Who is John Baskerville? What makes Baskerville "unique"?

John was a printer in Birmingham, England, as well as a typographer.  He was also a writing master and stonecutter, but he was not known as well for this.  He first worked as a writing master and headstone engraver in Birmingham, than went to japanning (coating with black varnish) trays and snuff-boxes.  He then set up a printing business in 1750, and hired John Handy as punch cutter.  

In the few years after he produced a book, during which he found out how to make printing ink blacker, more even, and quicker-drying, paper making where he wove instead of laid, and invented many letter designs.

He was an atheist yet he printed a great folio Bible in 1763.  His work in England was not as admired as it was in the United States.  It was said his printing damaged the eyes.  His fonts were brought to the United States of America by Benjamin Franklin, who was a member with him in the Royal Society of Arts, where they were for many of the federal government publishing.

What makes Baskerville "unique" is that his work mostly went unnoticed or disappeared until it was revived in the 1920s and is still used in variations of printings today.

http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Baskerville

http://www.myfonts.com/person/baskerville/john/