The first Tuscan lettering was penned in the mid-fourth century by the calligrapher Furius Dionysius Filocalus. The style was still in common usage as calligraphy when Vincent Figgins designed the first Antique Tuscan for print in 1817. Antique and Gothic Tuscan woodtype fonts appeared in the 1830’s. By the 1850’s, Tuscan fonts had become popular in America. These styles continued in print use into the twentieth century. Tuscan Antique and Gothic styles, borrowed from print and calligraphy, were perfect for signs, posters, handbills and other large format advertising. Sign painter, Frank Atkinson demonstrated several Tuscan forms in his book Sign Painting, A Complete Manual. Modified & Spurred Tuscan Romans were inspired by this and other works of the same period.

A lot of interesting variations in lettering style can be found in sets of antique tin or brass marking stencils. One such set was the model for Metalmark Stencil JNL, a bold sans with a chamfered look.

The design of Silverspoon reproduces classic antiqua with rounded contours, and is ideal for many uses including headlines, neon signage, and stencil. Silverspoon supports Extended Latin as well as Extended Cyrillic.

Arsis Regular Font was designed by Gerry Powell in 1937. It is a Serif (Antiqua) Modern Style font. Arsis Regular font attributes include roman serif, Didone, elegant, formal, modern style, feminine.

This is a revival font of a sixteenth century typeface. I kept this font as close as possible to the original letters, including the imperfections and irregularities, to preserve the look of antiquity. Some of the letters of the original sample were missing and had to be created from the available letters.

An antique barrel lid stencil spotted in an online auction for a company once located in Guttenberg, NJ provided the hand-cut sans serif lettering which inspired Old Brass Stencil JNL; available in both regular and oblique versions.

Surrey is a collection of seven different decorative fonts, all uppercase letter designs, great display face for headers and antique-like projects. It's another Intellecta's best-seller, a classic vintage design remastered with our feeling to ancient things.

Ecentric is a bold font inspired by the vintage style of letters on posters, bagde, packaging, labels from antiquity. The classic feel is really perfect you who needs a vintage typeface for logotype, apparel, branding, packaging, quote etc.

Tiemann Antiqua was designed by Walter Tiemann in 1923 and appeared with the Klingspor font foundry. It is one of the modern book typefaces created in the first half of the 20th century, but differed from most in its Modern Face forms. It displays the same strong stroke contrast and flat serifs but its proportions have more in common with those of neorenaissance fonts. Tiemann Antiqua is an elegant, legible font suitable for books and longer texts, but also found in headlines, newspapers and magazines due to its classic yet unusual appearance.

Grodsky is a modern high contrast Antiqua with well-defined, recognizable features. Based on the architecture of classic Antiqua fonts, Grodsky is typical of the typefaces from the first half of the 20th century: pronounced serifs, contrasting geometry, and an interplay of right angles and flowing lines. Grodsky has a lot of stylistic alternates and ligatures and true small caps. They give you more authentically typographic style. Grodsky comes with oldstyle and modern, fraction and tabular figures. The font is well suited for both headlines and body text.

URW Grotesk was designed exclusively for URW by Prof. Hermann Zapf in 1985. At the same time, Zapf designed URW Antiqua to go with URW Grotesk. At that time, we were working with a large German publishing house (Axel Springer) on type design solutions to replace certain of their newspaper fonts. Test pages of large German newspapers (e.g. Bildzeitung) were printed with URW Grotesk and URW Antiqua font families. For reasons not disclosed to us, the project was dropped and Springer never used URW Grotesk and URW Antiqua for that purpose. Anyway, Zapf finished his designs and URW produced both families. Zapf’s intention for the two typefaces was to design two highly legible, open and classical fonts that could be used for any kind of typography, especially books, newspapers, magazines, etc. However, we realized later on, that URW Grotesk is very well suited for multi media applications on screen.

ALS Mirta is a clean text type well-suited for use in typesetting of smart volumes and kids’ books. A fine and well-balanced antiqua face is complemented by surprisingly vigorous sophisticated italics.

Mantika Book expands the Mantika super family: a contemporary serif font with a soft, yet robust character and a classic lookMantika Book, an Antiqua, is the third member of the Mantika super family, which consists of the Mantika Sans and Mantika Informal. Designer Jürgen Weltin has gone back to the roots of his font, which he had originally derived from a Renaissance Antiqua. These origins are recognizable in the first member of the Mantika family, Mantika Sans, in the form of carefully suggested line use and a contrast in the weights that recalls the Antiqua. This solid sans serif, optimized for use in text, also has a particularly energetic and dynamically designed italic. Mantika Informal also brings to mind a cursive font at first glance; ultimately, however, it is not easily categorized. Its light, organic shapes combine the informally flowing style of cursive handwriting with the open and airy form and contrast of a humanist sans serif. The shapes in the serif Mantika Book are also based on the Renaissance Antiqua, just like the other members of the Mantika super family. However, the contrast in the weights is somewhat stronger than is conventional for this genre, and the serifs are characteristically asymmetrical, with slanted ends. Lightly grooved stems with an implied curvature in the lower-case letters as well as dots whose shape flirts with a fountain pen lend the Mantika Book a dynamic and particularly friendly character. Details like the open "g" or the contoured foot of the "k" emphasize this dynamism. The letters of Mantika Book have the same large x-height as the other members of the super family, but are equipped with somewhat longer ascenders and descenders.

