Century Schoolbook
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Century Schoolbook is a serif typeface designed by Morris Fuller Benton in 1919 for the American Type Founders (ATF). It is classified as old style, but the Schoolbook variation has elements similar to the Didone classification. Century Schoolbook is a part of a much larger related family of “Century” typefaces begun by Linn Boyd Benton (Morris Fuller Benton's father) as a text and display face for The Century Magazine in 1890.
Century Schoolbook is familiar to many in North America as being the typeface many first learned to read with. Morris Fuller Benton utilized research that showed young readers more quickly identified letterforms with contrasting weight, but with the lighter strokes maintaining presence. Test also showed the importance of maintaining counter-form (the white space around the black letterform) in recognizing the face at smaller sizes. In designing Century Schoolbook, Morris Fuller Benton increased the x-height, the stroke width, and overall letterspacing. The original ATF Century Schoolbook was designed without italics. Later revivals by Linotype and ITC added italics. Use of the typeface remains strong, for periodicals, textbooks, and literature.
[edit] References
- Meggs, Philip and Rob Carter. Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1993. ISBN 0-442-00758-2
- Meggs, Philip B. and Roy McKelvey. Revival of the Fittest. RC Publications, Inc.: 2000. ISBN 1-883915-08-2
