Chapters 1-10

Question 1

Aldus Manutius

Answer 1

An important humanist and scholar of the Italian Renaissance, Aldus Manutius (1450–1515), established a printing press in Venice at age forty-five to realize his vision of publishing the major works of the great thinkers of the Greek and Roman worlds.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 2583-2585). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 2

Arts and Crafts Movement

Answer 2

Design and a return to handicraft were advocated, and the “cheap and nasty” mass-produced goods of the Victorian era were abhorred.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 4442-4443). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 3

Block Prints

Answer 3

a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper.

Question 4

Book of Kells

Answer 4

A book of the four gospels created at the island monastery of Iona around 800 CE. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland’s finest national treasure.

Question 5

Calligraphy

Answer 5

It is the design and execution of lettering with a broad tip instrument or brush in one stroke (as opposed to built up lettering, in which the letters are drawn).

Question 6

Capitalis Monumentalis

Answer 6

The simple geometric lines of the capitalis monumentalis (monumental capitals) were drawn in thick and thin strokes, with organically unified straight and curved lines (Fig. 2-17). Each letterform was designed to become one form rather than merely the sum of its parts. Careful attention was given to the shapes of spaces inside and between the letters.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 877-880). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 7

Charles Dana Gibson

Answer 7

An American graphic artist, best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent American woman at the turn of the 20th century.

images of young women (Fig. 9-72) and square-jawed men established a canon of physical beauty in the mass media that endured for decades.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 4080-4081). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 8

Chromolithography

Answer 8

In the lithographic process, ink is applied to a grease-treated image on the flat printing surface; nonimage (blank) areas, which hold moisture, repel the lithographic ink. This inked surface is then printed—either directly on paper, by means of a special press (as in most fine-art printmaking), or onto a rubber cylinder (as in commercial printing).

Question 9

Clarendon

Answer 9

Similar to the Ionics, these letterforms were condensed Egyptians with stronger contrasts between thick and thin strokes and somewhat lighter serifs.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Clarendon.svg

Question 10

Claude Garamond

Answer 10

Typeface designer and punch cutter Claude Garamond (c. 1480–1561), created visual forms that were embraced for two hundred years.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 2668-2669). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 11

Cuneiform

Answer 11

Cuneiform became rebus writing, which is pictures and/or pictographs representing words and syllables with the same or similar sound as the object depicted. Pictures were used as phonograms, or graphic symbols for sounds. The highest development of cuneiform was its use of abstract signs to represent syllables, which are sounds made by combining more elementary sounds.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 349-352). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 12

De humani corporis fabrica

Answer 12

This important book is illustrated by full-page woodcuts of remarkable clarity and accuracy by artists working from dissected corpses under Vesalius’s supervision. Many of the anatomical figures are gracefully posed in landscapes.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 2786-2788). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 13

Diamond Sutra

Answer 13

The oldest surviving printed manuscript. It consists of seven sheets of paper pasted together to form a scroll 5 meters (16 feet) long and 30 centimeters (12 inches) high. Six sheets of text convey Buddha’s revelations to his elderly follower Subhuti; the seventh is a complex linear woodcut illustration of the Buddha and his disciples.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 1197-1199). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 14

Erhard Ratdolt

Answer 14

A master printer from Augsburg, Germany, Ratdolt worked in Venice from 1476 until 1486. Working closely with his partners, Bernhard Maler and Peter Loeslein, in 1476 Ratdolt printed the Calendarium (Record Book) by Regiomontanus, a second version of an earlier and inferior edition printed while Ratdolt was still in Augsburg.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 2541-2544). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 15

Fat Faces

Answer 15

A major category of type design innovated by Cotterell’s pupil and successor, Robert Thorne (d. 1820), possibly around 1803. A fat-face typestyle is a roman face whose contrast and weight have been increased by expanding the thickness of the heavy strokes.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3510-3511). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

http://cdn.ilovetypography.com/img/fat-face.gif

Question 16

Firmin Didot

Answer 16

François-Ambroise had two sons: Pierre Didot (1761–1853), who took charge of his father’s printing office, and Firmin Didot (1764–1836), who succeeded his father as head of the Didot type foundry. Firmin’s notable achievements included the invention of stereotyping.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3290-3292). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 17

Geoffroy Tory

Answer 17

His range of accomplishments is astonishing: professor, scholar, and translator; poet and author; publisher, printer, and bookseller; calligrapher, designer, illustrator, and engraver. He translated, edited, and often published Latin and Greek texts. As a reformer of the French language he introduced the apostrophe, the accent, and the cedilla. In the graphic arts he played a major role in importing the Italianate influence and then developing a uniquely French Renaissance school of book design and illustration.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 2671-2675). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 18

