Jackson Burke (1908 in San Francisco, California – 1975) was an American type and book designer. After studying at the University of California, Berkeley, he succeeded C.H. Griffith as Director of Typographic Development at Mergenthaler Linotype from 1949 until 1963, where he designed several type faces.Fiedl, Frederich, Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein. Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Through History. Black Dog & Leventhal: 1998. , p. 151.
He was also responsible for a number of other achievements at Mergenthaler-Linotype including:
development of fonts for Native American languagesTYPOGRAPHY – An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History by Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott (Editor), Bernard Stein, published by Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH development of the TeleTypesetting System (TTS) for magazine use development and implementation of the first phase of Linotype Group's photocomposition library
With his wife Mary Griggs Burke (1916–2012) he was a noted collector of Japanese art; by the time of her death, the collection had become the largest private collection of Japanese art outside Japan. The couple did not have children, and on her death in 2012 their collection was divided between the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Type Faces Trade Gothic series (Linotype), similar to Morris Fuller Benton's News Gothic. Trade Gothic Condensed + Bold (1948) Trade Gothic Extra Condensed + Bold (1948) Trade Gothic + Bold (1955) Trade Gothic Extended + Bold (1959) Trade Gothic Light + Italic (1962) Majestic + Bold (1955, Linotype), some sources credit this face to Burke,Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983. .p. 144. while others simply list it as being created by "staff designers".MacGrew, Mac, American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, Oak Knoll Books, New Castle Delaware, 1993, , p. 209. Aurora + Italic (1960, Linotype), only made in 8.5 point.
References
External links Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation - link The Mary Griggs Burke Collection, comprehensive online catalogue of The Mary Griggs Burke Collection Bridge of dreams: the Mary Griggs Burke collection of Japanese art, a catalogue from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF)