A Tally of Types [Hardcover]

S. Morison (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521200431 | ISBN-13: 978-0521200431 | Publication Date: June 7, 1973 | Edition: Revised

The Tally of Types was first circulated in a privately printed edition in 1953, achieving a fame and influence wholly disproportionate to the comparatively small number of copies in existence. In 1973 Cambridge University Press published a version edited and expanded by Brooke Crutchley and others, making this classic of typographical history and practice available to a wider readership; it is this edition we have reprinted here. Stanley Morison provided the impetus and judgement behind the programme of typographical revival carried through by the Monotype Corporation in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Tally is an account, historical, critical and functional, of the types cut under Morison's direction during this period. It is an impressive performance: a fine example of what is now recognised as Morison's characteristic blend of erudition and insight. What started as no more than an attempt to record the facts developed, under his hand, into one of the major statements of typographical practice of its time.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Stanley Morison provided the impetus and judgement behind the programme of typographical revival carried through by the Monotype Corporation in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Tally is an account, historical, critical and functional, of the types cut under Morison's direction during this period. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 138 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; Revised edition (June 7, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521200431
• ISBN-13: 978-0521200431
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,053,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth reading, April 7, 2000

By 

Matt McDowall "spoko" (Newbraska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Tally of Types: With Additions by Several Hands ; And With a New Introduction by Mike Parker (Paperback)

This book provides a great insight into the history and design of type, and quite a bit of the commentary is useful even today. Morison is well known, of course, for the Times New Roman face - and there is a section in the book on that face. But his commentary on the designing of faces like Plantin and Bembo is much more interesting, if you ask me. Also, if you are at all a fan of Eric Gill, you will like the section on Perpetua and Felicity. Anyone interested in the history of type should have this book, that much is certain.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Visual and historical information, April 21, 2004

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Tally of Types: With Additions by Several Hands ; And With a New Introduction by Mike Parker (Paperback)

Typography may be unique among arts in its historical ties to commerce. Type foundries create and sell fonts as a matter of business. Trades like printing and advertising have historically publicized type by using it, and driven the creation of new fonts. Typography is also distinctive in that, for such small field, it has so many large personalities.

Stanley Morison is one of those personalities, and one of the people who made 20th century typography what it was. He had a unique insight into the type trade of the first half of that century, as well as a wealth of history about several other centuries of type design and designers.

The most strinking feature of this book is the way each chapter about some important typeface is set in that face. Seeing and reading a whole page of body text, set and spaced in the usual way, is fundamentally different from seeing menu of "quick brown foxes" or pages of nonsense words. Reading the type is different from looking at letterforms, so this gives real information that specimen books can never provide. (As a personal matter, I realized just how much I dislike the italics with slope angles different in the capitals than in the lower case.)

Don't pick this up as a text on typography; beginners won't get much they can use. If you already appreciate that subtle art, if you want to learn more about its history and practice, this is a very enjoyable way to learn.