It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a ...Typographer?

That's right. Typographers. Those unsung heroes who doggedly obsess over x-heights, and vertical stresses and inclined serifs so we don't have to. Before I studied graphic design, I never thought much about the origin of the fonts I used on my computer. I had no idea that Gill Sans got it's name from the typographer Eric Gill, or that Nicholas Jenson, the creator of Roman Type was possibly sent to Mainz, Germany as a spy by King Charles VII to learn about the new art of printing.

On Friday night I went to The Arts and Letters Club to hear an interesting talk about typography, sponsored by The Toronto Type Club. An ecclectic collection of mostly guys (and why is that, I wonder?) who are passionate about type and printing and books. If you're interested in type at all, and want to meet some of the guys who help to make reading a joy, then come on out to any of the future talks that The Toronto Type Club will be holding. I believe new talks will be starting up again in September. And after each event, some of the type folk gather at a nearby pub to talk more type and enjoy a pint or two or more. Alphabets and alchohol. My kind of night.