Letterform History

Dictionary entry

1. Roman Square Capitals 1st–2nd century / Style

   Capitals cut for stone, with geometric proportions and serifs, became the skeleton of the Latin alphabet and the archetype of authority for two thousand years.

2. Blackletter 12th century– / Style

   The manuscript hand condensed into black vertical letters, filling the page with even, woven darkness — also the first typeface of printing.

3. Italic 1501– / Style

   The humanist cursive cast in type: slanted letters that made pocket books possible, later becoming the second voice beside roman.

4. Calligraphic Revival 1906– / Style

   The modern revival of Western writing begun when Johnston rebuilt the foundational hand from medieval manuscripts. Through the Underground letters and Gill, the written hand became a source of modern design.

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