Giambattista Bodoni (1740-1813) was called the King of Printers; he was a prolific type designer, a masterful engraver of punches and the most widely admired printer of his time. His books and typefaces were created during the 45 years he was the director of the fine press and publishing house of the Duke of Parma in Italy. He produced the best of what are known as modern" style types, basing them on the finest writing of his time. Modern types represented the ultimate typographic development of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. They have characteristics quite different from the types that preceded them; such as extreme vertical stress, fine hairlines contrasted by bold main strokes, and very subtle, almost non-existent bracketing of sharply defined hairline serifs. Bodoni saw this style as beautiful and harmonious-the natural result of writing done with a well-cut pen, and the look was fashionable and admired. Other punchcutters, such as the Didot family (1689-1853) in France, and J. E. Walbaum (1768-1839) in Germany made their own versions of the modern faces. Even though some nineteenth century critics turned up their noses and called such types shattering and chilly, today the Bodoni moderns are seen in much the same light as they were in his own time. When used with care, the Bodoni types are both romantic and elegant, with a presence that adds tasteful sparkle to headlines and advertising. Parma was designed by the monotype Design Team after studying Bodoni's steel punches at the Museo Bodoniana in Parma, Italy. They also referred to specimens from the "Manuale Tipografico," a monumental collection of Bodoni's work published by his widow in 1818.

Gerry Powell, typographer, industrial designer, and director of typographic design for American Type Founders, designed Onyx font for ATF in 1937. A very popular advertising type in the 1940s, Onyx resembles an extremely condensed, bold member of the Bodoni family. Onyx is a good display font, with proportions that make it readable even when space is at a premium.

TWT Prospero is the kind of typeface you seldom find in blocks of continuous text these days. Similar fonts based on late-18th-century work by Bodoni, the Didots, and others tend to be reserved for display type: their exaggerated contrast and vanishing hairlines can make you squint and strain at small sizes. But TWT Prospero, with its moderate contrast and fairly robust hairlines, is impressively legible in book text while remaining ideal for use in display situations. The full family has seven styles: roman, italic, bold, bold italic, condensed roman, condensed italic, and condensed bold.

Since 1997, The Washington Post’s iconic headlines have been distinguished by their own sturdy, concise variation on Bodoni, designed by Matthew Carter. For the 2009 redesign, Richard Lipton, Jill Pichotta, and Dyana Weissman expanded the family with more refined Display and Condensed styles for use in larger sizes. Originally called Postoni, the fonts were renamed in honor of The Post’s founder, Stilson Hutchins

Alejandro Lo Celso’s tribute to Bodoni takes the form of a humorous fat face for display use, in both solid and engraved forms. Four years after Bodoni’s death, Margherita, Giambattista’s widow, published the two volumes of the famous Manuale Tipografico, a significant catalogue even today. Margarita’s curves are extremely sensual, it should be set only at huge sizes. The typeface includes several ligatures both standard and discretionary, and a set of contemporary ornaments to set nice frames and patterns. We hope you enjoy working with this fancy type. See more at PampaType.com.

In today's typographic landscape, few would still consider Bodoni to have a "modern" feel, but there was once a time when it's vertical axis and thinned horizontal strokes were considered radical. Volterra—inspired by the forms of Bodoni—finishes what Bodoni started and eliminates the horizontal stroke altogether, breathing an elegant new energy into a 200-year-old classic. Named for the artist hired to paint loincloths over Michelangelo's "Last Judgement" when nudity in religious art was condemned, Volterra acknowledges that it is no easy feat picking up where a master left off. Volterra takes what has grown to feel traditional and transforms it into a delicate mixture of classic and modern, with razor-edged serifs and ultra-sharp strokes. Strictly a display face, the larger Volterra is used, the better it looks.