Slab serif
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In typography, a slab serif (also called mechanistic, square serif or egyptian) typeface is a type of serif typeface characterized by thick, block-like serifs. Slab serif typefaces generally have no bracket (feature connecting the strokes to the serifs). Because of their bold appearance, they are most commonly used in large headlines and advertisements but are seldom used in body text. The name "egyptian" is derived from their use in a publication about treasure from Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.
Some consider slab serifs to be a subset of modern serif typefaces.
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[edit] History
Slab serifs originated in the early 19th century with the Industrial Revolution. As printed material began to branch out from the familiar realm of books, a new typeface was needed for use in advertising, posters, and flyers. Slab serif fonts could be mass-produced on printed materials and were bold enough to catch a reader's attention. For the first time, fonts were chosen not based on aesthetic appeal but on commercial feasibility and popularity, and as a result, fonts had become garish and over-decorative by the end of the 19th century.
[edit] Classification
There are three subgroups of slab serif typefaces: Slab serif, Clarendon, and Typewriter.
[edit] Slab serif
Regular slab serif typefaces have no bracketing and similarly weighted stems and serifs. Examples include Rockwell and Memphis.
[edit] Clarendon
Clarendon typefaces, unlike other slab serifs, have some bracketing. Examples include Clarendon and Egyptian.
[edit] Typewriter
Typewriter slab serif typefaces are so named for their use in typewriters. They are monospaced or fixed-width, meaning that every character takes up exactly the same amount of horizontal space. This feature is necessitated by the nature of the typewriter apparatus. Examples include Courier and Courier New.
