Hendrik D. L. Vervliet, Dermot McGuinne Irish Type Design

Annotation

The designing of special type for printing Irish language texts began in the late sixteenth century and lasted into our own day, attracting the attention of many leading political and religious figures -Elizabeth I; Irish Franciscans in exile on the Continent; and at one point even Napoleon I - as well as scholars such as John O'Donovan, Eugene Curry, George Petri and John Henry Newman. More recently, internationally renowned designers Stanley Morison, Victor Hammer, and Eric Gill have made significant contributions to Irish type design. Irish typography came after the demise of the late Graeco-Roman uncials and semi-uncials, preceded by late Gothic, Roman, Italic, and Greek types. It was considered a 'sacred' script for the purpose of studying Scripture. Dermot McGuinne's book is the most comprehensive published on this subject and has become a standard work of reference. It contains more than 150 illustrations of Irish types spanning over four centuries. McGuinne covers Irish types including Queen Elizabeth's Irish type, the Rome Irish type, the Paris and Parker types, and others. Throughout eleven chapters, McGuinne provides a comprehensive account of every Irish font in its cultural, religious, and political context. This expanded second edition also includes a new foreword by Hendrik D.L. Vervliet and a new chapter on Louvain Irish type.