Typographer. He was the man who established British typefounding with the world famous Caslon type. It instantly became very popular in Europe and Colonial America and dominated printed matter in the 18th Century. Benjamin Franklin, who as a young man had worked in printing houses in London and who was a personal friend of William chose Caslon type when printing the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. Caslon's foundry stood in Chiswell Street and lasted almost two hundred years, continuously run by his descendants. William is buried at St Luke's in Old Street, a stone's throw from his foundry. The church was built in 1727-33 by the highly regarded architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, an assistant to Sir Christopher Wren, who built St Paul's Cathedral. It was one of the last to be built following the Fifty New Churches Act in 1711, when severe overcrowding in London necessitated the building of many relief churches. St Luke's church was built to relieve St Giles-without-Cripplegate (built in 1090 by Alfune, the Norman bishop of London). St Luke's stood abandoned for 44 years from 1959, but has now been restored and is the beautiful new home of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Typographer. He was the man who established British typefounding with the world famous Caslon type. It instantly became very popular in Europe and Colonial America and dominated printed matter in the 18th Century. Benjamin Franklin, who as a young man had worked in printing houses in London and who was a personal friend of William chose Caslon type when printing the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. Caslon's foundry stood in Chiswell Street and lasted almost two hundred years, continuously run by his descendants. William is buried at St Luke's in Old Street, a stone's throw from his foundry. The church was built in 1727-33 by the highly regarded architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, an assistant to Sir Christopher Wren, who built St Paul's Cathedral. It was one of the last to be built following the Fifty New Churches Act in 1711, when severe overcrowding in London necessitated the building of many relief churches. St Luke's church was built to relieve St Giles-without-Cripplegate (built in 1090 by Alfune, the Norman bishop of London). St Luke's stood abandoned for 44 years from 1959, but has now been restored and is the beautiful new home of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Bio by: Björn Haglund
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