The New Typography

INTRODUCTION
The appearance of my Special Number of Typ ographische Mitteilungen enti­
tled elementare typo graphie started a lively discussion of the questions
raised therein throughout the printing associations and printing-trade jour­
nals of Germany. The New Typography. after being violently attacked and
often decisively condemned. has now established itself in central Europe.
Its manifestations confront modern man at every step. Even its most ardent
opponents have eventually had to resign themselves to accepting it.
But much remains to be done. Many still regard the New Typography as
essentially a kind of technical-symbolical formalism. which is the exact
opposite of what it really is. This attitude is historically understandable: the
old typography was formal in concept: it has nothing at all to do with
recent attempts to turn the book printer into a commercial graphic artist.
which would be foreign to the true nature of his profession.
An explanation of the spiritual principles of the New Typography is there­
fore an absolute necessity for all who wish to be successful in the field of
printing. Merely to copy its external shapes would be to create a new for­
malism as bad as the old. We must free ourselves completely from the rigid
patterns of the past. and training in calligraphy or graphics alone will never
achieve this. It will come only from a complete reorientation of the role of
typography and a realization of its spiritual relationship with other activities.
The laconic brevity of the proclamation of the New has created the need for
a fuller account. which it is the purpose of the present volume to provide.
The author also felt it important to set down guidelines for the design of
the commonest jobbing printing and above all to acquaint printers with the
standards of book printing which are every day gaining wider acceptance.
No book providing these general guidelines has ever before existed. no
doubt owing to the chaotic appearance still pr esented by typography today.
Despite its many illustrations this is not a copybook. It is intended to stim­
ulate the printer and make him aware of himself and the true nature of his
work. As with my Special Number elementare typographie, a brief leafing­
through of its pages will lead only to misunderstandings and new errors.
The "form" of the New Typography is also a spiritual expression of our
world-view. It is necessary therefore fi rst of all to learn how to understand
its principles. if one wishes to judge them correctly or oneself design
within their spirit.
The illustrations in this book. with few exceptions examples of practical
work. prove that the concepts of the New Typography. in use. allow us for
the first time to meet the demands of our age for purity. clarity. fitness for
purpose. and totality.