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Stanley Morison and Typography

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Stanley Morison and Typography
In 1931, The Times of London commissioned the Monotype Corporation, under the direction of Stanley Morison, to design a newspaper typeface. According to Morison: The Times, as a newspaper in a class by itself, needed not a general trade type, however good, but a face whose strength of line, firmness of contour, and economy of space fulfilled the specific editorial needs of the The Times. Times New Roman, drawn by Victor Lardent and initially released in 1932, is the result. The Linotype version is called Times Roman.

Research into legibility and readability led to a design that was unique in newspaper typography; it is based on old style (or Garalde) types, and has greater contrast and is more condensed than previous newspaper types. Times New Roman continues to be very popular, particularly for newspapers, magazines, and corporate communications such as proposals and annual reports.

Times New Roman is a trademark of The Monotype Corporation registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions.

Stanley Morison was born in Wanstead, Essex England on May 6, 1889. Morison was somewhat of an unprivileged youth with no background in printing or typography, but he came to occupy the position of oneof the most important figures in printing history. From a variety of readings it seems that Stanley Morison was known as a very complex man.

He was forever looking for certainty, whether it be in typography or finding the meaning of life. While working for The London Times, he gained himself the name "The Printer's Friend" apparently from his constant altering of proofs until he achieved the desired result. Morison was very concerned with fitting everything into a predetermined pattern, afraid of the anarchy within himself.

This dread of anarchy may have been what led him to seek the discipline of the Catholic Church. It was from his relationship with Catholicism that his interest in typography stemmed into the

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