Typography is the art of selecting the forms of letters to be used in printing. It can involve designing the type face, as well as the page layout of a printed page or book. Typography contributes to the overall ease of reading a book and its appearance—whether it is pleasing to look upon or merely utilitarian. Early printers often tried to gain a monopoly on certain type designs, as they were beautiful and popular with book collectors, and the printers wanted to use them exclusively so as to gain an advantage in selling their books. Since there were no strict intellectual property laws, however, this was unrealistic and in most cases impractical.
Type designers needed to earn a living, too!
Kelmscott Colophon Photograph from Wikimedia Commons, licensed for reuse.
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