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MyFonts’ review: Berthold was founded in Berlin by Hermann Berthold in 1858. Sixty years later it was the largest typefoundry in the world, already with an enviable reputation for quality. In 1952 Berthold made the move to the next technological leap – filmsetting – and in the 1980s, to digital.

We only have space here to highlight a few typefaces. Akzidenz-Grotesk is perhaps the best known Berthold type family. From its launch in 1898 it was so popular that soon two German competitors, Stempel and Bauer, were spurred to issue similar designs. The 1920s’ fascination with the Modernist movement gave geometric sans-serifs a temporary edge. But by the 1950s the ‘grotesk’ style was back: not only Akzidenz-Grotesk, but also several major new designs from Switzerland. Since then demand for mechanical and humanist forms has always been outstripped by grotesques, and Akzidenz-Grotesk today remains a smart choice. Other notable sans-serifs are Cosmos, Formata, Imago, and Barmeno.

As for seriffed text faces, Concorde (1969) makes a fine alternative to Times, the usual choice for legible “news” typefaces. Others to note include Schneider-Antiqua, Vergil, Nordling, Nofret and Epikur.

In recent years creative work centers on the “type atelier” in Munich where Dieter Hofrichter and Bernd Möllenstädt work with type design master craftsman Günter Gerhard Lange. Lange’s association with Berthold dates back to 1950. Recent output includes the major Scotch roman, Whittingham (2000) and Werner Schneider’s Senatus (2003) – supremely elegant lettering from classical Rome captured in type, a fine alternative to the overused Trajan.

The types of German designers Herbert Post, his prolific student Friedrich Poppl (he of the exquisite scripts), and Luis Oppenheim must not be forgotten in a perusal of Berthold typefaces. A favorite of ours is Fanfare, a blackletter-inspired 1927 design by Oppenheim that’s still funky and bang up to date.

Berthold’s revivals of type design classics round off the collection. Overseen by G.G. Lange they include Baskerville, Garamond, Arrighi, Kis, Walbaum, Bodoni and more.

• Browse Berthold Fonts (173)

Biography

The H. Berthold type foundry, renowned for crafting high-quality typefaces, was founded in 1858 by Hermann Berthold in Berlin. By 1918 the foundry had become the largest in the world, with offices in Stuttgart, St. Petersburg, Leipzig, Riga, Budapest and Vienna. Following World War II, Berthold actively developed proprietary typesetting equipment: in the 1950s, Berthold unveiled its first phototypesetting machine, the Diatype; and in the 1960s, Berthold introduced the Diatronic, its first keyboard-controlled phototypesetter for volume production.

To complement its proprietary typesetting equipment business activities, Berthold developed the Berthold Exklusiv Collection, a collection of typefaces created solely for Berthold by distinguished designers. Günter Gerhard Lange, renowned master craftsman, began his association with Berthold at the same time Berthold entered phototype, in 1952. As artistic director from 1961 to 1990, Lange was responsible for the creation, meticulous production standards and attention to quality found in each of the Berthold Exklusivs. In 1991, Bernd Möllenstädt succeeded Lange as the type director for the Berthold Exklusiv Collection and continued Lange’s tradition when directing the digitization of the Berthold Exklusivs.

Building on its strong heritage, Berthold Types, successor to the highly regarded H. Berthold type foundry, looks back onto a history of 148 years of distinguished type design. In 2000 after 10 years of retirement, G.G. Lange reunited with Berthold. Lange, along with Bernd Möllenstädt and Dieter Hofrichter, form the core of Berthold’s “Type Atelier” located in Munich to provide an indispensible element in the continued development of the Berthold Exklusiv typefaces.

With classics such as Akzidenz-Grotesk (the “original” sans), Block and City along with the more recent AG Book, Delta, Formata, Imago and Laudatio typefaces, Berthold offers one of the world’s leading type collections, The Berthold Exklusiv Collection, which consists of 800+ quality-crafted typefaces.

Volume Discounts Available

Save money by purchasing multiple Berthold packages at the same time. The more packages you purchase, the better your discount:

Note: volume discounts do not apply to packages that are further discounted under limited-time promotions.

Related Links

 • Microsoft Typography: Berthold

Further Details

47 W. Polk St. #100-340
Chicago, IL 60605
United States of America

Web site: http://www.bertholdtypes.com/

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