1490-1561

French typefounder and craftsman who was the first to specialize in type design, punch cutting and type founding as a service to publishers and printers. From the late 1520s, Garamond was commissioned to cut types for the publishing firm of the scholar-printer Robert Estienne. His first roman font was used in the 1530 edition of Paraphrasis in Elegantiarum Libros Laurentii Vallae by Erasmus. Following the success of Garamond's roman font, King François I of France commissioned a Greek font, now known as the Grecs du Roi, for his exclusive use (c. 1451). In 1545, Garamond also began publishing his own type designs including a new italic font.