A SHORT INTRO ALL ABOUT
CLARENDON
john besley
CLARE
Bold, square serifs make this typeface recognizable as a proud member of the slab-serif family
ENDON 1845 Rounded ball terminals give this typeface a playful personality
STRIKING
DISTINCT
Letterforms keep a relatively consistent stroke width.
ONE O Our man of the hour, Robert Besley, sole creator of the Clarendon typeface that we all know and love, was born in 1794 and lived his life out until 1876. He was an English Typographer, most commonly recognized for his Clarendon typeface. He was very proud of this particular typeface and was especially protective of Clarendon, and when his three year patent was up and variations of his typeface were popping up right and left, he wrote an article expressing his extreme displeasure. In later years he moved on from his typographic ambitions to attain the impressive title of Lord Mayor of London Clarendon Typeface with it’s extreme boldness and prominent slab-serif style, becomes loud and impossible to ignore. Considering this aspect of the typeface, it became popular for national park signs, “wanted” posters, and informational books such as encyclopedias and dictionaries. Clarendon is obviously big, bold, and readable, but it is also playful and quirky in a way with how condensed the x-height is, making the letterforms short and stalky.
Letterforms are rounded in consideration of their short x-height.
OF A KIND Letters such as “E” and “F” are distinct to Clarendon for their short, double serifed bar.
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$ Named after the Oxford’s Clarendon Press, Clarendon typeface was born in 1845 to the proud father, Robert Besley, and for use of the Fann Street Foundry. Clarendon is considered a slab-serif and Egyptian style, as was the popular tendency for the time, but it also came to represent a significant change and forward movement for letterforms. Starting off as an attempt to highlight certain text within standard type, Clarendon is considered the first “related” bold face that was designed to be a cohesive element within standard Times typefaces. Before Clarendon, italics were commonly
Symbols such as the dollar sign also retain Clarendon’s playfulness within their curves and ball terminals.
used to highlight certain elements of text, and Clarendon within its bold and readable nature, was the first to take emphasis to the next successful level. But as Clarendon was so bold and readable and all together in-your-face, it quickly became a very popular typeface of the time, commonly used for signs such as the well known wild west “wanted” and “reward” posters. And though Besley had patented Clarendon in attempts to keep it his own, this hold lasted only a few short years. When the patent was expired, many variations of this particular typeface were created.
The variation of rounded and straight angles within the letterforms add to Clarendon’s playfulness.
BOLD Curved strokes provide a graceful aspect to the bold typeface.
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Q Printed in Fann Street Foundry’s 1873 Type Specimen Book
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They have been made with great care, so that while they are distinct and striking, they possess a very graceful outline.
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