John Baskerville was born in 1706 in England and was a type designer, writing master and a printer all in his lifetime. He was said by many to be one of the greatest type designers of the 18th century in England. He worked as a printer and publisher in 1757 and the year after became printer to the University of Cambridge. John’s typefaces introduced a modern style with serifs and an emphasis on the contrast of light and heavy lines. The books that have been printed by Baskerville are usually large with great paper and ink and have wide set margins. He is known for his masterpiece, which was the folio Bible, published in 1763. His wife actually operated the press after John died in 1775 until 1777. It was claimed by many that the stark contrasts in Baskerville’s printing damaged his eyes. Most of his types were purchased by Beaumarchais and were used in his seventy-volume edition of Voltaire. Ben Franklin was a huge fan of John after their meeting in 1758. Baskerville's typeface is classified as transitional. The lower-case serifs that are almost horizontal in Baskerville’s work mark the difference between the fine and bold strokes.
What makes John Baskerville unique is the fact that most of his designs were condemned for what was perceived as stark, abstract qualities and an extreme contrast in the width of his strokes. He used a technique called "hot pressing" which heated pages between copper plates that would set the ink efficiently.
Sources:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Baskervi.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Baskerville
http://ilovetypography.com/2007/09/23/baskerville-john/
Graphic Design: A New History by Stephen Eskilson page 21
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