkafterprintingwas
completed.
AlteSchwabacher
When Fraktur was developed, most German-language publications were
printed using a form of Schwabacher type. This font evolved from the
bastardascriptsthatwerewidelyusedatthetime. Schwabachertypesare
easilydistinguishedfromFrakturfontsbytheroundedstemsof suchletters
as(cid:147)o(cid:148)and(cid:147)d(cid:148). TheSchwabacherfonthasaboldandoriginalcharacter,it
complementstheRenaissancewoodcutsof D(cid:252)rer,Cranachandmanyother
artists. Beingaveryornamentalfont,itissuitablefordecorativeprinting,or
toaugmentcalligraphicwork.
WittenbergSchwabacher
BythetimeMartinLuthercompletedhisGermantranslationof theBible,
printinghadbeenaflourishingindustryforovereightyyears.Itistherefore
nosurprisethatthe(cid:147)BibliaDeutsch(cid:148)foundfertileground;hundredsof thou-
sandsof copiesweresold,theoriginalprintercouldnotsatisfythedemand
andagoodnumberof piratedcopiesappeared.AlltheseBibleswereprinted
insomeformof Schwabacher;ourWittenbergversioncomesclosesttothe
originalfont.
GebetbuchFraktur
Thefirstof EmperorMaximilian(cid:146)smagnificentbookswasaprayerbook,10
copiesprintedonparchment. ItwasforthisbookthatthefirstFrakturfont
wascommissionedbecauseallotheravailabletypeswereeithertoocommon
ortooantiquated. ThisFrakturwasbasedondrawingsbyLeonhardWagner.
ThepuncheswerecutbyJohannSch(cid:246)nsperger,whoalsoprintedtheprayer
books. ThefinishedcopieswerethengiventonotedRenaissanceartistsfor
illustration. Theresultwerebooksof suchhighartisticqualityandexcellent
workmanshipthattheystanduptoGutenberg(cid:146)s42-lineBibles.
Theuerdank Fraktur
Oneof Maximilian(cid:146)smostambitiousprintingprojectswasaglorificationof
hisvoyagewesttowedMaryofBurgundy. Theromanticizedaccountofthis
adventurewaslavishlylayedoutintheepic(cid:147)Theuerdank(cid:148). Thetypefacefor
thisbookwasprobablydesignedbyVinzenzRockner,theEmperor(cid:146)sper-
sonalsecretary. Theuerdankisanalmost(cid:147)modern(cid:148)Frakturandformsthe
baseformanysubsequentdesigns. Notethattheprintedlettersof theorigi-
nalwereembellishedfurtherbyaddingornamentallinesinvariouscolorsby
hand.
The founder of the famous Luther foundry in Frankfurt is said to have
started his business with borrowed punches for the Coelnisch Current
Fraktur. Thisfontisanexcellentchoiceforheadlinesandtitlesandisbest
usedsparinglyatsizesabove30points. ItworkswellwiththeTheuerdankor
GebetbuchFrakturastextfonts,butalsoprovidesanicecontrastwhenused
withtheLutherFraktur.
NeueSchwabacher
WhilemostGerman-languagepublicationsfromabout1480to1530were
printed in the Schwabacher type, it fell into disuse after the rapid rise of
Fraktur.Itexperiencedaresurgenceduringthe17thcentury,whenthispar-
ticularfontwasdesigned. Itsappearanceisrobustanditmatchesthebold,
darkwoodcutsof thatperiodverywell. NeueSchwabacherisequallywell-
suitedfortextorheadlineprojects.
LutherFraktur
ThisfontwasdesignedbyErasmusLutherin1708andstillisconsideredone
of themostbeautifulandlegibleFrakturfonts. TheLutherFrakturformsa
linkbetweentheearlierGebetbuchFrakturandthelaterBreitkopf Fraktur
types. Itisverywell-suitedforanytypeof printing,especiallyforreligious
texts. LutherFrakturlooksbestwhenitisprintedatrelativelylargesizes: at
about13-14points.
BreitkopfFraktur
While Luther based his font on Maximilian(cid:146)s Gebetbuch Fraktur, Johann
GottliebImmanuelBreitkopf tooktheyoungerNeud(cid:246)rffer-Andre(cid:228)Fraktur
ashismodel,afontthatwasusedbyD(cid:252)rertoprintseveralof histheoretical
works. TheBreitkopf Frakturrepresentswhatiscommonlythoughtof asa
(cid:147)classic(cid:148)Fraktur. Itgainedimmediatesuccessandremainedthemostpopu-
larFrakturwellintothelastcentury,butthenfellintodisuseuntil1899,when
itwasre-castbyanumberoffoundries.
UngerFraktur
Enlightenment,FrenchRevolutionandthebeginningdevelopmentof the
classiciststyleinartandarchitecturemadearenewalof thetraditionaltype-
facesunavoidable. JohannFriedrichUnger,arenownedBerlinprinterand
publisher, took on the task and presented this light, sharply-contrasted
Fraktur in 1793. It was very well received by the luminaries of the time;
Goethe(cid:146)s (cid:147)Wilhelm Meister(cid:148) was one of the first books printed in Unger
Fraktur.
FetteHaenelFraktur
Themiddleof the19thcenturysawtheadventof the(cid:147)elephant(cid:148),or(cid:147)mod-
ern(cid:148)typefaces,whichfeaturedstrongcontrastsbetweenstemsandhairlines.
Thisfont,createdin1846byEduardHaenel,isagoodexample. Thefontis
well-suitedforheadlinesandgeneraladvertisingpurposes.
PeterSchlemihl
AdalbertvonChamisso(cid:146)sstoryaboutamanwhosellshisshadowtothedevil
inspiredthiscuriousfont-agracefultypesurroundedbyafineshadowline.
