This family was inspired by the edition De Civitate Dei (by Sanctus Augustinus) printed in 1467 in Sobiano (Italy, Roma) by Konrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz who was the Punchcutter. It is one of the first few “Roman style” fonts, just before the birth of Jenson’s pattern (look at 1470 Jenson Latin). The present font contains all of the specific latin abbreviations and ligatures used in the original (about 54). Added are the accented characters and a few others not in use in this early period of printing. Decorated letters such as 1512 Initials, 1550 Arabesques, 1565 Venetian, or 1584 Rinceau can be used with this family without anachronism. If Italic style is required (not yet existing in early time of printing), we recommend using 1557 Italique.

A refinement of Roman inscriptional capitals designed by Bruce Rogers as a titling design for signage in the Metropolitan Museum. Rogers later designed for the Monotype Corporation a lowercase based on Jenson’s work, turning the titling into a full typeface, Centaur, the most elegant and Aldine of the Jenson derivatives. Centaur® font field guide including best practices, font pairings and alternatives.