Lane 1919

Ode to the Printed Word

The industriousness of two visionary individuals brought about the completion of the LMS printing building from conception to reality in 1929. Today, while no longer housing a printing business, the building embodies the idealism and optimism of days gone by. With that in mind, we pay homage to the industry of the printed word by christening each of the six floors at Lane 1919 with the name of a famous Typographer.

2nd Floor, Bodoni

Giambattista Bodoni (1740–1813) was an acclaimed printer in his lifetime, doing away with old-style letters and introducing a new clear simple type — the Modern typeface. His stated rule of thumb for typography depended on four basic principles: regularity, cleanness, good taste and charm.

3rd Floor, Gill

Eric Gill (1882–1940) decided in his youth to become involved in the world of Arts and Crafts when he became smitten by the world of calligraphy, an art that was losing ground quickly. Ironically, his most famous font is Gill Sans, a clear modern type that became the letter of the railways — appearing on their signs, engine plates and timetables.

4th Floor, Caslon

William Caslon (1693–1766) is regarded by many to be the greatest of English letter writers. He began his career engraving government marks on gunlocks. When he was approached to cut a font for an Oriental version of the Bible, he found he had a talent for word cutting. He went on to create a large number of “exotic” typefaces.

5th Floor, Benton

Morris Fuller Benton (1872–1948) produced more than 180 diverse types, including Franklin Gothic, Cloister Old Style and Century Schoolbook. He is credited with creating some order out of chaos in the typographical world, by establishing the concept of dividing up typefaces or fonts into families.

6th Floor, Garamond

Claude Garamond (1490–1561) was regarded as the typecutter of his day, commissioned by the King of France to make a new cast of type for his own exclusive use, now known as Grecs du Roi. Leading foundries around the world have redrawn their own versions of Garamond’s typeface, and Garamond’s roman is still regarded today as one of the classic typefaces.