Type Categories, part 02: Oldstyle

Here’s a nice piece of type trivia…

The Caslon typeface, created in 1734 was brought to England’s American colonies and ended up being the typeface used in the earliest printings of the Declaration of Independence. Who knew that learning about type could be so fun?

This is relevant because today’s type lesson is all about oldstyle figures.

Keep in mind that no ONE type classification systems satisfies everybody. So, for simplicity’s sake we’ve omitted the some of the sub-categories within  the oldstyle category. In general, these letters have diagonal stress in their thick & thin strokes. Notice the diagonal stress in the lower case “e.” The thick parts of the letter are in the lower left and upper right section of the letterforms. Oldstyle letters can have either stubby serifs or more polished bracketed serifs and are based on classic Roman proportions.

Oldstyle, circa 1475

To the untrained eye, there would seem to be no difference in the above type specimens. But look closely at the serifs, the letter proportions and idiosyncrasies to distinguish one from the other. Oldstyle letters are based on the lowercase forms used by Italian scholars for book copying, and the uppercase letterforms found inscribed on Roman ruins. Examples shown above, in order: Bembo, Caslon, Garamond, and Jenson.

We will often recommend an oldstyle typeface because they’re classic, well-designed, and will stand the test of time. They’re a great starting point for logotypes, body text, and will lend classic, sophisticated, and professional feel to any publication or piece of design.

Information cited from: A Type Primer by John Kane, and Fonts and Logos by Doyald Young

One Response to “Type Categories, part 02: Oldstyle”

1. nicole says:

   October 12, 2009 at 2:33 pm

   interesting!!! i was blind but now i see:)