clarendon typography booklet
DESCRIPTION
Study about clarendon typefaceTRANSCRIPT
Clarendon
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“The most useful fonts that a printer can have in his office are the Clarendons: they make a striking word or line either in a hand bill or title page, and do not overwhelm the other lines. They have been made with great care, so that while they are distinct and striking, they possess a very graceful outline, avoiding on one hand the clumsy inelegance of the Antique or Egyptian character, hitherto in use among printers, and on the other, the appearance of
an ordinary Roman letter thickened by long use under the machine.”rr
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g1. Introduction to Clarendon
2. A significant change
3. About the typographer
4. Type family
5. Type anatomy
6. Comparisons with other typefaces
7. Branding/ usage
CONTENT
g
CONTENT
Clarendon is an English slab-serif typeface that was created
in England by Robert Besley for the Fann Street Foundry in 1845.
Besley went as far as trying to patent the typeface, and Clarendon
is now known as the first registered typeface. However, the
patents at the time lasted only three years; as soon as the typeface
became popular, it was copied by other foundries. The original
matrices and punches remained at Stephenson Blake and later
resided at the Type Museum, London. They were marketed by
Stephenson Blake as Consort, though some additional weights
(a bold and italics) were cut in the 1950s.
It was named after the Clarendon Press in Oxford. Designs
for wood type were made from the mid 1840s on. The typeface
was reworked by the Monotype foundry in 1935.
Here are some notable explorations of Clarendon.
Hermann Eidenbenz and Edouard Hoffmann cut a version
based on Besley's original design in 1953. Freeman Craw
drew the Craw Clarendon family, a once popular American
version released by American Type Founders in 1955, with
light, bold and condensed variants. Aldo Novarese drew
the Egizio family for the Nebiolo foundry, now Nebiolo
Printech, in Turin, Italy in 1958. He was one of the first to
introduce 'Clarendon-ian' italics. David Berlow, of the Font
Bureau, expanded that same family and released it as
Belizio in 1998. Sentinel, another typeface family based on
Clarendon and designed by Hoefler & Frere-Jones in 2009,
has been featured heavily in Barack Obama's most recent
2012 presidential campaign website advertisements.
INTRODUCTION TO CLARENDON TYPEFACE
Clarendon is considered the first to design a ‘related bold’ for emphasizing text. Many variations of the typeface, including the popular French Clarendon, appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century. “The reason it was so widely copied is simple: it was extremely useful. It provided the attention-getting boldness to highlight a word or phrase, yet at the same time was compact and easier to read than the fat faces and antiques of the period,” says HiH Retrofonts.Becoming a popular wood type, Clarendon is also notable as a common choice on ‘WANTED’ signs of the old west.
Clarendon today The typeface was released by Monotype in 1935, and reworked into its modern incarnation in 1953 by Hermann Eidenbenz. It was also marketed by the Stephenson Blake foundry as Consort in the 1950s. Remaining a popular choice for over a century, many of today’s most recognized logotypes are based on the Clarendon style.
A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE
ABOUT THE TYPOGRAPHER
Robert Besley (1794–1876) was an English typographer, creator of Clarendon (typeface) in 1845 and the Lord Mayor of London in 1869.Besley joined the Fann Street Foundry in 1838. The Fann Street Foundry was also home of typographer William Thorowgood, creator of Grotesque.
When Robert Besley created Clarendon he had it patented, as England just passed a bill allowing that. The typeface became so popular, though, that the copyright was soon broken by people creating knock-offs. Still known as the first Registered typeface.
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Clarendon Condensed
Clarendon LT Light
Clarendon LT Regular
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Clarendon LT Roman
Clarendon LT Bold
Clarendon Extended Bold
TYPE FAMILY
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A x
S
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Acenders are equal in height of cap height
Bracketed serif
Thick and long serifs
Variable strokesEqual half of the spines
tall x-height
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TYPE ANATOMY
Gb
RQ Hooked leg and tails
Hooked and round tip descenders of J,j,y
G and b with spur
Small and compressed counter
Vertical stress
Very round ball terminal
Long and thick beaks
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Jjy
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ET
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tOrdinary Slab Serif
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Monoline- all strokes have same thickness
Unbracketed serifs
Rounder counter
No spur
No ball terminal
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Rockwell
t
Here are some notable explorations of Clarendon.
Hermann Eidenbenz and Edouard Hoffmann cut a version
based on Besley's original design in 1953. Freeman Craw
drew the Craw Clarendon family, a once popular American
version released by American Type Founders in 1955, with
light, bold and condensed variants. Aldo Novarese drew
the Egizio family for the Nebiolo foundry, now Nebiolo
Printech, in Turin, Italy in 1958. He was one of the first to
introduce 'Clarendon-ian' italics. David Berlow, of the Font
Bureau, expanded that same family and released it as
Belizio in 1998. Sentinel, another typeface family based on
Clarendon and designed by Hoefler & Frere-Jones in 2009,
has been featured heavily in Barack Obama's most recent
2012 presidential campaign website advertisements.
tCOMPARISON WITH SLAB SERIF CLASS OF TYPEFACE
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Clarendon LT Regular
Bracketed serif
Oval counter
With spur
With ball terminal
More variable and contrast
Gr
HA
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SECOMPARISON WITH SLAB SERIF CLASS OF TYPEFACE
Typewriter Fonts
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Monoline- all strokes have same thickness
Shorter cap heightUnbracketed serifs
Rounder counter
No spur
No ball terminal
AH
Gr
q
COURIER NEW
Taller cap height
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Clarendon LT Regular
Bracketed serif
Oval counter
With spur
With ball terminal
More variable and contrast
Gr
HA
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BRANDING/ USAGE
Clarendon bold extended, 1953
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1845 Designed byChan Li Liing
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