Giambattista Bodoni

Answer 18

Italian type designer who created the typeface Bodoni

Question 19

Ideographs

Answer 19

Symbols to represent ideas or concepts.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Location 287). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 20

Illustrated Manuscripts

Answer 20

words and pictures were combined to communicate information.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Location 494). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 21

Invention of paper

Answer 21

Dynastic records attribute the invention of paper to the eunuch and high governmental official Ts’ai Lun, who reported his invention to Emperor Ho in 105 CE. Whether Ts’ai Lun truly invented paper, perfected an earlier invention, or patronized its invention is not known. He was, however, deified as the god of the papermakers.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 1131-1133). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 22

invention of the alphabet

Answer 22

An alphabet is a set of visual symbols or characters used to represent the elementary sounds of a spoken language. They can be connected and combined to make visual configurations signifying sounds, syllables, and words uttered by the human mouth.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 688-689). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 23

invention of writing

Answer 23

The development of writing and visible language had its earliest origins in simple pictures, for a close connection exists between the drawing of pictures and the marking of writing. Both are natural ways of communicating ideas, and early people used pictures as an elementary way to record and transmit information.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 268-270). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 24

John Baskerville

Answer 24

an innovator who broke the prevailing rules of design and printing in the books he produced at his press in Birmingham, England. He designed, cast, and set type; improved the printing press; conceived and commissioned new papers; and designed and published the books he printed.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3149-3150). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 25

Joseph Niepce

Answer 25

a French inventor, most noted as one of the inventors of photography[2] and a pioneer in the field. He developed heliography, a technique used to produce the world’s oldest surviving photograph in 1825.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/View_from_the_Window_at_Le_Gras%2C_Joseph_Nicéphore_Niépce.jpg

Question 26

Kelmscott Press

Answer 26

William Morris’ first typesetting enterprise.

Question 27

Louis Prang

Answer 27

Louis Prang (1824–1909), a German immigrant to America whose work and influence were international. After mastering the complexities of his father’s fabric-printing business, twenty-six-year-old Prang arrived in America in 1850 and settled in Boston. His knowledge of printing chemistry, color, business management, designing, engraving, and printing itself was of great value when he formed a chromolithography firm with Julius Mayer in 1856.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3929-3932). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 28

Modern Type

Answer 28

In typography, Modern is a style of typeface developed in the late 18th century that continued through much of the 19th century. Characterized by high contrast between thick and thin strokes and flat, hairline serifs, Modern fonts are harder to read than previous and later typestyles developed for text.

Characteristics

1. High and abrupt contrast between thick and thin strokes;
2. Abrupt (unbracketed) hairline (thin) serifs
3. Vertical axis
4. Horizontal stress
5. Small aperture

Question 29

Nuremberg Chronicles

Answer 29

Liber Chronicarum (Nuremberg Chronicle) by Dr. Hartmann Schedel is an ambitious history of the world from the biblical dawn of creation until 1493 (Figs. 6-11 and 6-12). One of the masterpieces of incunabula-period graphic design, the Nuremberg Chronicle has 1,809 woodcut illustrations in its complex, carefully designed 47.5 by 32.6 centimeter (18 by 12 inch) pages.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 2222-2226). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 30

Ottmar Mergenthaler

Answer 30

Creator of the Linotype Machine

Question 31

Parchment

Answer 31

Parchment, a writing surface made from the skins of domestic animals—particularly calves, sheep, and goats—was invented to overcome the embargo. These refined leather sheets are made by first washing the skin and removing all hair or wool. Then the skin is stretched tightly on a frame and scraped to remove all traces of hair and flesh. After being whitened with chalk, it is smoothed with pumice. Larger, smoother, and more durable and flexible than papyrus sheets, parchment became very popular as a writing surface. Vellum, the finest parchment, is made from the smooth skins of newborn and unborn calves.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 912-917). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 32

Pictographs

Answer 32

pictographs—elementary pictures or sketches that represent the things depicted.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 283-284). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 33

Relief Printing

Answer 33

Relief printing is a printmaking process where protruding surface faces of the printing plate or block are inked; recessed areas are ink free. Printing the image is therefore a relatively simple matter of inking the face of the matrix and bringing it in firm contact with the paper. A printing-press may not be needed as the back of the paper can be rubbed or pressed by hand with a simple tool such as a brayer or roller.

Question 34

Romain du Roi

Answer 34

This Romain du Roi, as the new typeface was called, had increased contrast between thick and thin strokes, sharp horizontal serifs, and an even balance to each letterform. The master alphabets were engraved as large copperplate prints (Figs. 8-1 and 8-2) by Louis Simonneau (1654–1727).

