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| Typeface | Albertus |
|---|---|
| Category | Serif |
| Classifications | Glyphic |
| Designer(s) | Berthold Wolpe |
| Foundry | Monotype Corporation |
Albertus is a glyphic serif typeface designed by Berthold Wolpe in the period 1932 to 1940 for the Monotype Corporation type foundry. Wolpe named the font after Albertus Magnus, the thirteenth-century German philosopher and theologian.
Wolpe studied as a metal engraver, and Albertus was modeled to resemble letters carved into bronze. The face began as titling capitals. Eventually a lowercase roman was added, and later an italic, which is distinct for its narrow character set. Albertus has slight glyphic serifs. It is available in titling, bold and italic varieties.
In the uppercase M the middle strokes descend only partway, not reaching the baseline. The U has a stem on the right side, evocative of lowercase. Lowercase characters e and g have large, open bowls. Figures are lining.
Albertus is used extensively by Coldplay, most notably in their logo.
A slightly modified version was used extensively in The Prisoner, a 1967 British television series frequently mined for cultural references. Modifications to the Albertus font include opening the loop on the lowercase letter e and the addition of new dotless i and j characters.
Albertus is the logo and title font for the 1632 series of alternative history books. Albertus was also, for many years, the typeface used on English coinage.
References
- Blackwell, Lewis. 20th Century Type. Yale University Press: 2004. ISBN 0-300-10073-6.
- Fiedl, Frederich, Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein. Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Through History. Black Dog & Leventhal: 1998. ISBN 1-57912-023-7.
- Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopædia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983. ISBN 0-7137-1347-X.
- Macmillan, Neil. An A–Z of Type Designers. Yale University Press: 2006. ISBN 0-300-11151-7.
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