Clarendon Font

Clarendon is a slab serif font family, and it is one of the most recognizable fonts in the history of typography, which is characterized by its elegant and rather sharp look. First developed in the 19th century, it has found its way into newspapers, posters and new-age digital media. This is due to the fact that it has a slab serif design, which is quite uncommon, and the fact that it remains popular to this very day.

History of Clarendon Font

Robert Besley designed this font in 1845, and Besley was a partner at the Fann Street Foundry in London. It was first designed to meet the need for a highly legible font with a good impact on printed ads and posters. Clarendon became popular because of its design and legibility, it is the first typeface that was patented under the British law.

The name “Clarendon” has its origin in the Clarendon Press which is a branch of the Oxford University Press. Clarendon typeface is a slab-serif font designed during the Industrial Revolution and is considered one of the early forms of the typeface that gained popularity in commercial printing, advertisements, and headlines.

Usage

After its release, Clarendon became popular in Europe and the United States, with a special prominence during the Victorian age. Because of its distinctiveness, it became popular for use in wanted posters, book covers, and advertisements.

This typeface was not very popular in the twentieth century until it made its debut for road signs and maps. Because of its legibility and clear appearance when enlarged, it was well suited to situations in which information had to be quickly grasped.

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