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Distressed: Text Serif

Stephen Coles
D
Last edited May 14, 2014

These fonts based on metal text typefaces are rough edged to imply wear, age, or the effect of letterpress ink on handmade paper. Some are direct revivals of existing metal type, while others are original designs drawn to appear antique.



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vortex
zygapophysis
Do not write on the stalactites

For some time, Eric de Berranger had wanted to create a distressed typeface design - one that gave the appearance of antique printing and showed signs of wear, yet was still highly readable. He was busy designing a new face called Maxime, when an idea struck: "I realized that I could use these lettershapes as the basis for my antique typeface," he says. The two faces ended up being designed in... Read More

mystic
hypothenuses
Remember to pillage before you burn

Christian Bauer designed Linotype Compendio in the Transitional style, commonly associated with typefaces of the 17th and 18th centuries. The outer contours of its letters are purposely raw and irregular, much like old metal type printed on low-quality paper. The legibility of the Linotype Compendio is thus reduced, making it necessary to use this font only for shorter texts or headlines, but... Read More

grapes
illustrative
Caution to download the steps

ITC Golden Cockerel font is based on designs created by Eric Gill in 1929 for the Gold Cockerel Press in England. These elegant and meticulously crafted typefaces were inspired by and modeled on Gill's skills of stone carving, calligraphy and wood engraving. The typeface family includes ITC Golden Cockerel Roman, Italic, Titling, and Initials and Ornaments.

Claude Garamond, Garrett Boge and Paul Shaw
LetterPerfect
Thomas Sokolowski
Elsner+Flake 1998
Günther Flake and William Caslon
Elsner+Flake 1725
Éric de Berranger
ITC 2003
Christian Bauer
Linotype 1997
John Roshell
Comicraft
Nathan Williams
Baseline Fonts 2008
Nathan Williams
Baseline Fonts
Nathan Williams
Baseline Fonts 2008
Gert Wiescher
Wiescher Design 2005
Dave Farey, Eric Gill, Justin Howes, Richard Dawson and William Caslon
ITC 1929