McClain - History of Clarendon

History and Bio

Clarendon is a slab-serif typeface created in 1845 by typographer and Lord Mayor of London, Robert Besley. The typeface was originally created for use by the Fann Street Foundry, a type foundry that specialized in display fonts. The name "Clarendon" comes from the Clarendon Press, a branch of the Oxford University Press. Because of Besley's foresight and business acumen, Clarendon holds the distinction of being the first patented typeface in history. However, because of the popularity of the typeface, the patent didn't stop imitators from duplicating the typeface and flooding the market with bootleg versions of Clarendon.

Robert Besley was born on October 14th, 1974. He learned how to print in his father’s shop when he was a young man. When the print workshop was inherited by his older brother, Robert was employed helping his brother manage and print the Devenshire Chronicle, a modestly circulated liberal newspaper. It was here Besley gained his appreciation for type setting and liberal politics. In 1820, Besley joined the Messrs. Thoregood (Fann Street) type-foundry, the firm that he would later become head of. After an illustrious career as a type designer, Besley began his career in politics around 1855. Between 1855 and his death in 1876, Besley would hold many political offices including Sheriff, Lord Mayor of London and Governor of the Stone lunatic asylum.

Up until recently, the US National Parks Service used Clarendon in map legends and directional signs used in national parks. The parks service now uses a font called NPS Rawlinson Roadway, a typeface designed specifically to replace Clarendon. Rawlinson Roadway takes up 15% less space and is 11% more legible at long distances.

Concept

I thought I make use of Clarendon's association with signage in State Parks. I plan on using road signs to highlight the different aspects of Clarendon like government signs guide visitors through a park.