Claude Garamond

Garamond

Garamond is a group of 34 metal typefaces cut by Claude Garamond (Garamont) in sixteenth-century Paris. They follow Griffo’s 1495 design, belong to the old-style serif category, and were made by hand-engraved punches used to stamp matrices for casting type. The Grecs du roi Greek typeface replicates Angelo Vergecio’s handwriting using an unusually large number of alternates and ligatures. Swash forms exist only in the parangonne. Small capitals appear in all preserved types except the gros-canon. Garamond’s independence as a punchcutter helped define typefounding as a distinct commercial industry.