John Baskerville (January 28, 1706–January 8, 1775)

John Baskerville was an English type designer and printer in England—one of the leading printers and type designer in the 18th century. He designed a typeface named after himself in 1757—a modified version of the old style typefaces of William Caslon. It was an improvement because his fonts provided a transition between the thick and thin strokes of the letters. His font is more vertical and the serifs sharper.





Because of his printing knowledge, he modified to typeface to suit the printing needs and also, at the same time, improved the legibility of the text. While he designed his own typeface, Baskerville also experimented on paper and ink, and in 1763, he published a folio Bible using all three of his new creations—his font, paper, and ink (woven paper; ink was blacker, even distribution, quick-drying). It was his master work. However, it didn't come easy. Baskerville lost a lot of money in this printing ventures and even asked for financial assistance from the government while he perfected the folio Bible.

His publications did improve legibility, but some claimed they “damaged” their eyes by the high contrast. (His printing competitors perhaps.) But his work was noticed from across the ocean. Bodoni (who designed a modern typeface—Bodoni) was inspired by Baskerville.





Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Baskerville
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baskerville
http://www.myfonts.com/person/baskerville/john/
http://ilovetypography.com/2007/09/23/baskerville-john/