The typeface was a favorite among newspapers, and was notably adopted as a headline typeface for The New York Times around 1906.ĭespite early success, with the rise of advertising typography in the following decades, Cheltenham saw a decline in popularity-even becoming somewhat controversial among designers. Cheltenham was among the first typefaces to be released as a type ‘family.’Ĭheltenham enjoyed massive success in the early 1900s, largely due to the robust variety of widths and styles it offered. By 1915, Benton had cut twenty-one variations of Cheltenham, leading the typeface to be considered one of the most widely known in the United States. Influential type designer Morris Fuller Benton refined the typeface, developing a large variety of condensed and expanded widths for its release. In 1902, Goodhue’s design was purchased by the American Type Founders (ATF). Lawson, Anatomy of a Typeface, 1990 Creating a family This feature also allowed for economical composition, since leading could be dispensed with, even in longer-than-average lines. Believing that the upper half of a line of type is more important for recognition, the designer lengthened the ascenders and shortened the descenders of the letters.

It was in the treatment of ascenders and descenders that Goodhue’s premise was most evident. He therefore designed an alphabet of rather monotonous construction, including serifs similar to the Clarendon style of fifty years earlier. It was Goodhue’s intent to create a book type in which legibility would be the dominant element. Original sketches of Cheltenham by Bertram Goodhue (Source: Anatomy of a Typeface) In 1896, Goodhue applied his talents to type design when he was commissioned by Daniel Berkeley Updike of the Boston-based Merrymount Press to design lettering for a church altar book. Following the success of that project, fellow printer Ingalls Kimball commissioned Goodhue to design a new typeface for the private use of his New York-based Cheltenham Press. Kimball sketched the basic weight while Goodhue completed the drawings, for what would become the namesake Cheltenham typeface (or ‘Chelt’ as it was often referred to by American typesetters). Goodhue became involved in the Arts and Crafts Movement early in his career. Though trained as an architect, he published a short-lived quarterly art magazine and participated in illustration and book design, including An Alphabet of Celebrities. Designed by an architect, and known today as the face of The New York Times, Cheltenham is the seventh installment in our ‘Know your type’ series.Īmerican architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was known for his involvement in the gothic revival at the turn of the 20th century, designing countless churches and buildings, including the Nebraska State Capitol and the Los Angeles Public Library.īut before that, he designed a typeface.

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