Caslon Antique
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Category | Display |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Berne Nadall |
| Foundry | Barnhart Brothers and Spindler |
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| Sample | |
Caslon Antique is a decorative American typeface that was designed in 1894 by Berne Nadall. It was originally called "Fifteenth Century", but was renamed "Caslon Antique" by Nadall's foundry, Barnhart Bros. & Spindler, in the mid-1920s.
The design of the typeface is meant to evoke the Colonial era. Early printers would reuse metal type over and over again, and the faces would become chipped and damaged from use. Caslon Antique emulates this look.
Despite the name, it is not a member of the Caslon family of typefaces.[citation needed] The renaming is believed to have been a marketing maneuver to boost the popularity of a previously unpopular typeface by associating it with the highly popular Caslon types.
Caslon Antique is popular today when a "old-fashioned" or "gothic" look is desired. It is used by the musical group The Sisters of Mercy on their albums, for the logo of the musical Les Misérables, and for the covers of the books in A Series of Unfortunate Events. It is also frequently used on historical displays. It was used for the previous edition of the Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play. Most recently, it has been used on promotional material for the smash musical Monty Python's Spamalot on Broadway, the West End, and its tour of the United States.
An italic variant of the font is also available. In addition to versions available under the traditional name, Corel produces its own version of the font under the name "Casablanca Antique."
See also: Samples of display typefaces
