Centaur

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Creator

Albert Bruce Rogers, called “B.R.” by friends, was “one of the great-est artificers of the book who ever lived,”1 according to Francis Meynell, founder of the Nonesuch Press. Rogers, born in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1870, created the typefaces Mon-taigne and Centaur. He designed some of the finest books ever made, such as the Oxford Lectern Bible, The Centaur, T.E. Lawrence’s famous translation of The Odyssey of Homer, and Fra Luca de Pacioli.

From 1896 through 1900, Rogers worked as a book designer at Houghton Mifflin in Boston. There he developed his hallmark style, which, according to his biographer, was characterized by a “direct and forth-right approach, a subtle lightness in the seemingly easy placement of words on a page, and above all, a sense of order. Rogers believed that books were meant to be read; his were rarely precious or flamboyant; never objects d’art to be preserved behind glass.”5

In 1900, Houghton Mifflin created a Department of Special Collections and Rogers was placed in charge of the design and productions of limited edition books. The projects produced by the department were printed exclusively with metal type and not electrotype plates. In his new position, Rogers had complete freedom of conception, design, use of materials, and choice of printing.

Origins

Rogers’s first attempt at type design, around 1903, resulted in the Montaigne face. Rogers was inspired by Nicolas Jenson’s 15th century types. “At an exhibition of books at the Boston Public Library, I saw a copy of Nicolas Jenson’s Eusebius of 1470 for the first time,” he later recalled. “I was at once impressed by the loveliness of its page, indifferently printed though as they were. The early judgment was confirmed for me many years later (though by then it needed no confirmation) when Berkeley Updike wrote of them: ‘to look at the work of Jenson is to think but of its beauty, and almost to forget that it was made with hands.’”6

The first book to be set in Centaur was The Centaur, by Maurice de GuÈrin, in an edition hand set by Mrs. Rogers and published by the Montague Press in 1915.

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Creation

In hindsight, it was Rogers’s belief that the Montaigne typeface was not entirely satisfactory. It did, however, pave the way for his next typeface design, produced between 1912 and 1914 and ultimately named Centaur. Rogers thought the design of Centaur to be of historic importance because it exemplified “an original design of cultivation and grace. Because of its classical elegance and its aristocratic Renaissance ancestry, the type calls for special handling. On the other hand, among devotees of fine print-ing, it has been accepted as one of the great type designs, and once the cutting was completed for the Monotype machine, it was welcomed be sensitive designers and print-ers for many of the best books and ephemera.”8 In creating Centaur, Rogers once again turned to the work of Jenson and the Da Evangelica Præparatione for inspiration.

Early uses of Centaur were exclusively for the signage and titling work pro-duced at the Metropolitan Museum in New York as well as for Rogers’s personal book projects. It wasn’t until 15 years later in 1929 that a commercial version of Centaur was made avail-able to machine composition by the English Monotype Company.

jMBDistinguished letterforms

Here are a few unique letterforms that can help you identify Centaur. These distinguished letterforms have subtle details that add more personality to the typeface.

the uppercase "B" transitions from thin to thick

the tail on the lowercase "j" points downwards

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9Mthe uppercase "M" has single-sided serifs that point outward

the ball of the 9 does not close

Characteristics

Centaur is an oldstyle typeface meaning it is characterized by a small x-height, small contrast in weight, diagonal stress, and bracketed serifs. Although Centaur is known as an old style Renaissance typeface, it is widely used today and is considered of the times.

Of the Times3

j

B

21

8/9

9Of the Times

M5

6

1234567

4 7

Diagonal axisMinimal variation in strokeBracketed serifsRouded filletOblique serifsSlanted crossbar Small x-height

jJSimilar typeface

Centaur, is a revival of Jenson's typeface, Adobe Jenson, that emphasizes its ribbon-like stroke. Adobe Jenson, however, has a slightly larger x-height, less sharp serifs, and thicker strokes.

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Adobe Jenson also has bolder terminals, and brackets. Its sharper serifs result in different texture to lines of text than does Centaur.

Centaur Adobe Jenson

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CCCan you distinguish the typefaces based on the serifs and changes in stroke weight?

Answer: Adobe Jenson, Centaur

Bibliography

Carter, Sebastian. Twentieth Century Type Designers. Great Britain: Lund Humphries, 2002(A&A: Z250 A2 C364 1995 and Vault )

Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks, 1997.(A&A: Z246 B745 1996 and Vault)

Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces, essays by Carolyn Annand ... [et al.]; edited by Philip B. Meggs and Roy McKelvey, New York: RC Publications, 2000.(A&A: Z250.R45 2000)

http://www.linotype.comhttp://www.fonts.com

Note: See the list at special collections for this designer.

Designed by Mary Yangin the fall of 2011 for Typography I in the Communication Design program at Washington University in St. Louis.

Typeface used is Neutraface at 8/10 pt and 7.5/9 pt.

References

1 Joseph Blumenthal, Art of the Printed Book 1455-1955 (New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1973), 48.

5 Ibid, 10.

6 Ibid, 13.

8 Ibid, 33.