Typeface Review: "Clarendon"

What It Looks Like:

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It's History: "Clarendon is a slab-serif typeface, and is considered to be the first registered typeface with the original matrices and punches remaining at Stephenson Blake and later residing 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. There’s only moderate contrast between thick and thin strokes, common of slab-serifs. It was originally designed by Robert Besley [in England] for the [Thorowgood and Co. then known as] Fann Street Foundry in 1845. It was later copied heavily by other foundries. Due to its popularity, Besley registered the typeface under Britain's Ornamental Designs Act of 1842. The patent expired three years later, and other foundries were quick to copy it." (Source #1 and #2)

"It was polished by Edouard Hoffmann and Hermann Eidenbenz at Haas Foundry a little over a century later. Haas’ revival of this typeface in 1953 precipitated the revivals that follow." (Source #3)

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What Type of Font It Is: Slab Serif. Slab Serif typefaces developed from large-scale display letters used in both woodblock letterpress printing and architectural lettering. The robust forms and substantial serifs of the Clarendons and Egyptians were perfectly suited to casting as relief forms in metal, and as a result they feature in many Victorian engineering projects as well as appearing in posters, playbills, and other promotional materials of the time.

"At their best, Slab Serifs are both robust and colorful, with the serifs providing a strong continuity of line. The historic Slab Serifs are generally most effective in the heavier weights. Clarendons, in particular, are useful in text setting, particularly in cases where a greater weight is required than might be provided by more traditional text faces." (Source #4)

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How You Can Design With It: "Clarendon is among the most evocative and colorful of the Victorian faces. The lighter weights are a later development that extends the functionality of the face, being more suitable for text setting than the bold form that is the basis of the genre. [....] Clarendon will hold its legibility fairly well when used as a screen font in web applications or when printed onto low-quality paper. [....] It is also effective for architectural and environmental applications, because the strong serif forms can be easily cut out and reproduced in three-dimensional media." (Source #5)

"Clarendon has strong letterforms common to slab serifs. It’s also a very readable typeface, which makes it appropriate for use at somewhat smaller sizes. Strong letterforms make Clarendon a great choice for things like signs, logos, and headlines. It’s already used by companies like Sony and Wells Fargo in their logos." (Source #1)

"The font was used extensively by the government of the German Empire for proclamations during World War I, and was also common in wanted posters of the American Old West. Craw Clarendon Bold was used by the United States National Park Service on traffic signs, but has been replaced by NPS Rawlinson Roadway. In 2008, the typeface was utilized extensively by the Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain in the re-launch of their corporate identity. Via, the travel magazine of the American Automobile Association, uses the typeface for its logo and headline copy." (Source #2)

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Where You Can Get It: You can purchase it at these locations for varying prices: Adobe, LinoType, FontShop, and MyFonts.

Descriptive Terms for It: Display, large blocks of text, old, poster design, serif, Slab Serif, Victorian, and whole family.

Sources:
- #1 - http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/08/the-most-popular-fonts-used-by-designers/
- #2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarendon_(typeface)
- #3 - http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/bitstream/clarendon/
- #4 - The Complete Typographer: A Manual for Designing with Type" by Will Hill, 2nd Edition, p. 102

- #5 - The Complete Typographer: A Manual for Designing with Type" by Will Hill, 2nd Edition, p. 104

Examples:

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