Copperplate Gothic
Encyclopedia
Copperplate Gothic is a typeface
designed by Frederic W. Goudy and released by the American Type Founders
(ATF) in 1901. While termed a "Gothic" (a metonym for sans-serif
), the face has small glyph
ic serif
s that act to emphasize the blunt terminus of vertical and horizontal strokes. The typeface shows an unusual combination of influences: the glyphs are reminiscent of stone carving, the wide horizontal axis is typical of Victorian
display types, yet the result is far cleaner and leaves a crisp impression in letterpress or offset printing
.
The typeface is most often used in stationery, for social printing, and is classically seen acid-etched into glass on the doors of law offices, banks and restaurants.
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....
designed by Frederic W. Goudy and released by the American Type Founders
American Type Founders
American Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
(ATF) in 1901. While termed a "Gothic" (a metonym for sans-serif
Sans-serif
In typography, a sans-serif, sans serif or san serif typeface is one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without"....
), the face has small glyph
Glyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
ic serif
Serif
In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...
s that act to emphasize the blunt terminus of vertical and horizontal strokes. The typeface shows an unusual combination of influences: the glyphs are reminiscent of stone carving, the wide horizontal axis is typical of Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
display types, yet the result is far cleaner and leaves a crisp impression in letterpress or offset printing
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
.
The typeface is most often used in stationery, for social printing, and is classically seen acid-etched into glass on the doors of law offices, banks and restaurants.