Morris Fuller Benton (1872-1948)
Information about the typeface designer Morris Fuller Benton and his fonts.
Benton was born into the type business. His father, Linn Boyd Benton, was a type-founder and the inventor of the matrix-cutting machine, which revolutionised printing.
The son graduated as a mechanical engineer from Cornell and went to work with his father in the newly established type design department of the American Type Founders company. He went on to become the most prolific designer in America, producing more than 180 types of great diversity. These include Cloister Old Style, Franklin Gothic, Bulmer, and Century Schoolbook. He became known for his humorous novelty designs such as Hobo, Stymie, and Broadway.
Benton is also accredited with creating some order out of chaos in the typographical world, by establishing the concept of dividing up typefaces or fonts into families. He was also responsible for some of the most successful revivals in typographic history when he interpreted the Bodoni and Garamond typefaces.
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