Deepdene (typeface)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Category | Serif |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Frederic Goudy |
| Foundry | Lanston Monotype |
| Date released | 1927 onwards |
| Shown here | Linden Hill |
Deepdene is a serif typeface designed by Frederic Goudy from 1927–1933.[1] It belongs to the "old-style" of serif font design, with low contrast between strokes and an oblique axis. However, Deepdene has crisp serifs and a nearly upright italic, with much less of a slant than is normal for this style.[1]
Issued by the American branch of Lanston Monotype, Deepdene was popular on its release and often used for the body text of books.[2][3][4] Several digitisations have been created.
Deepdene is named after Goudy's home in Marlborough-on-Hudson.[3][5][6] This was itself named for the road on which he previously lived in Queens, New York.[7][8]
Goudy described the design as loosely inspired by "a Dutch type which had just been introduced;" Goudy's friend Paul Bennett suggested in later life that this was Jan van Krimpen's Lutetia although Walter Tracy writes that the attribution cannot be certain.[9] He also later created a medium weight, bold and bold italic.[1]
Goudy's biographer D. J. R. Bruckner praised the design as "the type that brings together the most characteristics of Goudy types the best".[3]
Goudy later created a blackletter design, Deepdene Open Text and the derived Deepdene Text, which was intended to complement it for purposes such as initial capitals.[a] The designs are not related otherwise.[1]
The family in metal type included:
- Deepdene (1927, Continental, later rereleased by Lanston Monotype) Changes were made to fit Monotype's hot metal typesetting system, which placed restrictions on what widths characters could be.
- Deepdene Italic (1929), matrices cut by Goudy's wife Bertha.
- Deepdene Medium (1931), designed for Lanston Monotype but apparently never cast.
- Deepdene Bold + Bold Italic (c. 1933-4, Lanston Monotype)
