Jenson’s roman
Nicolas Jenson’s roman of Venice, 1470 – humanist handwriting turned into type.
Italian humanists wrote a round, clear hand they believed to be ancient. In Venice in 1470 Nicolas Jenson made a roman type after it, and it became the model for all later romans.
William Morris and 20th-century typographers admired Jenson’s even page, and typefaces such as Centaur are based on it.
Materials: Cast metal type
Manufacture: Punches were cut in steel, struck into copper matrices and the type cast in them.
Sloping serifs and an angled stress in the curves.
An e with a slanted crossbar.
An even, light texture without strong contrasts.