Morris Fuller Benton (1872–1948) was the chief type designer of the American Type Founders Company for four decades and is credited with well over 200 typeface designs. Yet he remains an elusive figure who never wrote about his work and whose achievements have been overlooked and even dismissed by historians. This talk is based on a painstaking examination of Benton's typefaces and an analysis of his contribution to the design discipline. Benton is examined in the context of his times, an era of rapid technological change, and a new assessment of the man, his work, and his legacy emerges.