Typophile

Doves Type distinguishing features

Anthony Barnett

Among Doves Type distinguishing features are: severely curtailed question mark (no top loop); dropped left quote marks (which are a characteristic of some European languages other than English); markedly right-offset dot to the i. Are there any other notable book fonts (i.e. not speciality fonts) that include one or other of these features. Many thanks, Anthony

Jenson (including the Adobe version) has the rightward tittle (as well as a pretty funky question mark).

Thanks, that makes sense. But the Doves ? and i are so much more marked. The curtailing of the ? gives it an implied feel, which we recognize because of how accustomed we are to a full ? The i is quite remarkable and very effective when following an f

Montaigne and even Eusebius offset the dot on the i as well - but only to a small extent compared with the Doves type. This is because Jenson's own original roman face offset the dot on the i; and many modern Jensons don't include this feature, as it is (and I think correctly) perceived as limiting the potential usefulness of a typeface.

Thus, even Centaur and Cloister Lightface don't do this. So, except for a Jenson aiming at maximum authenticity, the offset tittle is likely something you will hardly find anywhere. As to the question mark, the specimens I saw in a brief search didn't include it, but I think I've seen such question marks before, so there may be possibilities there.

Many thanks

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