The DUALIS, aka the serif-detesting Garamond, combines specifics of 2 typeclasses: Sans Serif & Antiqua. When the Garamond is too old fashioned and the Optima is worn out, the Dualis will fit the gap.

LD Castle Distressed is a antique style font with a fairytale feel.

Historical printers ornaments researched by Intellecta Design; from the 1882 very rare Richard Gans first catalogue. See also other font families inspired by Gans' original typefaces: Gans Tipo Adorno, Gans Lath Modern, Gans Titular Adornada, Gans Ibarra, Gans Antigua, Gans Antigua Manuscrito, Gans Fulgor, Gans Radio Lumina, Gans Carmem Adornada, Gans Italiana, and Gans Titania.

Historical printers ornaments researched by Intellecta Design; from the 1882 very rare Richard Gans first catalogue. See also other font families inspired by Gans' original typefaces: Gans Tipo Adorno, Gans Lath Modern, Gans Titular Adornada, Gans Ibarra, Gans Antigua, Gans Antigua Manuscrito, Gans Fulgor, Gans Radio Lumina, Gans Carmem Adornada, Gans Italiana, and Gans Titania.

This is a new classic Renaissance Initial font. Renaissance Initial font is perfect for premium design labels, medieval print, antique posters, etc. The fonts are presented in usual and color versions. Only uppercase letters from A to Z and numbers set (36 characters)

A partial set of antique brass stencils inspired Old Spur Stencil JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. The lettering is based on a traditional Roman stencil design with Western-style spurs added to the approximate centers of each character.

AriergardRondo is supplemental to Ariergard by the same author. It differs with sharp geometrical letterforms and with circular shapes of round letters. The face includes antique Cyrillic letter shapes: N has diagonal stroke, uppercase Y and Ч are equilateral. Both lc г and т have ascenders. For use in advertising and display typography.

MVB Peccadillo is an interpreted revival of a metal typeface popular in the 19th Century, then known as Skeleton Antique. Highly condensed with extra short descenders, the face makes a big impact in a narrow space. Holly Goldsmith worked from letterpress-printed specimens of 96-point, antique metal type, deliberately retaining subtle distortions due to type wear and letterpress impression. Alan Dague-Greene, referring to printed samples of Skeleton Antique, adapted the design to create two additional optical sizes: “Eight” for smaller text and “Twenty-four” for subheads.

Adolf Rusch von Ingweiler, was in the 19 th century known mysteriously as the “R'' printer. He was the first printer North of the Alps to introduce the new Roman style of type known now as Antiqua. He was active in the city of Strasbourg from around the early 1460's to 1489. One wonders if the unusual form of “R'' was a personal conceit. This font is, therefore, an Antiqua style font and has over a 1000 defined glyphs with wide support for medieval characters that have since fallen out of use. The baseline was slightly tidied up in order to give the printed text an even cleaner look than the original. The letters are very close approximations of the original type catalogued by the “Veröffentlichungen der Gesellschaft für Typenkunde des 15. Jahrhunderts” as Typ.1:103R GfT1197.

“Grendel Regular” Evolved out of a hand lettering piece I designed for a record album (Royal Crescent Mob). Inspired by old gothic forms, my intention was to create a playful letter form that could be used in an antique as well as a modern context such as food product packaging or fun video projects, etc.

Wolfram is a bold display font based on an Art Nouveau type design from Germany. It features very thick letter forms with gnarled edges simulating antique printing, though the letter forms are stylish and rather modern looking. It's a striking font - excellent for buttons and other places you want to provide some strong emphasis.

A lovely script face remastered from found drawings, great for antique, vintage and romantic designs.

Tuscan wood types cover a fairly wide range of styles, and there is sometimes confusion over what is classified as a Gothic Tuscan and what is considered an Antique Tuscan. HWT American Chromatic and P22 Tuscan Expanded are more precisely faces of the Antique Tuscan variety. Gothic Tuscans are generally absent of the heavy serifs typically associated with their Antique Tuscan brethren (although decorative bifurcation of terminals can imply serifs). Additional internal decoration with spikes along the stems gives some Tuscans their distinctive look, these faces are often described as “Circus Types.” Tuscan Extended is an extremely wide design, with a distinctive slab crossbar running through the center of most characters. Each letter is a complex system in its own right. This typeface is best used very large in short headline work. The style defies falling clearly into either the Antique Tuscan or Gothic Tuscan category. The new HWT version of Tuscan Extended has been meticulously redrawn by Frank Grießhammer. During production, he also incorporated a number of new letterforms, bringing the font to over 300 characters (including a full ASCII character set and Central European accented characters).

