Though they were published roughly half a century ago, the translations into English of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, are arguably the truest, and most flowing and rhythmic; they remain classroom standards for studies of Greek tragedy in translation.
These Complete Greek Tragedies are set largely in metal Monotype Bembo, although phototype Bembo appears to have been used for the later translations. Bembo throughout, then, except for that decidedly non-Bembo, roman f that foists itself upon Aeschylus’ Agammenon, The Libation Bearers, and Eumenides, and that trespasses as well on Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. The effect is more than anachronistic; it is a collision on the page of culture, mood, and style something akin to seeing Neville Chamberlain leading the Bravio delle Botti through the narrow streets of Montepulciano.
What might have been the cause of this disharmonious juxtaposition? Gerald Lange kindly told me that it may have been the result of a necessary supplantment due to a damaged or burned out f-matrice, or was less likely the result of a mistaken substitution. Whatever the case, to the extent that such catawampus windows provide us with a glimpse of antiquated, yet awe-inspiring technologies and practices, we’ll search for answers; yet in this particular instance, we’ll probably never know. Nonetheless, the typographic fossil record remains for those few of us interested in such matters.