1900s -ish

The earliest form of Ionic was brought out by Vincent Figgins in 1821 and was intended for display work. In 1863 a more refined version appeared which had more contrast between thick and thin strokes and the serifs were bracketed. Further developments were made, however the robustness of the Egyptian style was retained making the face suitable for newspaper text setting. With a large x-height... Read More

The “FF Scribe Type” packages were published as part of the FontFont Type Revivals series and contain a tasteful collection of typefaces with an antique look: FF Carolus Magnus, FF Humanist, FF JohannesG, FF Koberger, FF Lukrezia, FF Madonna, FF Ophelia, FF Schoensperger. Some of the fonts in Manfred Klein’s FF Scribe Type 1 package are based on early printing types, such as the types of... Read More

Latvian designer and educator Gustav Grinbergs created Stencil Moonlight as an attempt to slightly lighten up the stencil type scene. Intended as a lively, semi-formal face, its shapes are smooth and compact. It leaves a very heavy feeling on the page, as its letters display a very fat bold design. Stencil Moonlight is available is two separate font styles, Regular and Small Caps. When used... Read More

Linotype Brewery is part of the TakeType Library, chosen from the contestants in the International Digital Type Design Contests of 1994 and 1997. This text font is available in six weights from light to black and was designed by Gustav A. Grinberg. An outstanding characteristic of the font is its light stroke contrast and its constructed forms. Its tiny, triangular serifs first become... Read More

Linotype Rowena is part of the Take Type Library, selected from the contestants of Linotype's International Digital Type Design Contests of 1994 and 1997. This text font was designed by the Latvian artist Gustavs A. Grinbergs and is available in six weights, from light to black. The font has a light stroke contrast and its basic forms are the circle, rectangle and triangle, making it a... Read More

The Englishman William Caslon punchcut many roman, italic, and non-Latin typefaces from 1720 until his death in 1766. At that time most types were being imported to England from Dutch sources, so Caslon was influenced by the characteristics of Dutch types. He did, however, achieve a level of craft that enabled his recognition as the first great English punchcutter. Caslon's roman became so... Read More

Railroad Gothic was originally designed in 1906 for ATF (American Type Founders). This uppercase-only typeface is very condensed and also heavy, giving it a distinct 19th American wood type feeling. Like those 19th Century classics, Railroad Gothic is best used when set really big. Originally designed for use in railroad signage, Railroad Gothic has since been adapted for use in many American... Read More

The Clearface types were originally designed by Morris Fuller Benton in 1907. Their forms expressed the Zeitgeist of the turn of the 20th century; typical and distinguishing characteristics are the forms of the "a" and the "k." The ATF version did not include an accompanying Italic.In 1978, ITC's Victor Caruso was licensed by ATF to develop a new serif typeface and matching italic based on the... Read More

Twentieth Century was designed and drawn by Sol Hess in the Lanston Monotype drawing office between 1936 and 1947. The first weights were added to the Monotype typeface library in 1959. Twentieth Century is based on geometric shapes which originated in Germany in the early 1920's and became an integral part of the Bauhaus movement of that time. Form and function became the key words,... Read More