Solus (typeface)

Solus is a serif typeface that was designed around 1929 by English sculptor and stonemason Eric Gill for the British Monotype Corporation.[1][2][3][4]

Solus has a structure of straight, regular serifs reminiscent of slab-serif typefaces of the nineteenth century, but with a reduced build suitable for body text.[5] Along with these characteristics, Solus bears the distinct personality of Gill's characteristic preferences in letterforms.[6][7][8]

Solus was not particularly popular during the metal type period, which Gill's colleague Robert Harling suggests is because it was too similar to Gill's pre-existing Perpetua, not having an italic and having little appeal in display sizes.[9] Gill's Joanna, designed some years later in a similar style but with an italic, has become much more popular.[10]

Solus has not been digitised by Monotype; an unofficial revival has been made by the company K-Type.[10][11] Financier, by Kris Sowersby, is a respected revival loosely influenced by Solus, Perpetua and Joanna.[12][13] Its optical size designed for small-size text is influenced by Solus and Joanna more while its display size more recalls Perpetua.[14][15]

References

  1. Fiona MacCarthy (16 June 2011). Eric Gill. Faber & Faber. pp. 292–3. ISBN 978-0-571-26582-4.
  2. Allan Haley (15 September 1992). Typographic Milestones. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 91–8. ISBN 978-0-471-28894-7.
  3. Jason Tselentis; Allan Haley; Richard Poulin; Tony Seddon, Gerry Leonidas, Ina Saltz, Kathryn Henderson, Tyler Alterman (1 February 2012). Typography, Referenced: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to the Language, History, and Practice of Typography. Rockport Publishers. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-61058-205-6. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  4. Mosley, James. "Eric Gill's Perpetua Type". Fine Print.
  5. Brewer, Roy (1973). Eric Gill: The Man Who Loved Letters. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield. pp. 69–71. ISBN 9780874711486.
  6. Sandford, Christopher (1982). "A Note on the Golden Cockerel Type". Matrix. 2: 23–26.
  7. Mosley, James. "Eric Gill's R: the Italian connection". Type Foundry. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  8. Mosley, James. "Eric Gill and the Cockerel Press". Upper & Lower Case. International Typeface Corporation. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  9. Harling, notes by Robert (1975). The Letter Forms and Type Designs of Eric Gill ([1st U.S. ed.]. ed.). Westerham, Kent: Published by Eva Svensson, and printed by the Westerham Press. pp. 51–8. ISBN 0-903696-04-5.
  10. 1 2 Bates, Keith. "The Non Solus Story". K-Type. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  11. Bates, Keith. "Non-Solus: 2012 Update". K-Type. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  12. "Financier Typeface Family « TDC TOKYO ENG".
  13. "Best Awards - Klim Type Foundry and The Financial Times. / Financier Typeface Family".
  14. "Financier: a new typeface family for the Financial Times - Creative Review". 3 November 2014.
  15. "A New Font is Giving the Financial Times a Smart, Luxurious Update". 27 September 2016.

    External links

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