Caslon Antique
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| Category | Display |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Berne Nadall |
| Foundry | Barnhart Brothers & 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. 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.
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."
Caslon Antique is popular today when a "old-fashioned" or "gothic" look is desired.
It was used in the opening credits of the Jacques Rivette film La Belle Noiseuse. It is used by the musical group The Sisters of Mercy and Sepultura on their albums, for the logo of the musical Les Misérables (but it seems to be more probably the Corel 'Casablanca Antique' font that has been used for this title), 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, and the 1985 reboot of the TV series The Twilight Zone. 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. British '80s band The The also used the font in several of their music videos, usually displaying several lyrics from the song in the opening scenes. It used on the cover of Regina Spektor's album, Begin to Hope. Caslon Antique is also the main font used by Smuttynose Brewing Company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The font is also used in some circumstances of the 2009 children's show Horrible Histories.
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