Type Design (Printing Evolution and Cultural Advancement) 1500-1600

Altus Manutius: The introduction of Italic
To save space in Latin texts he had a type designed after the Italian cursive script, the italic type.
He introduced inexpensive books in small format bound in vellum called Aldine (pic)

Work on Letter Forms
Early type designers attempted to find special relationships between the proportions of the letters and the shape and dimension of the human body.

In Germany, Albrecht Duerer famous book on design fundamentals: 
“De Symmetria” (Unterweysung der Messung), in1525 (pic)
In Belgium, Geofroy Tory Tory shows how to draw letters with geometrical aids, 
and how their proportions relate to the human body: 
Champs Fleury in 1529 (pic)

Geofroy Tory
One of the major printers in Paris. He was rewarded by François I with the title of ‘Imprimeur du Roi (printer to the King) in 1530.
And made a librarian at the university of Paris, one of his apprentices was Claude Garamond who became printer to the Kimg after him.

De Humani Corporis Fabrica (pic)
Texbook of human anatomy written by Andreas Vesalius. 1543
Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy.

World Atlas by Gerardus Mercator
Gerardus Mercator was a Flemish cartographer.
first modern world atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum in 1570. (pic)

Textur and Roman in Germany
During the period when Tory and Garamond were contributing to the design of roman and italic types, certain ameliorations were taking place in the German ‘lettre de forme’.
The ‘Textur’ of Gutenberg’s time began to develop in 2 directions, one the pointed gothic called ‘Fraktur’
the other is a rounded version of black letter, kown as ‘schwabacher’, both by Johann Schoensperger.