Justus Erich Walbaum

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Justus Erich Walbaum

Justus Erich Walbaum , actually Johann Gebhard Justus Erich Walbaum , (born January 25, 1768 in Steinlah near Haverlah , † June 21, 1837 in Weimar ) was a German type designer , type caster and die cutter .

life and work

After an apprenticeship with the spice dealer and confectioner Grabenhorst in Braunschweig , Walbaum first made baking models . As a result, he came into contact with steel engraving, later became a music and copper engraver, metal engraver and learned to cut dies. He also made commemorative coins. In 1796 he founded his own type foundry in Goslar by acquiring the Ernst Wilhelm Kircher company , which he relocated to Weimar in 1803 after being granted a concession by Duke Carl August . Walbaum became the main supplier for Friedrich Justin Bertuch and edited fonts for him that would later become famous. In 1828 he handed over his business to his son Theodor Walbaum (1798–1836). This was also a metal engraver. When he died young, Walbaum decided to sell his type foundry to FA Brockhaus publishing house in 1836 . It was moved to Leipzig in 1843 and finally taken over in 1918 by H. Berthold AG in Berlin. By taking over some of the matrices from his inventory, many Walbaum writings have been preserved in the original.

Walbaum font

Walbaum font

The Walbaum applies in addition to the Bodoni and Didot as one of the most important Neoclassical Antiqua fonts . Compared to these, however, it is easier to read as a text font and has some special features, such as the lack of a basic serif in the lowercase 'b'. It can be described as broad, classic, open, elegant, stately, generous, serious and slightly “square” looking. It is considered to be the "most humane" of all classicist antiqua fonts. While the Bodoni and Didot are known as the most authentic form of expression of the era of the French Revolution , the Walbaum is viewed more as a German interpretation of classicism. She gives newspapers authority and credibility. In particular, the Walbaum Antiqua and the Walbaum Italic are examples of Walbaum's position in the history of typography in Germany. Around 1800 he also designed the Walbaum Fraktur .

The Berliner Zeitung uses the Walbaum as the font for headings, the Berner Zeitung Der Bund as the basic font .

Fonts (selection)

  • Writing samples. Weimar 1812, OCLC 724727976 .
  • JG Justus Erich Walbaum, H. Berthold Messinglinienfabrik und Schriftgiesserei (ed.): Sample and application examples of the Walbaum typefaces cast from the old ones now owned by the H. Berthold script foundry akt.-ges. original material with a portrait of Walbaum, a preliminary remark and a message about his résumé. In: Berthold sample booklet. No. 210. H. Berthold, Berlin 19 ??, OCLC 35801789 .
  • H. Berthold Messinglinienfabrik und Schriftgiesserei (ed.): Walbaum Antiqua with italics and with semi-bold style: indexes of degrees and applications. In: Handwriting sample ... of the H. Berthold Messinglinienfabirk und Typgießerei AG. 461. Berthold, Berlin around 1967, OCLC 758401089 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Justus Erich Walbaum  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Horst-Rüdiger Jarck , Günter Scheel (Ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon - 19th and 20th centuries . Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7752-5838-8 , p. 639 .
  2. ↑ Justus Erich Walbaum and the Walbaum on uni-leipzig.de, accessed on November 16, 2013.
  3. ↑ Martin Z. Schröder (May 20, 2005): Kühn, strict and elegant ( Memento from June 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) on druckerey.de, accessed on November 16, 2013. (PDF; 70 kB)
personal data
SURNAME Walbaum, Justus Erich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Walbaum, Johann Gebhard Justus Erich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German typographer , type caster and die cutter
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1768
PLACE OF BIRTH Steinlah , Haverlah
DATE OF DEATH June 21, 1837
Place of death Weimar