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Bembo [Stanley Morison]

Historical typeface, loosely related to Garamond but with sharper serifs. The original is by Venetian Francesco Griffo (1495), created for use in printing De Aetna by Cardinal Pietro Bembo. The cursive is attributed to Giovanantonio Tagliente (1524). Stanley Morison made a metal version at Monotype in 1929.

Ulrich Stiehl says: Bembo recuts sold today by Monotype, Adobe, and Linotype, have short ascenders (b, d, f, k, l) so that the spirit of freedom expressed by this Renaissance typeface gets lost. We offer here a few type specimens of former recuts of the Bembo which was used for the first time in the Latin book "De Aetna" written by "Petrus Bembus" (= Pietro Bembo). You can find gifs in this link of the following: Bembo, hand-composition foundry type (Germany, 1963), Monotype hot-metal composition Bembo (England, 1973), Monotype composition Bembo (Germany, year unknown), Berthold photocomposition Bembo with long ascenders (Germany, 1985), Bembo-Antiqua Series 270 Monotype in all type sizes from 4 pt to 72 pt (Germany, 1966).

For digital versions, see Monotype Bembo. Bembo Book was released by Monotype in 2005. Bitstream's Aldine 401 is a Bembo look-alike. Other digital typefaces include fbb (2014, a free font by Michael Sharpe on the CTAN site), Bemtus (URW), Bamberg Serial (SoftMaker) and Bergamo (SoftMaker).

Mac McGrew writes: Bembo was cut in 1929 by the English Monotype corporation under the direction of Stanley Morison, and shortly thereafter by Lanston Monotype in America. It derives from the first roman type used by Aldus Manutius in the dialogue De Aetna, by Pietro Bembo, printed in Venice in 1495. Punches were cut by Francesco Griffo of Bologna, the designer responsible four years later for the first italic types. This typeface is probably the most popular and successful of the numerous typefaces revived by Morison as typographic adviser to the English company. Morison attributed its success to the fact that "it was inspired not by writing but by engraving; not script but sculpture." The italic is adapted from a 1524 typeface of Giovanni Taglienti, and has a natural grace of its own. English Monotype also made Bembo Bold and Bembo Bold Italic.

Poster by Arturo Gil. Poster by Agustina Fernandez (2013).

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INTERNAL LINKS
Choice of fonts ⦿ Garalde or Garamond typefaces ⦿ Bembo ⦿