Christophe Plantin, The Plantin-Moretus Museum and the Plantin typeface

Christophe Plantin apprenticed in Caen, where he learned the basics of the printing and bookbinding trades. He worked as a bookseller in Paris for some time, but his membership of an Anabaptist sect close to the Reformation forced him into exile in Antwerp in 1549. In 1555, he set up a printing and publishing business under the name of the Golden Compass (Gulden Passer). Supported by the wealthy citizens of Antwerp, the company flourished thanks to Plantin's editorial and commercial talent. He published classic authors as well as works on theology, jurisprudence and science. His meticulous editions used the best typefaces in a wide range of scripts, from Roman to Gothic, Greek and Hebrew. He called on excellent engravers to illustrate his works, such as Pierre Van der Borcht, the Huys and the Wiericx brothers. Winning friendships in all camps, humanist, Catholic, reformed, he enjoyed the protection of Cardinal Granvelle and Gabriel de Cayas, secretary to Philip II, King of Spain. From 1567 onwards, he began work on the Polyglot Bible or Royal Bible, and was honored with the title of “architypographer” to the king, benefiting from the monopoly of printing ecclesiastical works for the kingdom of Spain and its empire. His printing works became a mecca for the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and liturgical publications in all formats rolled off his presses by the thousands. The influence of Plantinian printing and publishing was considerable in terms of its economic strength and the scale of its distribution. It popularized Garaldes typefaces and stimulated new interpretations of them in the Netherlands and England.

Christophe Plantin's house and printing works, where he died in 1589, were converted into a museum in 1877. The ensemble has remained in a remarkable state of preservation and has been extensively completed, making it a unique institution showcasing the state of printing and typography since the 16th century. At its peak, Plantin's business included over twenty presses and a hundred employees. In addition to printing equipment, the museum houses a collection of several thousand type punches and dies. Among the engravers represented are, for the 16th century: Claude Garamont, Robert Granjon, François Guyot, Pierre Haultin, Ameet Tavernier, Guillaume I Le Bé, Hendrik Van den Keere. The museum also possesses numerous specimens and proofs of typefaces, including the specimen offered to the King of Spain presenting the new typefaces intended for the Polyglot Bible, a masterpiece by Plan-tin. British typographer Frank Hinman Pierpont drew inspiration from this typeface to design a garalde, published in 1913 under the Plantin name. Over the course of the 20th century, this "revival" was considered by some designers, such as Pierre Faucheux, to be a more faithful version of the original 16th-century types than others published under the name of garamond.

Arias M Benedictus, Humanae Salutis Monum..., Antwerp, Plantin, 1571 (13x21)