Do typeface fonts fascinate you the way they do me? Then you’ll enjoy this story from the Financial Times about a HUGE controversy raging now in the typesetting world. Typography expert Mike Parker is promoting a theory that the venerable Times New Roman font was not invented by the man traditional given credit for it. Instead, he contends, it was stolen from the forgotten work of an American naval and aeronautical designer.

…After a lifetime spent in typography, Parker was well aware of the controversy he was getting involved in: typography may present a genteel exterior, but it’s an art form punctuated by bitter rivalries and rampant plagiarism.

The case that Parker makes about the real origins of Times New Roman stands on narrow foundations. The sole piece of surviving evidence for his version of history is a brass pattern plate bearing a large capital letter B. He holds the plate up to show the familiar form of the letter, its characteristic curves and serifs. The point, he says, is that such pattern plates represent a technology that was not used after 1915. The creation of Times New Roman was announced in 1932.

I myself have strong feelings about fonts. In general, I don’t like sans serif fonts (the ones without little tails). My favorite fonts are those in which the capital “J” extends below the baseline.

Tip: Mirabilis.

Today, like so many days, was about West Oversea (pictured above, in case you’ve forgotten what the cover looks like).

Our friend Dale Nelson (who is a gentleman and a scholar) posted the first reader review at Amazon.com today. With typical understatement, he compares my work favorably to that of Robert E. Howard and John Buchan. (My publisher tells me, by the way, that the book will soon be available directly on Amazon through their Advantage program. And Christianbook.com says they’ll have it in stock beginning mid-September).

I ordered a dozen copies for our campus bookstore a little while back, and today I sold out the last of them (I then ordered more). I’d already sold a few, but we’re running our annual Summer Institute of Theology just now, and Dr. John Eidsmoe, who wrote a blurb for me, is one of the instructors. He recommended the book to his class, with immediate retail results.

The fellow I talked to at Nordskog, when I called to re-order, told me they’ve been pleased by the “buzz” we’ve gotten on the blogs, and that they’ve had several orders as a result of them. So thanks particularly to our blogging friends.