does anyone know what serif font this is?

It's a bit small, but I think ITC Modern No. 216 is a safe bet.
What is it with ITC and ridiculous x-height?
My personal theory is that ITC was trying to make everything look like Helvetica, particularly its x-height. But, they weren't alone.
I do remember that the prevailing wisdom in the seventies (promoted by ITC and others) was that typefaces with large x-heights were easier to read and used space more efficiently. There is a certain amount of truth to this (for example, newspaper faces), but it was mostly just the changing winds of taste and fashion.
Hey - Who doesn't like big x-height?
- Lex
I happen to like a big x-height once in a while. But like the author of this Design Observer entry, I hate ITC Garamond.
http://www.designobserver.com/archives/000205.html
Gotham is a RARE example of a nice font with a big x-height.
ITC was all over the place when I started designing and my boss PROHIBITED us (thank god) from using them.
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