Berthe
Abyme · Charles Mazé · 2011
A careful revival of Série no. 16, a workhorse Parisian typeface from Deberny & Peignot, named after the overlooked daughter in Flaubert's Madame Bovary.
About
Drawn by Charles Mazé over seven years, Berthe revives Série no. 16, one of the anonymous caractères ordinaires that quietly populated French printing throughout the twentieth century before disappearing with metal type. The typeface was originally commissioned for a 2013 Four Corners Books edition of Madame Bovary, designed by John Morgan, and takes its name from Emma Bovary's neglected daughter. Available in two styles, it carries the restrained rhythm of a genuine book face with a specific and traceable lineage.
Classification
Berthe is drawn after Série no. 16, a late nineteenth-century Parisian type foundry cut from Deberny & Peignot, placing it within the transitional serif tradition common to French printing of that era.