[History Student Work] Beatrice Warde and The Crystal Goblet

Beatrice Warde (1900-1969) wrote her 1930 essay, “The Crystal Goblet: or Why Typography Should Be Invisible,” about how typography should strive to be digestible and not for display. She compares reading type to drinking wine from a goblet. She explains how drinking from a crystal clear goblet instead of an opaque one will give the person drinking it a clear idea of the qualities of the wine. She elaborates, stating how typography should be the same, merely invisible.