I use this space to gather notes and samples of typefaces. My purpose here is not to be exhaustive, but to learn and be useful in the process.
Serif Sans-serif Italic Script
Serifs may be vestiges of the scribe’s pen or the calligrapher’s brush, or possibly a trace of letters that were carved into stone. Sans-serif letterforms have a long history, but are relatively recent arrivals in typographic terms.
While there had been sans-serif typefaces cut before, the first that was meant for printing the Latin alphabet was developed in 1812 by William Caslon IV and only consisted of capital letters. (Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style) Caslon released this font as “Two-Line English Egyptian” in 1816. (Lawson, The Anatomy of a Typeface)
Robert Bringhurst has a dim view of the first sans-serif fonts:
Most, though not all, of the unserifed types of the ninetenth century were dark, coarse and tightly closed. Those characteristics are still obvious in the faces like Helvetica and Franklin Gothic, despite the weight reductions and other refinements worked on them over the years. These faces are cultureal souvenirs of some of the bleakest days of the Industrial Revolution.
