Pierre Simon Fournier
Encyclopedia
Pierre Simon Fournier was a French
mid-18th century punch-cutter, typefounder
and typographic
theoretician. He was both a collector and originator of types”. Fournier's contributions to printing were his creation of initials and ornaments, his design of letters, and his standardization of type sizes”. He worked in the rococo
form, and designed typefaces including Fournier and Narcissus. The measurement of type by the point system is Fournier's significant and enduring contribution to typography.
He was known as Fournier le Jeune (the younger); 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.
Two years after developing the point system, Fournier decided to create his own type foundry.
When the Netherlands
was seized by France, Louis XIV
commissioned new types 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 16th century concept of type ornaments. The revival spawned imitations, including some by Johann Michael Fleischmann and J. Enschedé.
By the 1750s, Fournier le 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 Madame 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 Haultin'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 treatise on the origins and process of cast iron characters for music, in which he pled for acceptance of his own works, while blasting Ballard.
In 1764 and 1768 Fournier published "Manuel Typographique", his formal and systematic exposition on the history of French types and printing, and on type founding in all its details; including the measurement of type by the point system.
Interest in type design was stimulated in 1922 by D. B. Updike's Printing Types. This led to the newly appointed advisor to the Monotype Corporation
, Stanley Morison
, initiating a program of recutting past faces. Among them was Fournier's self-named font.
for four years, before discovering type. Both Fournier and Baskerville's italics originated with copperplate hand.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
mid-18th century punch-cutter, typefounder
Type foundry
A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Originally, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and Monotype machines designed to be printed on letterpress printers...
and typographic
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
theoretician. He was both a collector and originator of types”. Fournier's contributions to printing were his creation of initials and ornaments, his design of letters, and his standardization of type sizes”. He worked in the rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
form, and designed typefaces including Fournier and Narcissus. The measurement of type by the point system is Fournier's significant and enduring contribution to typography.
He was known as Fournier le Jeune (the younger); 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.
Career
In 1723, the French government agreed that types should be subject to standards. By 1737, Fournier le Jeune decided to begin creating his punches to a scale of 72 points to the Paris inch, weird 72 Didot points or 6 Ciceros to the Paris inch. Based on the Paris foot (=0,298 m). A foot was divided in 12 inches. Each inch or better "thumb" was divided in 12 stripes, a stripe was divided in 6 points. This point is smaller than the Didot-point, from F.A. Didot, that was based in 1770 on the legal "kings-foot". (~ 0.325 m). 12 point Fournier is approximately 11 point Didot With all of that, the traditional terms Parisienne, nonpareile, galliarde, petit romain went out the window.Two years after developing the point system, Fournier decided to create his own type foundry.
When the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
was seized by France, Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
commissioned new types 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 16th century concept of type ornaments. The revival spawned imitations, including some by Johann Michael Fleischmann and J. Enschedé.
By the 1750s, Fournier le 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 Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
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 Haultin'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 treatise on the origins and process of cast iron characters for music, in which he pled for acceptance of his own works, while blasting Ballard.
In 1764 and 1768 Fournier published "Manuel Typographique", his formal and systematic exposition on the history of French types and printing, and on type founding in all its details; including the measurement of type by the point system.
After death
Fournier's company remained open 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 the Monotype Corporation
Monotype Corporation
Monotype Imaging Holdings is a Delaware corporation based in Woburn, Massachusetts and specializing in typesetting and typeface design as well as text and imaging solutions for use with consumer electronics devices. Monotype Imaging Holdings is the owner of Monotype Imaging Inc., Linotype,...
, Stanley Morison
Stanley Morison
Stanley Morison was an English typographer, designer and historian of printing.Born in Wanstead, Essex, Morison spent most of his childhood and early adult years at the family home in Fairfax Road, Harringay...
, initiating a program of recutting past faces. Among them was Fournier's self-named font.
Fournier on others' type
"[Baskerville's italic is] the best found in any type-foundry in Europe." Baskerville taught calligraphyCalligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
for four years, before discovering type. Both Fournier and Baskerville's italics originated with copperplate hand.
Further reading
- 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 18th 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