Stanley Morrison
...the Monotype Corporation, under the direction of Stanley Morison, to design a newspaper typeface. Morison was somewhat of an unprivileged youth with no background in printing or typography, but he came to occupy the position of one of the most important figures in printing history. The Catholic religion influenced him in the area of printing. After converting he found interest in the hymn book and other Catholic writings. He became interested in all early printed books and often visited printing museums in the area. His first typographic work was done for the Church. After much reading, Morison became an expert on how to lay down letters and words, how they should be spaced and what measures should be used in book design. Times New Roman is a trademark of The Monotype Corporation registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. James Moran wrote that without Morison, 'there would never have been the actual physical range of type and ornament readily available to the printing and publishing industries. Today's typographers and book designers may find it hard to appreciate the frustrations of their predecessors ... but those who lived on were grateful to the handful of men of which Morison was probably the most outstanding figure, who had worked so hard to provide the basic material which enabled designers to plan good-looking printing not merely for the privileged few, but for the multitude.' Stanley Morison (1889-1967) Typographer, Editor, Historian of Printing, Designer of the Times New Roman Typeface The Times New Roman font is around us everywhere, from newspapers to books, advertising to company reports. "Times New Roman" was and still is the name used by The Monotype Corporation. Times New Roman, designed by morison and drawn by Victor Lardent. The story of "The Times New Roman" can be found in Stanley Morison's A Tally of Types, published by Cambridge University Press, with additional, though not quite the same, versions in Nicolas Barker's biography of Stanley Morison, and in James Moran's biography of SM. Morison is famous, not for his own designs, but for his championing of typography and his own words of typography. He invested many typefaces and commissioned new typefaces, including Gill Sans and Times New Roman. He wrote a famous essay in 1930 entitled First Principles of Typography. He was born in 1889 at Essex. He was arrested in World War 1 and spent time in prison. He underwent a conversion to Catholicism that seemed to underpin his theories. He has been described as sombre and austere "with the countenance of a Jesuit." Before Morison sprint as a typographer, he worked as a typographical advisor for Monotype. He suggested to Monotype that they remake seven typefaces from the past. This was a revolutionary change. These new creations lead in a typographical Renaissance. In 1931, The Times of London commissioned ...