Name: Brunel
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Brunel

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The term "modern" in typography refers to a definite style initiated at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While Italian Bodoni and French Didot established the pattern for the continental modern typefaces, its British counterpart took its own route. The British modern style, above all represented by figures such as Richard Austin and John Isaac Drury, together fuses the continental influences with the local tradition in a very distinctive visual language that was to prove the necessary ground for the typographical innovations of the nineteenth century. Brunel, a typeface that took its inspiration from these early British moderns and stood as the bridge between historical forms and their modern-day applications, is one recent revival of this heritage.

A Distinctively British Approach

While Bodoni and Didot are often feted as the designers of the iconic modern typefaces, their British counterparts, though less known, provide an altogether more subtle approach to the modern style. Brunel is a very archetypal British modern typeface and bears many hallmarks that set it apart from its continental brethren. High contrast between thick and thin strokes, vertical stress, and a rationalized form are common characteristics of the greater modern style. British designs, however, display a delicacy and warmth, in subtle details such as the tail of the "R" or in the construction of the italic letters, that reveal a parochial approach to type design.

The Pioneers of British Modern

The transitional styles of the eighteenth century, such as those by John Baskerville, are marked by key innovations that signal the beginning of the modern typefaces. The high-contrast, clean-line nature of Baskerville's work would lay the ground for what would be commonly known as the British modern. His influence extended to the UK and Europe, a new standard that the Didot family later developed into the first truly modern typefaces in France. In Britain, Richard Austin's work for John Bell around 1788 marked the first appearance of a distinctly British modern. Austin's designs retained a gentler approach to letterforms, with localized details setting them apart from the sharper, more austere Didot styles.

The Role of the Caslon Foundry

Caslon foundry was one of the cornerstones of British type, although it also played an important role in developing the British modern style. After William Caslon died the foundry remained in the family, and Elizabeth Caslon hired John Isaac Drury to develop new modern typefaces. Drury had some skills as a punchcutter and was able to marry the high contrast and simplified forms of the continentals with British sensibilities. Yet, in his work, most notably the Double Pica cut in 1796, lay a peculiar balance that would influence the course of British typography for many years to come.

The Legacy and Innovations of Drury

John Isaac Drury produced confident forms which had the same flair for detail as those of his master. The English No. 1 roman and italic, cut before 1801, show him at his best. Continental and British influences merged in Drury's designs, often combining regularized widths of capitals, condensed italic, with the tailed "Q" looped and the "R" curving upwards. The combination created an identity for his typefaces: elegant, yet functional.

The work of Drury first came into notice during the early years of the nineteenth century, by specimens from the foundry of Caslon and also by praise from typographical writers like T.C. Hansard. His types are to be found in many of the most important books of the time. Examples being: Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin. His types are referred to in the typographical manuals of the time. When more severe forms of modern styles came into fashion later in the century, Drury's typefaces retained a grace and individuality.

Brunel: A Modern Revival

Brunel is a contemporary font based on the work of Drury and the Caslon foundry-a genuine revival of the British modern style. Brunel captures the high contrast and rationalized forms of the historical models while integrating localized details that reflect the British sensibility. Its design process involved making masters separately for different sizes, much as the nineteenth-century punchcutters such as Drury had been making adjustments.

The British moderns are less renowned than their continental counterparts, Bodoni and Didot, but they have an equally significant place in typographic history. Preparing the base on which would later be elaborated all of the stylistic evolutions-the fat faces, slab serifs, and sansserif forms that characterized the nineteenth century-was the work of Richard Austin and John Isaac Drury among others. The fact that so many of Drury's original punches and smoke proofs survive, for example, in the St Bride Library, allows an understanding of the ingenuity and skill of such early type design.

The British Modern style expressed by fonts like Brunel gives something of value and special toward the history of typography. This reflects a mixture between European influences and the local tradition in designs that were at once historical and timeless. Today, with their revival in modern fonts such as Brunel, we can appreciate the rich typographical heritage of Britain and its many contributions toward the greater history of type design.

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