Blake and Stephenson Sans Shaded
Commercial Type · Paul Barnes
A revival of a nineteenth century shaded sans by Blake and Stephenson, with a shallow outline that lifts gently to the bottom right.
About
A shaded display sans revived by Paul Barnes for Commercial Classics, based on a nineteenth century type by the Sheffield foundry Blake and Stephenson. Type foundries had long imitated fashionable hand lettering, and during the nineteenth century one of the most popular forms was the engraver's lettering found at the bottom of prints and on name cards. Foundries copied these styles, and Blake and Stephenson Shaded and Caslon Doric Outline are two examples. Simple sans forms carry a shallow outline that increases slightly to the bottom right, lifting the letter gently off the page with less definition than other shaded faces. Cut at smaller sizes, it was designed to replace the work of hand engravers.
Classification
A Commercial Classics revival of a nineteenth century shaded sans, with a shallow outline that increases slightly to the bottom right. Cut at smaller sizes, originally used to stand in for hand-engravers' lettering on print and name cards.