William CaslonDied 23 Jan 1766 (born 1692).English typefounder who created (1720-26) the Caslon typeface. After an apprenticeship from age 13 with a London engraver of gunlocks and barrels, he went into business for himself (1716) producing engraving tools. From making the stamps used by bookbinders, and he progessed to cutting type punches, and by 1720, began operating his own type foundry. His new typeface (inspired by earlier Dutch designs) became the most widely used of the 18th century. It was also extremely popular in what were then the American colonies, and was used for the first official printings of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. His work helped to modernize the appearance of a book page replacing the printed imitation of an old hand-produced book.« |
