[texhax] book: Active Literature: Jan Tschichold and New Typography

[Philip TAYLOR (Ret'd)]

Pierre MacKay wrote:

[long snip

> [W]ould you really want to read even one volume of Gibbon in
> either?  (I am of course assuming that <opinion class="personal"> 
> reading a volume of Gibbon is a desirable activity </opinion>, and that 
> may not be entirely true).

Well, your original assertion was

> With modern screen resolutions, a decently restrained seriffed typeface 
> will surpass any sans-serif for instant readability.

and so I was assuming the computer screen as the universe
of discourse.  That being the case, I would not want to read
anything like one volume of Gibbons on-screen, in any font
whatsoever.

If, on the other hand, you want to broaden the Univ. to "any medium",
then I would undoubtedly prefer to read long runs of text
/on paper/ in "a decently restrained serif typeface" rather
than attempt the same in a sans-serif font, but I didn't think
that was the point under discussion.

** Phil.