Bembo (series 270) — Quarter strength jobbing

Monotype Bembo achieved that 'permanent future' forecast by a reviewer in The Fleuron in 1930. 'It will be used by the' "undistinguished" as well as the distinguished printer, for it possesses all the virtues in an eminent degree; a first-class legibility in its own right, an Englishness conferred by our use of Caslon for two centuries, economy in a-z space, adequate but not extravagant ascenders and descenders, agreeable variety of thicks and thins, a perfect grace in combination and, above all, a due capacity for enlargement.' With Bembo (1929), the Monotype Corporation restored to the printer's typographic heritage the earliest, and undoubtedly the most beautiful, old face design in the history of typography. Cut by Francesco Griffo, one of the most accomplished goldsmiths and engravers of the fifteenth century, it was first used by Aldus Manutius in a tract by the humanist scholar and poet, Pietro Bembo, published in Venice in I495.

It is not surprising that Bembo became the most popular face in the annual selection of British books for the National Book League exhibitions of book design. Quite apart from its typographic charm, it is an ideal book face. It requires minimum leading for easy readability, and prints well on most paper surfaces. The first italic to Series 270 was a new chancery, Bembo Condensed Italic, designed by Alfred Fairbank, but this letter was found to be too individual to harmonise with the roman. The standard italic was based on chancery types used by the great writing master, Tagliente, but extensively revised for machine composition.