Letter chapter

I have recently become interested history and the origin of individuals and although anatomy of our being (human anatomy) is something that I applaud others to grasp and find interest, it is not something I have pursued to grasp.  But I had not considered other types of anatomy, like the anatomy of typography.  I was continually reminded of my own uses and misuses as a went through the Letter chapter, but my interest was struck with the type classification on page forty-six that shows the differences of the classifications beside one another and describes them.  It is interesting because this is probably one of the first pages that I would past over with little consideration of its meaning because when I first skimmed through the book I did not see the differences in each uppercase and lowercase "A".  But now I see the differences these "A's" that were enlarged on the page.  I understand the significance of learning the history of typefaces.  On page 32 is says that "graphic designers consider the history of typefaces, their current connotations, as well as their formal qualities.  The goal is to find an appropriate match between a style of letters and the specific social situation..."  And I now understand how the knowledge of typographical history can enable a graphic designer, or anyone for that matter, to use and apply an appropriate typeface for the matter or project at hand.

Type History:
Who was Gutenberg and what did he do? Why is he important in the history of typography?
-Gutenberg was a German inventor of movable type printing, which is important in the history of typography because his invention enabled mass production of printing and the ability to repeat letters of a certain style or design after being created.
What were the first typefaces modeled after?
-The first typefaces were modeled on the forms of calligraphy.
What are humanist typefaces?
-Humanist typefaces are ones that were created by humanist writers and scholars of the fifteenth century Italy, whom had rejected gothic scripts in favor of the lettera antica, which introduced wider and more open forms.
What are Gothic scripts?
-Gothis scripts are a handwriting style used in the Middle Ages throughout Europe.  This style can be described with having uniform vertical strokes that end on the baseline and use of angular lines instead of smooth curves and circular strokes.  Today this style may be used more on diplomas and certificates.
Where and when were italics introduced, and how did they get their name?
-Italic letters were introduced in the fifteenth century Italy because it was more economical for calligraphers write because it could be written faster and saved space when printing.  From what I understand Italics got their name by word of mouth and use of society, once Aldus Manutius invented it and was using within his own inexpensive books, and who alternatively called it Aldino and Italics.
Who were Didot (pronounced dee-doe) and Bodoni and what did they do?
-Firmin Didot (from the early 19th century) and Giambattista Bodini (from 1798) modernized serif fonts.
What is ‘wood type’ and why was it needed? When was it invented/used?
-Wood-type was created in 1834 because it was realized that, when carved, could be used at large scales with the printing presses versus lead that had been used for letters at a smaller scale.  It was important to begin using letters at the larger scale at this time because of the industrial revolution and higher demands of various forms of advertisement.  The use of the wood-cuts also allowed a new system to be created of combining the pantograph and the router.
What influence did the industrial revolution have on type design (e.g. Bauhaus)?
-The Industrial Revolution influenced type designers to steer away from the resemblance of type with the body, but instead relate it more to simplistic forms (to have been thought of as elements of universal language of vision) geometric forms—the circle, square, and triangle.  The letters were created a lot more abstractly than they had before.
Introduced in the 1980s, what technology influenced type design? How did it influence type design?
-Zuzana Licko created course-resolution fonts for desktop screens and printers in 1985.
Who designed Gotham (one of ECU’s official typefaces)?
-Tobias Frere-Jones designed Gotham, derived from letters found at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.

Be able to identify and name the following letterform parts:
(most definitions from Typographia.org, and remainder from Google)
capline—Do all capitals terminate perfectly on the capline? A line marking the height of uppercase letters within a font.  And not all terminate at the capline.
x-height-the height of the lowercase letters which have no ascenders or decenders
baseline— Which letters terminate on it perfectly, and which dip slightly below it? the line along which all the capital letters (and most lowercase letters) are positioned
stem-the main (thicker) part of a letter
bowl-the rounding curve of curved letters
serif-a small cross stroke accentuating the end of the main stroke of a letter in some typefaces
descender-the part of certain lowercase letters that extends below the baseline of the letter
ligature-a special double character in a font representing two letters as one
ascender-the part of certain lowercase letter which extends beyond the "x" height of a font
spine-the central curved stroke of the letter "S"
uppercase- capital letters derived from the practice of placing these letters in the top (upper) case of a pair of typecases by printers when laying out text 
crossbar-horizontal stroke across the middle of the uppercase "A" and "H". and also the enclosing horizontal stroke of a lowercase "e"
small capital- capital letters that are the same height as "x-height", true small caps (with correct proportions and weight) are only found in expert typefaces
counter- the white space enclosed by a letter form, whether wholly enclosed or partial
lowercase- noncapital letters derived from placing these letters in the bottom (lower) case of a pair of typecases

Type measurement:
point (and its equivalent in inches)-the smallest unit of measure, and equals 1/72 inches
pica (and its equivalent in inches)-unit of measure consisting of 12 points, which equals 1/6 (.166044) of an inch
How are points and picas abbreviated?- pt for point, and pc for pica
set width-the horizontal width of characters
What factors affect differences between typefaces when set at the same point size? (see page 37)-set width

Type Classifications: (be able to define each class and identify a typeface for each)
Humanist or Old Style-closely connected with Calligraphy and movement of the hand (Sabon)
Transitional-more abstract and less organic (Baskerville)
Modern-abstract and less organic (Bodini)
Egyptian or Slab Serif-Clarendon typeface, heavy stab-like serif, introduced in the 19th century for its bold and decorativeness (Clarendon)
Humanist Sans Serif (aka Old Style)-Sabon typeface, based on sixteenth century typefaces by Claude Garamond and emulated classical calligraphy, designed by Jan Tschichold in 1966 (Gill Sans)
Transitional Sans Serif-Baskerville typeface, sharper serifs and more vertical axis than humanist letters, designed by John Baskerville in the mid-eighteenth century (Helvetica)
Geometric San Serif-Futura typeface, built around geometric forms (O's are perfect circles and peaks of A and M are perfect triangles), designed by Paul Renner in 1927 (Futura)

What is a type family, and what is an example of a type family (list all the variations in the family)?-p.48 Typefaces organized into matched families, like roman or italic. (Example: Adobe Garamond Pro Reg, Adobe Garamond Pro Italic, Adobe Garamond Pro Reg (all caps), Adobe Garamond Pro Bold and Semibold, Adobe Garamond Pro Bold and Semibold Italic)
The typefaces Verdana and Georgia were designed for which purpose?-p.72 Both designed by Matthew Carter in 1996, for the computer via the World Wide Web. Veranda was designed for digital display for its larger x-heights, open forms, and loose spacing. Georgia is a serif screen face built for with sturdy strokes, simple curves, and generous spacing; is used on the web.
What is used to construct bitmap fonts?-p.74 built out of pixels (picture elements) that structure a screen display or other output device (while PostScript letters consist of a vector outline), a true bitmap character contains a fixed number of rectilinear units that are displayed either on or off, they are used on devices such as cash registers, signboard displays, and various small-scale screens