Eric Gill on “norms”

Eric Gill, from An Essay on Typography:

It is clear that for any letter there is some sort of norm. To discover this norm is obviously the first thing to be done.

I have always thought of rhythm and repetition as the fundamental principles governing typography. When I read this quote by Eric Gill I nodded to myself. To discover “the norm” of a type face is to learn the rhythm of its alphabet.

Still, I couldn’t help but snicker at Eric Gill’s (a man who was infamous for sexual indiscretions that would make headline news today) use of the word, “norm.”