Chicago,
Illinois (March 17, 2000) - Today H. Berthold announced the release
of Whittingham, a new
Berthold Exklusiv typeface designed by Günter Gerhard Lange,
renowned master craftsman and exclusive artistic consultant to
Berthold, and his colleague Dieter Hofrichter, also a Berthold
Exklusiv designer (Vergil).
Whittingham
is a rendition of the type used around 1840 by Charles Whittingham,
founder of the Chiswick Press in Birmingham, England. The Chiswick
Press was one of the most successful commercial printing houses
of the 19th Century. Bertholds Whittingham retains
characteristics of the Modern typefaces, like Bodoni and Walbaum,
from the 18th Century, yet introduces a steel engravers appearance
- especially in Whittingham's italic weights - similar to the other
examples of 19th Century Scotch types (e.g. Pica Roman No. 2, Scotch
Roman, Caledonia).
Lange
and Hofrichter began developing Whittingham in
1992, and recently completed the family. They chose this typeface
particularly for its distinguishing characteristics from other
revivals of the same period. As with each Berthold Exklusiv, Whittingham was
subject to multiple trial settings, submissions of enlargements
and reductions, and numerous revisions. Lange and Hofrichters
minute examination of every graphic nuance results in a finely
tuned, new serif face.
Whittingham is
the first of many new, GGL Exklusiv designs that Berthold plans
to add to the Berthold Exklusiv Collection. With the return of
Günter Gerhard Lange as an exclusive, artistic consultant
to Berthold, and the release of Whittingham,
Berthold reclaims its place as a leading type foundry. Berthold
is the only remaining independent type foundry from the 19th Century.