A famous essay by Beatrice Warde used the metaphor of the ideal wine glass to illustrate the function of typography. She argued that typography should be, effectively, invisible, serving to unobtrusively facilitate the communication of the writer's thoughts to the reader as effectively as possible.
While this is a function of typography, and likely the most common function of typography, it may perhaps be argued with validity that this is not the only function of typography.
The specific example she used corresponding to the kind of typography she advocated was, of course, a "crystal goblet".
It occurred to me, recently, to ask, is there such a thing. Did she mean a wine glass made from quartz ("rock crystal"), or one made from what is usually called "crystal" in the area of glassware: glass with 17% or 24% PbO content - what would be called "flint glass" in making lenses? Apparently, it was the latter; as opposed to storing wine for long periods of time in a crystal decanter, drinking wine from a lead crystal goblet isn't considered too hazardous, except perhaps by the government of California.
But that raises another question. I suppose that a crystal goblet doesn't release lead to nearly the extent as a solid lead, or even pewter, mug, but given that the ancient Romans used lead cups to drink from precisely because they imparted a sweet flavor to beverages (by causing them to be contaminated with lead acetate)... well, not only is her position apparently controversial, but it seems her metaphor is deeply flawed.
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I once saw a description somewhere that typography was like a window. It went something like this as I recall.
One might think the purpose of a window is to let someone see through it, but some windows purpose is to be looked at.
A clear plate glass window is there to give an unobstructed view of the outside whereas a stained glass window does not give a good view of the outside world it is there to be looked at.
Similarly there are fonts designed to convey the message of the writer, their purpose is to disappear, whether it is a sans serif or serif doesn't matter they are designed to be read.
Then there are advertising fonts, their purpose is not to convey a message, their purpose is to attract attention to themselves. You would not write a long passage of text in one of these fonts because you know the reader would never get to the end of it.
They are there to attract attention to themselves, to advertise.
Part of the art of graphic design is to know which one to use where.
I've slept since then ... sorry, I got it wrong.
She also penned the once ubiquitous This is a Printing Office.
Her crystal goblet metaphor was nothing if not extremely posh, enhancing Monotype’s brand, and the industry in general, by imbuing fine typography with upscale tonality.
In this respect, she followed in the footsteps of other typographic influencers who sought to elevate the trade and its reputation, such as Updike and De Vinne, and of course Monotype’s creative director, Stanley Morison.