Clarendon for reading

[Member XRa…]

This topic was imported from the Typophile platform

Hello, I'm looking for a type that looks similiar Clarendon but with a more humanistic and opened look to it, for printed long reading. Can anyone give me suggestions?
Thank you.

[Member Isl…]

Sentinel

I have a fondness for Clarendon's as they were used commonly in Scotland along with Helvetica in the early 1970s, and I associate them with happy times climbing around mountains there. I also have a pocket Oxford English Dictionary from 1939 that I really like - which is all in Clarendon. It may not be the most readable but is a lot better looking than the ugly Parable font. The problem is, I don't really know when Clarendon's are useful. I think they are better in advertising than for prolonged reading. I don't think they are as popular as they were in a more industrial time, and polishing up Clarendon may defeat that industrial look.

[Member Isl…]

It works best in unreadable sizes. Note the proportions of the "a" and "e" and ascenders:

[Member qua…]

I know that I've seen Bibles typeset in typefaces of the Clarendon type for high legibility.

[Member XRa…]

Yes, thank you, I'll add it to my research.
Well, I'm aiming at Clarendon, because it was a type common in the prints of time and space of the book I'm working on, (1850s in Rio de Janeiro). And I figured it would give the feeling of that time. Main topics of the story is slavery, humanism, family and liberty, so I was looking for a slightly more open/free look. But it's like you said, it can lose the whole Clarendon look.
The Sentinel and Clarendon's light weight are good for what I want, if you can name others that you think to fit better the topics, I thank you.

[Member qua…]

There's an essay online by Mitja Miclavčič which may be of interest, "Three Chapters in the Development of Clarendon/Ionic Typefaces".

Also, I found this example of a typeface of this sort, Medieval Clarendon, used for a Bible.

[Member oob…]

Not Clarendons, but somewhere in the same universe and VERY readable:
Archer, H&FJ
http://www.typography.com/fonts/font_overview.php?productLineID=100033

Parry Pro, OurType
https://ourtype.com/#/try/font-info/parry/

[Member hra…]

From the Sentinel blurb: "[Clarendons are] tough to use — out of the question for setting text — because they lack italics."

1) Some Clarendons do have Italics. Just because the first ones didn't doesn't set that in stone. There's nothing "anti-Italic" in the Clarendon genre, at least not more than many other genres.
2) That sounds very dogmatic. With enough weights one can avoid Italics, which I myself actually find unintelligent. Look at Typo magazine (still?) to see how. It's not that Italics is useless, but saying "out of the question" is a bit much.

Anyway, is Sentinel "humanist" enough? It looks like just another Clarendon (albeit very complete and polished). That said, I think we need some more parameters, Rafael.

BTW I think Parable is very beautiful in a more important way than mere looks: reading. To me Pretty has little place there.

hhp

[Member hra…]

People sometimes need to set small text, and strange things happen down there (like you need a truly horsey x-height). Unlike pretty fonts that necessarily wilt away, Parable can deliver in such conditions.

hhp

[Member hra…]

Archer is indeed very texty for a slab, thanks in large part to its modest x-height. Because of that it doesn't work ideally for smaller text (plus I'm personally not a big fan of its Italic) so for such use I'm tempted to shamelessly plug something I had a hand in: http://ernestinefont.com/
But I'm not sure either one of those is what Rafael is looking for.

Parry on the other hand might be just the ticket.

hhp

[Member XRa…]

I really think Parry has that look I was looking for.
Thanks oobimichael, hrant and all of you for the help.

[Member qua…]

I should have noted that the PDF I referenced above mentions an obvious example that I overlooked: good old Ionic No. 5 - which illustrates that the use of a Clarendon type face for readability under adverse circumstances is a long-established idea.

[Member oob…]

@quadibloc, or others: is Medieval Clarendon specifically a letterpress type? I cannot find a specific mention of "Medieval" Clarendon in digital format... Further, Canada Type's Clarendon Text documentation says that it is excellent for small print (8pt), but relative to other digital offerings of Clarendon, such as Lintotype/Monotype or URW, are these types suitable for small print as is pictured in the Cambridge Bible example (Medieval Clarendon, 8pt)?

[Member sup…]

és mesmo fixe

[Member Max…]

What would be wrong with the good ol’ Bookman?

Or Cushing, for that matter?