[Pkg-fonts-bugs] ITP: GFS Neohellenic - New Greek font family with matching Latin

[Nicolas Spalinger]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist

* Package name    : ttf-gfs-neohellenic
* Version         : 1.0
* Upstream Author : George D. Matthiopoulos
(Greek Font Society)
* URL             :
http://www.greekfontsociety.org/pages/en_typefaces20th.html
* License         : Open Font License
* Description     : New Greek font family with matching Latin


The design of new Greek typefaces always followed the growing needs of
the Classical Studies in the major European Universities. Furthermore,
by the end of the 19th century bibliology had become an established
section of Historical Studies, and, as John Bowman commented, the
prevailing attitude was that Greek types should adhere to a lost
idealized, yet undefined, greekness of yore. Especially in Great Britain
this tendency remained unchallenged in the first decades of the 20th
century, both by Richard Proctor, curator of the incunabula section in
the British Museum Library and his successor Victor Scholderer. In 1927,
Scholderer, on behalf of the Society for the Promotion of Greek Studies,
got involved in choosing and consulting the design and production of a
Greek type called New Hellenic cut by the Lanston Monotype Corporation.
He chose the revival of a round, and almost monoline type which had
first appeared in 1492 in the edition of Macrobius, ascribable to the
printing shop of Giovanni Rosso (Joannes Rubeus) in Venice. New Hellenic
was the only successful typeface in Great Britain after the introduction
of Porson Greek well over a century before. The type, since to 1930’s,
was also well received in Greece, albeit with a different design for Ksi
and Omega.
GFS digitized the typeface (1993-1994) funded by the Athens
Archeological Society with the addition of a new set of epigraphical
symbols. Later (2000) more weights were added (italic, bold and bold
italic) as well as a latin version.