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185 Herman Zapf identified three parameters within which a type designer must work: “The designing of a typeface demands knowledge of historical trends of the evolution of type design, artistic perception and a thorough understanding of typefounding techniques.”1 These three requirements were indeed the foundation of Morris Benton’s types. He continually added to his knowledge of historical trends in type design by studying the examples of classic European types in ATF’s typographic library. Zapf felt that artistic perception should embrace practical considerations (“the art of type design must be harmonious with type’s primary task—instant recognition ”); Benton, too, insisted on legibility. And who could possibly have better understood the techniques of typefounding at the turn of the 20th century than the son of Linn Boyd Benton? “Despite his relative obscurity (the result of his great modesty), Benton was arguably America’s most influential type designer,” wrote calligrapher and typographer Paul Shaw in 1981. “With over 200 faces to his credit, he was certainly the most prolific.”2 The quibbler may ask: “But exactly how many typefaces did Benton design?” It is a valid question, not easily answered. During the years that Benton oversaw ATF’s Type Designing Department he had many employees working under him, and so there is some question as to whether he designed all of the types that have been attributed to him. In 1978, RIT student Maureen Delaney Hitchcock published a small booklet listing 251 different Morris Benton typefaces and 38 accessories and decorative materials (fractions, ornaments, and borders).3 It was compiled from two sources: a copy of the 1923 ATF Specimen Book and Catalogue in one of Columbia University’s rare book chapter 14 Morris Benton’s Type Designs 186 the bentons collections,4 anonymously annotated by handwriting in pencil (possibly by Henry Lewis Bullen);5 and a list that Stevens L. Watts compiled in June 1965 for RIT student David L. Ritter, entitled “Some Type Series Originated or Restyled by Morris Fuller Benton.”6 Hitchcock included 25 typefaces that Watts indicated were later abandoned; if these are discounted, Hitchcock’s total becomes 226. The list compiled by Watts gives 199 typefaces and an additional 31 that were either abandoned or renamed. Type expert Mac McGrew of Pittsburgh listed 201 “Typefaces from the hand of Morris Fuller Benton” in “The Bentons, Father & Son,” an article he wrote for the March 1978 issue of Typographic i, published by the International Composition Association, Inc. McGrew qualified his findings by adding, “This list is derived from several sources which we believe to be reliable, but because Morris Benton’s work was seldom published during his lifetime, there may be errors or omissions. If so, we are sorry.”7 Although McGrew had uncovered 201 Benton typefaces, the list compiled by Steve Watts included 15 faces that were not on McGrew’s original list. After more research, McGrew concluded, in his 1993 book American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, that Morris Benton designed 221 typefaces, making him by far the most prolific on his list of type designers.8 Another source was found among the papers of the Benton family. On April 23, 1936, Morris Benton wrote a letter to Harold Kathman, an ATF colleague in the sales department,9 containing what he specifically called a “partial list” of his designs: 101 typefaces, of which 52 were starred. Benton indicated that the starred items should be selected if the whole list was too long for the article that Kathman was writing. The value of this document is limited because at the outset Benton did not intend to include all of his type designs, but it does identify the typefaces that Benton considered his best or most significant. Benton’s own list includes one typeface that is not attributed to him in any other source: Gallia. Not all of the types credited to Morris Benton were solely his creation. In some cases, ATF employees in the Type Designing Department collaborated on new typefaces. Watts explained: Mr. Benton had full charge of the type design program at ATF for many years. It is hard for anyone to say just what designs brought out during his tenure were his own work as a designer. Many faces accredited to him as designer were undoubtedly based on ideas conceived by workmen in his department. One such face was Novel Gothic, a “modernist” attempt, originated by Charles Herman Becker, a hand engraver in the Matrix Cutting Department whose regular job was...

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