Günther Gerhard Lange
As H. Berthold AG’s artistic director from 1961 to 1990, G.G. Lange was responsible for the creation, meticulous production standards and attention to quality found in each of the Berthold Exklusivs. G.G. Lange’s type designs include his classic revivals: AG Book, AG Old Face, Berthold Garamond, Berthold Baskerville Book, Berthold Bodoni Old Face and Berthold Caslon Book; as well as his original designs: Arena New, Boulevard, Champion, Concorde, Concorde Nova, El Greco and Imago. G.G. Lange’s skill and craftsmanship elevated Berthold’s type program producing one of the most significant libraries in the world. After 10 years of retirement from his position as Berthold’s artistic director, G.G. Lange reunited with Berthold Types in the continued development of the Berthold Exklusiv Collection.
“I first became aware of Günter Gerhard Lange 27 years ago, while an apprentice to a master composer who greatly revered his work for its purity and elegance. Whenever we had the opportunity to use Berthold fonts, he would be ebullient
with delight. Although much of the type we composed was for those of a rather Philistine persuasion, we took great pains to make every repro a work of art. Yes, we accepted compensation for our efforts, but we never gave less than our best, and we considered our goal to go beyond mere commerce. When we had the good fortune to create a particularly stunning bit of type, the master composer would invoke a favorite phrase: “…the ghost of Jan [Tschichold ] must be watching over us.” It was with this esthetic that I received my grounding in typography. You, of all people, are probably most painfully aware of the schism in our profession between those for whom typography is a passion, a love, and an obsession and those for whom the “$” is the only character of any interest. While we of the Type Directors Club believe it an honorable, even noble goal to pay the rent and keep the lights turned on, we have shown, most dramatically recently, that we will never invoke the term “business” to justify lowering our standards. Yes, as fantastic as it sounds, there are still a handful of Americans who value something above money. We hope to stand among those, as we present you, Herr Lange, with our highest honor and one which we believe is greatly deserved: the TDC Medal.” Daniel Pelavin, TDC President
Medal ceremony: Friday September 22 2000 at Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig