Caslon Antique
Encyclopedia
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.
Caslon Antique is popular today when a "old-fashioned" or "gothic" look is desired. It is used by the musical group The Sisters of Mercy
on their albums, for the logo of the musical Les Misérables
, 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
. 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 80's band The The
also used the font in several of their music videos, usually displaying several lyrics from the song in the opening scenes.
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."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
that was designed in 1894 by Berne Nadall. It was originally called "Fifteenth Century", but was renamed "Caslon Antique" by Nadall's foundry
Type foundry
A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Originally, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and Monotype machines designed to be printed on letterpress printers...
, Barnhart Bros. & Spindler, in the mid-1920s.
The design of the typeface is meant to evoke the Colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
era. Early printers would reuse metal type
Movable type
Movable type is the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document ....
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
Caslon
Caslon refers to a number of serif typefaces designed by William Caslon I , and various revivals thereof.Caslon shares the irregularity characteristic of Dutch Baroque types. It is characterized by short ascenders and descenders, bracketed serifs, moderately-high contrast, robust texture, and...
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.
Caslon Antique is popular today when a "old-fashioned" or "gothic" look is desired. It is used by the musical group The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
on their albums, for the logo of the musical Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
, and for the covers of the books in A Series of Unfortunate Events
A Series of Unfortunate Events
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of children's novels by Lemony Snicket which follows the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire after their parents' death in an arsonous house fire...
. It is also frequently used on historical displays. It was used for the previous edition of the Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is a role-playing game set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Over the years, it has been through a number of phases and different publishers, most of which were related in some way to Games Workshop...
. Most recently, it has been used on promotional material for the smash musical Monty Python's Spamalot on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, and its tour of the United States. British 80's band The The
The The
The The are an English musical and multimedia group that have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer/songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member.-Early years :...
also used the font in several of their music videos, usually displaying several lyrics from the song in the opening scenes.
An italic
Italic type
In typography, italic type is a cursive typeface based on a stylized form of calligraphic handwriting. Owing to the influence from calligraphy, such typefaces often slant slightly to the right. Different glyph shapes from roman type are also usually used—another influence from calligraphy...
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."