“In 1459 in Mainz, Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer (both former partners of Johannes Gutenberg) printed the “Rationale Divinorum Officiorum” by Guillaume Durand, using a typeface (now known as “Durandus”) that looked like no other before. The book displays two sizes, the smaller 92G for the main text and the bigger and more contrasted 118G used only for the colophon and later for the famous 48-line Bible in 1462. Used until the end of the century.” *
The revival workshop led by Jérôme Knebusch took place at Hochschule Mainz and Gutenberg-Bibliothek, Mainz, and was part of the “Gotico-Antiqua” research programme at Atelier national de recherche typographique (ANRT).
About the Gotico-Antiqua project
“From the point Fust and Schöffer using ‘Durandus’, we can follow a wide variety of developments, partly related to the travels of early printers from the Rhine area to Italy and France. Between 1459 and 1482 the evolution from strict gothic to modern roman type includes many cases of uncertain or experimental design, voluntary hybridisation and proto- or archaic roman.
A current research programme at Atelier national de recherche typographique (ANRT) investigates the period 1459-1482.
Based on a series of workshop sessions conducted between 2015 and 2018 in art & design schools across France and Germany, with over 150 students, the digital typefaces are the result of a thorough analysis and redesign of the originals.
The typefaces were later refined by the ANRT-reasearchers Rafael Ribas & Alexis Faudot and published as a set of Open Source font.
Download: https://github.com/anrt-type/GoticoAntiqua” *
Exhibiton (curated by Jérôme Knebusch):
Gotico-Antiqua, Proto-Roman, Hybrid.
15th century types between gothic and roman
*Text source: https://gotico-antiqua.anrt-nancy.fr/en
