Stanley Morison Collection (VMF231), 1912-1932 | MSS Manuscripts

Morison, Stanley (1889-1967)

Stanley Morison (May 6, 1889 –October 11, 1967) was an English typographer, designer and historian of printing.  Born in Wanstead, Essex, he was self-taught, having left school after his father abandoned his family.  Morison became an editorial assistant on The Imprint magazine in 1913. As a conscientious objector, he was imprisoned during the First World War, but became design supervisor at the Pelican Press in 1918. This was followed by a similar position at the Cloister Press. From 1923 to 1925, he was a staff editor/writer for the Penrose Annual, a graphics arts journal.

In 1922, he was a founder-member of the Fleuron Society dedicated to typographical. He edited the society's journal, The Fleuron, from 1925 to 1930. From 1923 to 1967, Morison was typographic consultant for the Monotype Corporation. In the 1920s and 1930s, his work at Monotype included research and adaptation of historic typefaces, including the revival of the Baskerville and Bembo types. He pioneered the great expansion of the company's range of typefaces and hugely influenced the field of typography to the present day.

Morison was also typographical consultant to The Times newspaper from 1929 to 1960.   In 1931, after having publicly criticized the paper for the poor quality of its printing, he was commissioned by the newspaper to produce a new easy-to-read typeface for the publication. Times New Roman, the typeface Morison developed with graphic artist Victor Lardent, was first used by the newspaper in 1932 and was issued commercially by Monotype in 1933.

Morison edited the History of the Times from 1935 to 1952 and was editor of the Times Literary Supplement between 1945 and 1948. He was elected a Royal Designer for Industry in 1960 and was a member of the editorial board of Encyclopædia Britannica from 1961 until his death in 1967 in London.