Clearface
 | |
| Category | Serif |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) |
Morris Fuller Benton Linn Boyd Benton |
| Foundry | American Type Founders |
| Date created | 1905 |
| Date released | 1907 - 1911 |
| Re-issuing foundries | Stephenson Blake, Linotype, Monotype, Intertype, British Monotype, Ludlow |
Clearface is a serif typeface designed by Morris Fuller Benton with the collaboration of his father Linn Boyd Benton, produced at American Type Founders in 1907, immediately following his preparation of Century Old Style. The bold was drawn first, in 1905, but the regular weight was the first to be released. Six variants were released between 1907 and 1911, and the design has frequently been rereleased and revived since.[1] Like many of his serif designs, Clearface is a warm, curving design showing the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement but not particularly based on any past period of type design.
- Clearface (1907)
- Clearface Bold + Italic
- Clearface Heavy + Italic
- Clearface Italic
Hot Metal Copies
Clearface had considerable popularity and was either licensed or copied by all the makers of mechanical composition machines, including Linotype, Intertype, Monotype, British Monotype, and Ludlow. Stephenson Blake not only cast it as foundry type, but also made an open face version in 1925 that was sold under the names Clearface Open, Clearface Handtooled, and Dominus.[2]
Cold Type Copies
Clearface was redesigned by Victor Caruso for ITC in 1979. Other cold type versions were also available.
Digital Copies
Victor Caruso's version, ITC Clearface is available through Bitstream, Adobe and Linotype. Other versions are made by Elsner+Flake, Monotype, and URW++.
Clearface Gothic
| Category | Sans Serif |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Morris Fuller Benton |
| Foundry | American Type Founders |
| Date created | 1908 |
| Date released | 1910 |
Clearface Gothic is a sans-serif with only a distant resemblance to Clearface. The typeface has a very organic and friendly appearance. It was designed by Morris Fuller Benton and cast by American Type Founders. It was made in only one weight and was never expanded into a family.[3]
Cold Type Copies
A Cold Type knock-off was made at ITC by Victor Caruso, who expanded the typeface to four weights: light, medium, bold, and extra bold. Italics were included, but stayed in photo-negative film format until recently. The latest version of Clearface Gothic has five weights: light, roman, medium, bold, and black.
Digital Copies
Digital copies of the Clearface Gothic family include five weights and are available from Adobe, Linotype, Monotype, and URW++. Two weights of Victor Caruso's version, demi bold and bold, are available from FontShop. A slightly altered version of the family, called Clear Gothic Serial, complete with italics, is available from Myfonts.com.
References
- ↑ McGrew, Mac, "American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century," Oak Knoll Books, New Castle Delaware, 1993, ISBN 0-938768-34-4, pp. 92 - 93.
- ↑ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983. ISBN 0-7137-1347-X, pp. 50 + 72.
- ↑ McGrew, Mac (1986). American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century. Oak Knoll Books. p. 93. ISBN 0-938768-39-5.