"Small performances": investigating the typographic punches of John Baskerville (1707-75) through heritage science and practice-based research

“小型表演”：通过遗产科学和基于实践的研究调查约翰·巴斯克维尔（1707-75）的印刷拳头

• 批准号: AH/X011747/1
• 负责人: Marcos Martinon-Torres
• 金额: $ 107.06万
• 依托单位: University of Cambridge
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX011747%2F1
• 关键词: Small; performances; investigating; typographic; punches

The Baskerville typeface is familiar to billions of readers and users of standard computer software across the world. However, the story behind its creation by John Baskerville (1707-75) is much less widely known. This is in spite of the fact that he was England's foremost printer, and what he called his "small performances" in typeface design "went forth to astonish all librarians of Europe". From a broader perspective, printing is recognised as the invention of the millennium, and a democratiser of knowledge - and yet it remains ubiquitous but invisible, and how it happens is not generally known.This interdisciplinary project seeks to make a substantial contribution to the history of printing technology, while ensuring this is a living process that will continue into the future. At its heart is the exceptional collection of typographic punches designed, cut, and used at Baskerville's workshop in Birmingham, which are now held at Cambridge University Library. Individually engraved in steel, punches were the first of three stages in the manufacturing of metal type - one that posed challenges in both materials and design - and therefore they preserve otherwise inaccessible information that can be unlocked through scientific study.Bringing together printing historians, heritage scientists, craftspeople, and type designers around the AHRC-funded Cambridge Heritage Science Hub (CHERISH), we will reconstruct 18th-century punch-cutting techniques using pioneering scientific and artisanal methods. Our approach will involve microscopy, chemical analyses, 3D modelling and advanced imaging in the laboratory, but also practical experimentation involving jewellers, engravers, blacksmiths, and typeface designers who will help disentangle the craft while also learning historical techniques that may be of use in their own trade. The project will materialise as a new and essential chapter in the history of world technology, and as a novel form of research engagement among academics, practitioners, and laypeople, made visible through 3D models, digital editions, new typeface designs, and practical and creative workshops. This work will transform our understanding of the collection of Baskerville punches and benefit current industrial and craft applications, as well as educational projects. Recently, digital humanities and craft revival have prompted a resurgence of interest in analogue forms of communication and the technologies that enabled them. Letterpress, for centuries the dominant printing process, is now commercially obsolete but has been given a new lease of life through small-press imprints that use redundant letterpress equipment. Typographic equipment, previously used to instruct printing apprentices, has piqued the interest of artists and designers. However, the number of people trained in historical printing techniques is declining, and their skills are seldom transferred to the new generation of creative printers. Heritage organisations often struggle to find the space, resources, or know-how to curate their printing collections. Usable equipment and material are becoming increasingly scarce, and those with the knowledge to repair and restore it are a dying breed. An endangered craft on the Heritage Craft Association's Red List, letterpress faces an uncertain future. Its preservation requires documentation and practice but also imaginative approaches to their adaptation and use in the present. "Small performances" will be a step in that direction.

巴斯克维尔字体对全球数十亿读者和标准计算机软件的用户熟悉。但是，约翰·巴斯克维尔（John Baskerville）（1707-75）创作的故事背后的故事知之甚少。尽管他是英格兰最重要的打印机，而他所说的“小型表演”在字体设计中，这是一个事实。从更广泛的角度来看，印刷被认为是千年的发明，是知识的民主主义者 - 但是它仍然无处不在，但看不见，并且通常不知道发生这种情况。跨学科的项目旨在为印刷技术做出重大贡献，同时确保这一过程将继续前进。它的核心是在伯明翰的Baskerville's Workshop设计，剪切和使用的印刷打孔器的特殊收藏，该伯明翰现在在剑桥大学图书馆举行。 Individually engraved in steel, punches were the first of three stages in the manufacturing of metal type - one that posed challenges in both materials and design - and therefore they preserve otherwise inaccessible information that can be unlocked through scientific study.Bringing together printing historians, heritage scientists, craftspeople, and type designers around the AHRC-funded Cambridge Heritage Science Hub (CHERISH), we will reconstruct 18th-century使用开拓性的科学和手工方法采用打孔技术。我们的方法将涉及实验室中的显微镜，化学分析，3D建模和高级成像，但还涉及涉及珠宝商，雕刻师，铁匠和字体设计师的实践实验，这些设计师还可以帮助解散工艺，同时还学习可能在贸易中使用的历史技术。该项目将成为世界技术历史上的新重要章节，并且是学者，从业人员和外行之间的一种新型研究形式，它通过3D模型，数字版，新字体设计以及实用和创意的研讨会可见。这项工作将改变我们对Baskerville Punch的收集的理解，并使当前的工业和手工艺应用以及教育项目受益。最近，数字人文科学和手工艺品复兴促使人们对模拟形式的交流以及使它们的技术产生了兴趣。几个世纪以来，凸版印刷的主要印刷过程已经过时了，但通过使用冗余凸版设备的天线烙印，已经获得了新的寿命。印刷设备以前用于指导印刷学徒，引起了艺术家和设计师的兴趣。但是，接受历史印刷技术培训的人数正在下降，他们的技能很少转移到新一代的创意打印机上。遗产组织经常难以找到空间，资源或专业知识来策划其印刷收藏。可用的设备和材料变得越来越稀缺，知识修复和恢复的设备和材料是垂死的品种。 Letterpress在Heritage Craft Association的红色名单上是濒临灭绝的工艺，面临着不确定的未来。它的保存需要文档和实践，也需要富有想象力的方法来适应其适应和使用。 “小表演”将是朝这个方向迈出的一步。