Opinion varies regarding the role of Claude Garamond (ca 1480-1561) in the development of the Old Face font Garamond. What is accepted is the influence this font had on other typeface developments from the time of its creation to the present.
Garamond, or Garamont, is related to the alphabet of Claude Garamond (1480-1561) as well as to the work of Jean Jannon (1580-1635 or 1658), much of which was attributed to Garamond.
In comparison to the earlier Italian font forms, Garamond has finer serif and a generally more elegant image.
The Garamond of Jean Jannon was introduced at the Paris World’s Fair in 1900 as Original Garamond’, whereafter many font foundries began to cast similar types.
This relatively new interpretation of Garamond, designed by Robert Slimbach, is based on the Original Garamond as a typical Old Face style.
However, this font has been expanded to include small caps, expert fonts, and calligraphic caps which were typical of the 15th and 16th centuries.
