# Baskerville: history, who uses it, and a free version

> John Baskerville's 1750s type from Birmingham, the institutions that use it, and Libre Baskerville on Google Fonts, with body pairings.

Web page: https://davidewins.com/fonts/baskerville

A Birmingham printer’s sharper, lighter serif from the 1750s.

Preview uses Libre Baskerville, the closest free match.

## History

- John Baskerville (1706 to 1775) designed it in Birmingham, England, in 1757. [1]
- He became printer to Cambridge University in 1758 and printed his folio Bible there in 1763. [1]
- Libre Baskerville, by Pablo Impallari, is tuned for screens with a taller x-height and lower contrast. [1]

## Who uses it

- The Government of Canada "Canada" wordmark, in a modified form [1]
- Documents from the University of Birmingham [1]
- Northeastern University and the ABRSM, in a modified form [1]

## Sources

1. [Wikipedia: Baskerville](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baskerville)

## The free alternative

Libre Baskerville is a free revival drawn for screens, with a taller x-height, wider counters and less contrast than the original.

Body fonts that go with Libre Baskerville:

- [Source Sans 3](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=baskerville&body=source-sans-3): A light humanist sans that matches the open, crisp feel of the heading.
- [Lato](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=baskerville&body=lato): Round, friendly sans that softens a formal serif.
- [Libre Franklin](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=baskerville&body=libre-franklin): A sturdier grotesque for when the page needs more weight than the heading gives it.

[Open Baskerville in the pairing tool](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=baskerville)