Jeffrey, this matter has been raised before in this forum - you can see a few links to Garamond related threads here: http://typophile.com/node/12481 (see bottom of page) - keep in mind that there have been dozens of different interpretations of Garamond typefaces.

As a personal taste, I'd go with Adobe Garamond Pro or Sabon Next, both well done and working digital typefaces.

But there can also be some interesting alternatives, like Epic http://www.typetrust.com/font/epic or Augereau http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/abramslegacy/augereau/

By the way, lists of Garamond-ish typefaces can be found here:

http://new.myfonts.com/search/garamond/fonts/

http://www.identifont.com/find?font=garamond&q=Go

http://www.fontshop.com/search/?q=garamond&x=0&y=0

A sans compatible with Garamond should be a Humanist Sans, I guess. Syntax is the first that comes to mind.

Thanks for your comment.
I thought it might have been a topic here, but I did not find it. This is very helpful!

Jeffrey
infraordinaire

Arno or Garamond Premier Pro would probably be my choices.

Thanks for your tip, miss tiffany.
I think I am going for Garamond Premier Pro, as it seems to be appreciated the most around here, but I'll have a look at Arno Pro as well.

Jeffrey
infraordinaire

Premier Pro has the caption optical size, so I'd probably go with that if you want authentic AND small. (Arno also has this, but it's really more Jenson inspired IMO)

Dan is right. Arno is more of a Jenson. I should've mentioned that. *slaps hands*

I have mixed feelings about Garamond Premier Pro. Yes, it has optical sizes, and yes, it is historically more accurate than Slimbach's previous Garamond (Premier also has a wide range of glyphs and languages). But I find it too delicate, with its very detailed strokes; Garamond Pro seems more "strong" on the page, if you know what I mean (pardon my lack of technical competence). What I like in Premier, instead, is its economy - compare Premier (abobe) with Pro (below), and see how the text block looks more tight in the first paragraph.

That's pretty impressive. But I guess I'm quite confused now; I like Premier being economincal, but it needs to be pretty sturdy as well. As Pro seems more strong on a page, this is a bit of a dilemma. I'll put it to the test.

Thanks!

Jeffrey
infraordinaire

Jeffrey, that was just my opinion, of course - since we are talking about typefaces of the best technical and design quality, the choice is mostly related on everyon'e eye and taste. What I find "too delicate" in Premier may be a quality for someone else. And my avatar speaks for itself.

@Queneau

Merlo works extremely well in small sizes.