Sabon
Linotype · Jan Tschichold · 1967
Jan Tschichold's definitive Garamond revival, jointly developed with Linotype, Monotype and Stempel for precise body-text use.
About
Sabon was commissioned in the 1960s to provide a Garamond revival that could work identically across different compositing systems. Tschichold based the roman on Claude Garamond and the italic on Robert Granjon, keeping widths uniform across styles to satisfy the technical constraints of Linotype's machines. It remains among the most trusted text faces for literary and liturgical publishing.
Classification
Old-style serif based on Claude Garamond's 16th-century designs, italics derived from Robert Granjon. Jointly released by Linotype, Monotype and Stempel. Designed with uniform widths across roman, italic and bold to satisfy Linotype's duplex casting requirements.