Twenty Faces

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Jenson · Bembo · Granjon · Elzevir · Caslon · Fleischmann · Baskerville · Fournier · Bell · Bulmer · Miller · Centaur · Perpetua · Janson · Electra · Fairfield · Dante · Aldus · Sabon · Albertina

Caslon

Carol Twombly, based on William Caslon
1734–1770

Sturdy, plain, highly functional, Adobe Caslon is probably the most flexible and usable of the many fonts based on William Caslon’s types, which were wildly successful throughout England in the mid-18th century.

There is a whiff of the Gothic in these letterforms: it vacillates between the beautiful and the ugly; there’s also a risk of text set in it going to sludge. In my experience Adobe Caslon benefits from generous leading, and light-handed use.