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ABOUT

Johann Karl Ludwig Prillwitz

German type designer and typefounder (b. Braunschweig, 1759, d. 1810, Jena). His foundry was located in Jena. In 1790, he published a 14-style antiqua and kursiv with weights from Nonpareille up to Grobe Sabon called Proben neuerr Didotscher Lettern. In 1798, he published a specimen book entitled Didotschen 1797 Lettern that showed 33 Fraktur typefaces, 8 Schwabachers, 9 Greek typefaces, and 36 styles/weights of a didone family. His son Johann Heinrich Christian (b. 1789), also a typefounder, died a month before his father in 1810.

A refererence text is Die erste Probe Didotscher Lettern aus der Schriftgiesserei J. C. L. Prillwitz zu Jena (Ernst Crous, 1926, Berlin).

Digital revivals: GFS Goschen (2009, George D. Matthiopoulos: a Greek typeface named for the German publisher Georg Joachim Göschen, who, at the turn of the 19th century, saw to the creation of a new cursive type for use in an edition of the New Testament in Greek. The typeface was cut by Johann Prillwitz, and was influenced by the Greek types of Bodoni), Ingo Preuss (who says that Prillwitz's didone is from 1790, well before the first Walbaum) made a digital didone typeface called Prillwitz in 2005. This family is separately optimized for display, news print and books in styles called Prillwitz Display, Display NP and Prillwitz Book. Prillwitz Pro (Ingo Preuss) was published in 2015. Albert Kapr and Werner Schulze had earlier created Prillwitz Antiqua, Kursiv and halbfett at Typoart in 1970 and 1987. There is also a typeface family Prillwitz EF (2009, Elsner & Flake).

A reference text is Die erste Probe Didotscher Lettern aus der Schriftgiesserei J. C. L. Prillwitz zu Jena (Ernst Crous, 1926, Berlin). See also Die Jenaer Schriftgiesser seit dem Jahr 1557 (H. Koch, 1956, Mainz).

Ingo Preuss explains the importance of Prillwitz in typography: Johann Carl Ludwig Prillwitz, the German punch cutter and type founder, cut the first classic Didot letters even earlier than Walbaum. The earliest proof of so-called Prillwitz letters is dated 12 April 1790. Inspired by the big discoveries of archaeology and through the translations of classical authors, the bourgeoisie was enthused about the Greek and Roman ideal of aesthetics. The enthusiasm for the Greek and Roman experienced a revival and was also shared by Goethe and contemporaries. [...] All German Classics of that time kept coming back to the Greek topics, thinking of Schiller and Wieland. The works of Wieland were published in Leipzig by Göschen. Göschen used typefaces which had been produced by until then unknown punch cutter. This punch cutter from Jena created with these typefaces master works of classicist German typography. They can stand without any exaggeration on the same level as that of Didot and Bodoni. This unknown gentleman was known as Johann Carl Ludwig Prillwitz. Prillwitz published his typefaces on 12th April 1790 for the first time. This date is significant because this happened ten years before Walbaum. Prillwitz was an owner of a very successful foundry. When the last of his 7 children died shortly before reaching adulthood his hope of his works was destroyed, Prillwitz lost his will to live. He died six months later. His wife followed him shortly after.

Klingspor link.

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INTERNAL LINKS
Type designers ⦿ Type designers ⦿ Foundries of the 19th century ⦿ German type scene ⦿ Modern style [Bodoni, Didot, Walbaum, Thorowgood, Computer Modern, etc.] ⦿ Greek/Coptic ⦿