Pierre Simon Fournier
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Pierre Simon Fournier (September 15, 1712 - October 8, 1768) was a French mid-eighteenth century punch-cutter, typefounder and typographic theoretician, master of the rococo form. Typefaces designed by Fournier include Fournier and Narcissus.
He was known as Fournier le Jeune: his father Jean Claude was also in the type-setting industry. In his early life, Fournier studied watercolour with J. B. G. Colson, and later wood engraving. In 1737, Fournier published his first theoretical work, on the minimum spacing between letters, while still retaining readability.
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[edit] Point taken
Three-hundred-and-twenty years into the history of printing, there was no standard in type sizes. The issue was not ignored: in 1723, the French issued a decree for regulation.
By 1737, Fournier de Jeune decided to begin creating his punches to a scale of 72 points to the French inch, instead of the standard height-to-paper method. Thirty-eight years after Fournier took up this practice, Didot based his own system on the pied du roi, the French foot. Didot preserved his subdivisions, making 72 Didot points or 6 Ciceros to the French inch. With that, the traditional terms Parisienne, nonpareile, galliarde, petit romain went out the window.
Two years after developing the point system, Fournier decided to branch off from under his father's wings, a create his own type foundry.
[edit] Romaine du roi
When the Netherlands was seized by France, King Louis XIV commissioned new type for use during his reign. The King kept the font as a monopoly to himself, with penalties against unauthorized reproduction. In the following century, Fournier's Modèles des Caractères (1742) continued the romaine du roi style, but adapted it for his own new age. The typefaces that Fournier and successors created had such extreme contrast between thick and thin strokes, that there was a constant risk of the letters shattering.
Upon publishing Modèles des Caractères, filled with rococo and fleurons, Fournier's publication helped revive the 1500s concept of type ornaments. The revival spawned imitations, including some by Johann Michael Fleischmann and J. Enschedé.
[edit] Taking note
By the 1750s, Fournier de Jeune was still riding high as a major player in the industry. Fournier acted as advisor to Sweden and Sardinia in the creation of their royal printing works, and helped Madam de Pompadour establish her own printing works.
On his wave of relative success, Fournier's interest of music had a chance to finally flourish. Working with J. G. I. Breitkopf in 1756, Fournier developed a new musical typestyle that made the notes round, more elegant, and easier to read. They quickly gained popularity in the music world. Ballard had previously had a monopoly in the printing of music, using Hautlin's comparatively crude 1525 cuts.
Patenting his invention in 1762, he surprisingly was frowned upon by other printers, who initially didn't recognise the practice as legitimate. He published a historical and critical treaty on the origins and process of cast iron characters for music, in which he pleaed for acceptance of his own works, while blasting Ballard.
[edit] Prologue
Fournier's company was carried on after his death, by his widow, and existed until the 19th century.
Interest in type design was stimulated in 1922 by D. B. Updike's Printing Types. This led to the newly appointed advisor to Monotype Corporation, Stanley Morison, initiating a program of recutting past faces. Among them was Fournier's self-named font.
[edit] Fournier on others' type
"[Baskerville's italic is] the best found in any type-foundry in Europe." Baskerville taught calligraphy for four years, before discovering type. Both Fournier and Baskerville's italics originated with copperplate hand.
[edit] References
- FOURNIER PIERRE SIMON, Traité historique et critique [...]. Minkoff Reprint, Genève 1972 [avec le traité des Gando]
- LEPREUX G., Gallia typographica, série parisienne. Paris 1911
- BEAUJON P., Pierre Simon Fournier 1712–1768, and XVIIIth Century French Typography. London 1926
- CARTER H. (éditeur), Fournier on Typefounding. London 1930 [traduciton de P.-S. Fournier, «Manuel typographique» Paris 1764–1768
- HUTT A., Fournier the Compleat Typographer. London 1972
- Gando, N. and F. Gando, Observations sur le Traité historique et critique de Monsieur Fournier le jeune sur l’origine et les progrès des caractères de fonte pour l’impression de la musique. Berne: 1766
- Steinberg, S. H., Five Hundred Years of Printing. New Castle, DE: The British Library & Oak Knoll Press
- Warszawski, Jean-Marc, Musicologie: "Pierre Simon Fournier". Revision as of February 6, 2005 <http://www.musicologie.org/Biographies/f/fourneir_sp.html>