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3058-3061). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 35

Rosetta Stone

Answer 35

The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek. Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences among them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Question 36

Sans Serif

Answer 36

The third major typographic innovation of the early 1800s, sans-serif type, made its modest debut in an 1816 specimen book issued by William Caslon IV (Fig. 9-17). Buried among the decorative display fonts of capitals in the back of the book, one line of medium-weight serifless capitals proclaimed “W CASLON JUNR LETTER FOUNDER.” It closely resembled an Egyptian face with the serifs removed, which is probably how Caslon IV designed it.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3550-3554). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 37

Slab Serif

Answer 37

In typography, a slab serif (also called mechanistic, square serif or Egyptian) typeface is a type of serif typeface characterized by thick, block-like serifs. Serif terminals may be either blunt and angular (Rockwell), or rounded (Courier). Slab serif typefaces generally have no bracket (feature connecting the strokes to the serifs). Some consider slab serifs to be a subset of modern serif typefaces.

Question 38

Steps in creation of typographic printing

Answer 38

1. Select the letter style
2. Carve the typeface into a punch
3. Use the engraving as a cast to create many copies of the letter
4. Sort the letters into a case for organization purposes
5. Create an ink that would stick to metal for the printing process
6. Press the ink into a piece of paper using whatever press technology is available

Question 39

Textura

Answer 39

Old English type, Gothic Type, etc

The scribe used a lettering style whose repetition of verticals capped with pointed serifs has been compared to a picket fence. Textura (from the Latin texturum, meaning woven fabric or texture) is the favored name for this dominant mode of Gothic lettering. Other terms, such as the French lettre de forme and the English black letter and Old English, are vague and misleading.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 1589-1591). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 40

The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse

Answer 40

??

Question 41

Thomas Nast

Answer 41

Nast, a precociously talented artist, had switched from public school to art school after the sixth grade and began his career as a four-dollar-per-week staff illustrator for Leslie’s Weekly when he was fifteen years old. Fletcher Harper hired him when he was twenty-two to make battlefield sketches during the Civil War. The power of his work was such that President Abraham Lincoln called Nast “the best recruiting sergeant” and General Ulysses S. Grant declared that Nast had done as much as anyone to bring the conflict to a close. Public response to Nast’s work was a major factor in propelling Harper’s Weekly’s circulation from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand copies per issue. After the war, Nast remained with Harper’s Weekly, where he drew his images directly on the woodblock in reverse for the craftsmen to cut. His deep social and political concerns led him to strip away detail and introduce symbols and labels for increased communicative effectiveness in his work. He has been called the father of American political cartooning. The graphic symbols Nast popularized and focused include a number of important images: Santa Claus, John Bull (as a symbol for England), the Democratic donkey, the Republican elephant, Uncle Sam, and Columbia (a symbolic female signifying democracy that became the prototype for the Statue of Liberty).

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 4058-4068). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 42

Transitional Roman

Answer 42

As the first important shift from the Venetian tradition of “old style” roman type design, the Romain du Roi (Fig. 8-3) initiated a category of types called transitional roman. These break with the traditional calligraphic qualities, bracketed serifs, and relatively even stroke weights of Old Style fonts. As William Morris observed in the late nineteenth century, the Romain du Roi saw the calligrapher replaced by the engineer as the dominant typographic influence.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3066-3070). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 43

Venetian or Old Style Roman

Answer 43

Venetian tradition of “old style” roman type design, the Romain du Roi (Fig. 8-3) initiated a category of types called transitional roman. These break with the traditional calligraphic qualities, bracketed serifs, and relatively even stroke weights of Old Style fonts.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3067-3069). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 44

Wet Plate Collodion Process

Answer 44

In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer, an Englishman, discovered that collodion could be used as an alternative to egg white (albumen) on glass photographic plates.[5] Collodion reduced the exposure time necessary for making an image. This method became known as the ‘wet-plate collodion’ or ‘wet collodion’ method. Collodion was relatively grainless and colorless, and allowed for one of the first high-quality duplication processes, also known as negatives. This process also produced two types of positives: the ambrotype; the tintype (also known as ferrotype).

Question 45

William Caslon

Answer 45

Type and design ideas were imported across the English Channel from Holland until a native genius emerged in the person of William Caslon (1692–1766). After apprenticing to a London engraver of gunlocks and barrels, young Caslon opened his own shop and added silver chasing and the cutting of gilding tools and letter stamps for bookbinders to his repertoire of engraving skills. The printer William Bowyer encouraged Caslon to take up type design and founding, which he did in 1720 with almost immediate success.

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Locations 3132-3135). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 46

William Morris

Answer 46

The leader of the English Arts and Crafts movement,

Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. (2011-11-02). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (Kindle Location 4443). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Question 47

Wood type poster

Answer 47

large wood engraving used to make larger poster type prints