From Kottke comes a bizarre bit of typographic history: Eric Gill, creator of Gill Sans (the font family I used above), was known to have had sex with his sisters, daughters, and dog. From a recent BBC article:

For some of Gill’s fans, even looking at his work became impossible. Most problematically, he was a Catholic convert who created some of the most popular devotional art of his era, such as the Stations of the Cross in Westminster Cathedral, where worshippers pray at each panel depicting the suffering of Jesus.

The piece talks briefly about whether it matters to a piece of art that the artist was a monster. It brings up Philip Larkin and Richard Wagner; Caravaggio was a murderer and maybe a pedophile. Interesting that the Wikipedia article on Gill Sans makes no mention of the man’s crimes.

Is it wrong of me to want to see Justine printed entirely in Gill Sans? Don’t steal that idea! I’m going to do it myself.