Agatha
Newglyph · Ian Party · 2003
A Didot-rooted serif by Ian Party, developed over two decades from a 19th-century typeface discovered in a Lausanne bookshop, now released as a 180-style variable family.
About
Ian Party first encountered the source typeface in 2003, inside a copy of La Comédie du jour sous la République Athénienne illustrated by Caran D'Ache. The design evolved through several iterations for editorial clients before culminating in a 2023 variable release spanning three axes: weight, width and contrast. Its romantic character shows in the curved serifs, the floral g, and the sinuous strokes of the A, V and W, situating it between high Didot formalism and early art nouveau.
Classification
Agatha draws explicitly from 19th-century Didot and neoclassical traditions, with high contrast between thick and thin strokes and a romantic, art nouveau character typical of Didone serifs.