1890s type

LeGrys28 Apr 2011

Hello! Long time lurker, first-time poster...

I am designing a book where I want the pages to have the feel of a book from the 1880s and 1890s. I am looking for a good typeface to use for the body copy that has a slight irregular, letterpress feel to it.

So far I have found: Old Times American
but this seems more in keeping with a newspaper or periodical than a book.

And: Archetype
which I like a lot but I am not sure whether it is from the right era

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

J Weltin28 Apr 2011#

Archetype has similarities to the Janson type by Nicholas Kis, which he made around 1690.

J Weltin28 Apr 2011#

Have a look at Nick Shinn’s Scotch Modern, which reflects the era you’re after.

LeGrys28 Apr 2011#

Wow. Scotch Modern is perfect in terms of letter shapes. A great recommendation.

I think for my needs it may be a little too perfect in execution as it lacks the slightly irregular quality I am seeking. Although my printed page will obviously not have the texture of a letterpress-printed page I want it to suggest at first glance that it may have been printed on a Victorian press, with the slightly irregular baseline and all that entails.

daverowland28 Apr 2011#

Try GLC fonts. They are all named by date and seem to have all the irregularities of early printing you're after

Gary Lonergan4 May 2011#

I know it's a much earlier font but there is a free resource for the Fell types online
http://iginomarini.com/fell/ it has a very irregular outline but is fantastically readable

hrant30 May 2011#

This sounds like a job for Founders Caslon.

hhp

Captured from commoncrawl.org on 19 Apr 2015. original URL