PeterSchlemihlisagracefulfontthatisbestusedinheadlines,butalsomakes
aninterestingtextfont.
GanzgrobeGotisch
Lookingatthisfontwillbestexplainthename(cid:147)blackletter(cid:148). Itispossibly
theblackestof alltypes,yetitmaintainsanamazinglegibility. GanzGrobe
Gotischisespeciallyeffectiveinadvertising,headlinesandotherapplications
wherea(cid:147)strongimpression(cid:148)isdesired.
MaximilianGotisch
The 19th century type designer Rudolf Koch drew inspiration from his
strongChristianfaith. Hedevotedhislifetothedevelopmentof afitting
typefacefortheBible. Maximilian,appropriatelynamedforFraktur(cid:146)sorigi-
nator,comesclosetothisgoal. Itsbroadandnobleimpressionmakesitan
idealchoiceforheadlinesandquotes.
ZentenarFraktur
ZentenarFrakturcouldeasilybeconsideredthemostbeautifulofallFraktur
types. Itwasoneof thelastFrakturfontsproducedbeforeWorldWarII,
andassuchpresentsthepinnacleofFrakturdevelopmentbeforeitwastaken
overbytheNazis..
Gro(cid:223)vater Kurrent
Astackof oldfamilylettersyieldedthispersonalhandwriting.Mygrandfa-
therwroteaclear,yettraditionalscript,andwethoughtwe(cid:146)dmakeafunfont
forpersonalandinformalcorrespondence.Yourfriendswillprobablycurse
youifyouuseitforlongerletters-ittendstobehardontheeyes!
Kurrent Kupfers>tich
KurrentKupferstichisarenditionof theOldGermanScriptasitwasused
fromthe18thcenturyoninmostofficialdocuments. If youhappentotrace
yourGermanfamilyroots,orhavelettersordocumentsfrombefore1900,
youwillwanttousethisfonttohelpyoulearntheoldGermanscript:simply
typesometextinanyordinaryfont,thenconvertittoKurrentKupferstich
andpractice yourreadingskills.
S>(cid:252)tterlin
Anybodywhohastried,willconfirmthattheclassicKurrentscriptisvery
hardtowrite. Therearemanysharpangles,straightlinesandabruptchanges
in direction. To give schoolchildren an easier start, the Viennese graphic
artistLudwigS(cid:252)tterlin(born1865,died1917)devisedaformof Kurrent
thatconsistedof widecurvesandveryfewsharpangles,intendedasabasic
scriptfromwhichthepupilswoulddeveloptheirindividualhandwriting.
(cid:147)S(cid:252)tterlin(cid:148)becamethe(cid:147)standard(cid:148)scriptinallPrussianschoolsin1915. By
1934, it was firmly established in virtually all German schools. S(cid:252)tterlin
Kurrentisthe handwritingrememberedbytoday(cid:146)solderGerman genera-
tion, and much confusion exists whenever S(cid:252)tterlin, Kurrent and Old
German Script are discussed as totally separate things. Instead, they are
simply different styles of writing German. Like all Fraktur and Kurrent
types,S(cid:252)tterlindisappearedafter1941.
Frankfurt, den 14ten Mai 1886
Lieb|e Emma!
D>eine >reizend>en >liebev>ollen Zeilen >v>om
28ten April >erford>ern >ras>che Erw>id>erung, >de+
>s>ie >haben >mich >s>o >entz(cid:252)ckt, >da(cid:223) >ich >mich >am
>lieb|en >gleich >nach Empfang zur Beantw>ortung
>hinges>etzt h(cid:228)tte; >da >e< >aber 11 Uhr Abend><
>war >und >ich >grad>e >au>< >dem Theater >kam,
>noch >kein Abend>essen >genommen >hatte, >lie(cid:223) ich
>lieber >da>< V>ergn(cid:252)gen >bi< >heute >bleiben.
A Word about Orthograpy
Throughouttheages,individualorthographyvariedgreatly,asregionaland
dialectdifferenceshadaheavyimpactonthewaywordswerewrittenaswell
asonspecifictermsandgrammar.Withoutdelvingintothelinguisticdetails
of thedevelopmentof theGermanlanguage,weonlyrecommendthatyou
consult the appropriate literature on which spelling of a particular word
appliedduringtheperiodofyourprintedpiece.Thetitlepagebelowdisplays
such(cid:147)old-style(cid:148)spelling.
F a u |
Eine Trag(cid:246)die
von
Goethe
ZweyterTheil
inf(cid:252)nfActen
(VollendetimSommer1831)
StuttgartundT(cid:252)bingen,
inderJ.G.Cotta(cid:146)schenBuchhandlung
1 8 3 3
Rule< for Setting Fraktur Type
(adaptedinpartfromAlbertKapr,(cid:147)Fraktur(cid:148))
The following typesetting guidelines apply specifically to German texts.
WhileFrakturwasnotintendedtobeusedinanyotherlanguage,itwould
seemacceptabletotypeEnglish,FrenchorScandinaviantextsinit,asthese
languagesmadeuseof FrakturorGothicfontsatonetimeoranother.The
rulesshouldstillbefollowedasfarasapplicable.Thiswillensurethatthe
printedendresultisinconformitywithtraditionalprintingcustoms.
ThelongsfeaturedinallFrakturfontswasalsopresentinallAntiquatypes
before1800. Theadvantageinusingthelongs liesingreaterlegibilityof
longwords,aswellasarichertypeimage. sisusedatthebeginningof words,
andpartialwordsinlongercombinations,aswellasinwithinwords:sagen,
Erbse,lesen,essen,gestern,H(cid:246)hensonne,Mikroskop,transpirieren.