A2 Mazarin
A2-Type · Robert Girard · 2021
A careful digital revival and expansion of a Garamond-inspired metal typeface originally cut for Deberny & Peignot in the early 1920s, extended from a single upright-and-italic pair into a seven-weight family.
About
Originally designed by Robert Girard around 1921 to 1923 as Astrée for the French foundry Deberny & Peignot, then recut and renamed Mazarin by Stephenson Blake in 1926, the face was historically available only in a single weight with matching italic. A2-Type have restored and reimagined it as a contemporary family across seven weights from Light to Black, each with an accompanying italic. The old style proportions and French Renaissance character of the original are preserved, giving the family a depth of historical grounding unusual in contemporary revivals.
Classification
Rooted in the Garamond tradition via Robert Girard's early 1920s Astrée for Deberny & Peignot, the design sits firmly in the old style category with the humanist proportions and moderate contrast characteristic of French Renaissance-influenced metal type.