Addition to the collection of TypeType display fonts! TT Espina useful links: Specimen | Graphic presentation | Customization options TT Espina is a display antiqua with expressive serifs. Inspired by the historical shape of the letter O, which took on a diamond shape due to print quality, the designers created a modern typeface with high contrast between horizontals and verticals. TT Espina is yet another proof that antiquas can be stylish and expressive display fonts suitable for modern projects. TT Espina will look harmoniously in headlines of posters or billboards, in gallery and exhibitions design, in large-format printed materials or on websites. The font is easily distinguishable among other antiquas by its high contrast, expressive and large serifs, closed aperture and diamond-shaped circles. TT Espina’s characters are quite narrow, which adds to the materials designed using the font a special aesthetic. It makes you to look closely into each letter, so the headlines set in TT Espina will definitely be read. A full set of different icons is a nice addition for designers who will work with a new typeface. TT Espina consists of 7 typefaces: 6 romans and 1 variable. Each typeface has 648 glyphs. The font family has 21 OpenType features, including changing the shape of some characters (Q, g, j), the possibility to replace characters with high-set diacritics with characters with low-set diacritics, which is convenient for poster design.

A collection of animal drawings in font format. A great set of type dingbats in the genre of farm animals and more. See also other font families inspired by Gans' original typefaces: Gans Tipo Adorno, Gans Lath Modern, Gans Titular Adornada, Gans Ibarra, Gans Antigua, Gans Antigua Manuscrito, Gans Fulgor, Gans Radio Lumina, Gans Carmem Adornada, Gans Italiana, and Gans Titania.

Hierra is a reinterpretation or redraw letter design of a font that appears in the collection of fonts of Dan X. Solo. Strong German flavor this is a letter of rough edges and a special blackness that recalls ancient typefaces Art & Crafts. Hierra is also presented in the Rough version which increases their antique woodtype appearance.

The font Antique Slabserif JNL was run through a filter to create a design that looks like worn type at smaller settings or jaggedly distressed lettering in larger type heights. The end result is Radio Interference JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Using examples of antique street signs from New York City, Stickball JNL recreates the iconic lettering in a digital typeface and is available in both regular and oblique versions. For a nostalgic touch, a blank street sign is located on either the solid or broken bar keystrokes.

Gower Gulch JNL was inspired by some antique gold shirt pins spotted on an internet auction.

The font Verger Book is the little brother of Verger . It’s a sturdy serif antiqua and your companion in legible and solid typographic design. Verger Book has several expressive and distinctive styles, especially in the design of its italic versions.

Alias Vertical is a sans serif typeface with a vertical cut-off point for letter endings. The vertical cut-offs bend round characters (b, c, o, etc) into a squarish, high-shouldered shape, suggesting Roger Excoffon’s Antique Olive. In mid-weights, the typeface mixes Antique Olive with typefaces such as Gill or Johnston, for example the shape of the t, the l borrowing Johnston’s flick. Vertical has the same minimal difference in weight between verticals and horizontals as Gill and Johnston, and the same sharp connection point where curves meet straight lines. Like Antique Olive, Vertical has a narrow connection point here, adding contrast and definition. The overall effect feels austere at lighter weights and strident and graphic at bolder weights, and sharp and incised throughout. In the Bold and Black weights, the squarish and top heavy shape of Antique Olive is most noticeable. For example the wide uppercase, with the B having almost-even width between top and bottom curves, and the almost-overhang of the top curve of the G. But Vertical does not have as extreme an aesthetic or square shape as Antique Olive. As well as its wide design, the upper case is given extra authority by being a slightly heavier weight than the lower case. This is a device borrowed from Gill, and other ‘old’ typefaces, where the upper case is presented as a titling design. Modern sensibilities are more focussed on an even colour between upper and lower case. Vertical was originally intended as a sister typeface to Ano, like AnoAngular or AnoStencil. Vertical developed into a similar but separate design. Ano was designed for use in Another Man — in its modular, circle-base design, and the way there aren’t the amendments usually made in bolder weights to ensure letter clarity. This is for layouts where different weights are used together in different sizes so that the overall letter weight is the same, a feature of the magazine. Where Ano is simple and graphic, Vertical has nuance and texture. It is a pragmatic, utility design. In the balance between graphic and typographic, its focus is the latter.

“The Secret Library” perfectly encapsulates the vintage scribbled italic while adding a contemporary twist. It intentionally retains inky edges in an effort to convey the feel of antiquity. This font looks great in books, illustrations, posters, and on stationery. All uppercase/lowercase letters have at least one alternative glyph.

Inspired by handwritten roman lettering, Elisabeth maintains a classic antique appearance but its rough edges lend an air of character and charm. Good looks aside, Elisabeth is technologically up to today’s standards and works well in many applications. Use at larger sizes, headings, invitations, scrapbooking, menus and advertising.

Unearthed by our friend Dimitris Karaiskos in an antique shop in Vienna, we digitized it and added more glyphs. Blitzplakat is the name of this pre-Letraset system, where you could make your own little advertising posters by cutting out these letters and sticking them on paper like stamps.