Hermann Zapf

[Germany] (b 1918/d 2015)

Hermann Zapf started his basic studies in 1925 , but in 1934 due to Family problems, he had to find an apprenticeship ... his innate drawing skills led him to try to work as a Lithographer.. at the same time he was starting to study calligraphy, and this new expertise brought changes to his work... in 1938, already in Frankfurt, he designed his first printer 'Typeface'.. with the WWII, he was relieved of his active work as a soldier due to health problems but had to work for the common cause..he was sent to Dijon and Bordeaux, France to work in the Cartography division..from 1946 to 1950 he taught Calligraphy and give lessons of lettering..  Most of Zapf's work as a graphic artist was in book design. He worked for various publishing houses ; His two most famous typefaces, Palatino and Optima, were designed in 1948 and 1952, respectively. Palatino was designed in conjunction with August Rosenberger, with careful attention to detail. It was named after the 16th century Italian writing master Giambattista Palatino.. .Zapf worked on typography for computer programs from the 1960s onwards..In 1976, the Rochester Institute of Technology offered Zapf a professorship in typographic computer programming, the first of its type in the world. He taught there from 1977 to 1987and developed his ideas further, with the help of his connections in companies such as IBM and Xerox..during the 80's and 90's Zapf worked with Microsoft in the development of new fonts..

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Biography

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Photo "The Typographic Legacy of Hermann Zapf"

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Germany 1951 "Humanitarian Relief Fund" (4,4,4) [Engr (L. Schnell)(J. Piwczyk)][Recess] Sc(B320,...,B323) [ image credit of Katranpress ]

Germany 1952 "5th Birth Centenary of Leonardo Da Vinci" (1) [Litho (A. Bagel, Dusseldorf)] Sc(687)

Germany 1952 "Lutheran World Federation Assembly" (1) [Engr (J. Piwczyk)][Recess] Sc(689)

Germany 1952 "75th Anniversary of German Telephonic Service" (1) [Photo (F. Bruckmann, Munich)] Sc(693)

Germany (West Berlin) 1954 "Mergenthaler Birth Centenary (Linotype Machine Inventor)" (1) [Engr (G. Schulz)][Recess] Sc(9N105)

[ in some places in the Internet , the 1953 Humanitarian Relief Fund series is attributed to Hermann Zapf, but in my catalogs that series is designed and engraved by L. Schnell.. ]