A.k.a. Augustal (after Augustus), but usually
referred to in the plural form, lit. “Augustan characters”.
“The Augustaux types by the 19th-century French printer
Louis Perrin are the subject of a fascinating
story. Created between 1846 and 1855, they are believed to be the
first attempt at reviving the Elzevirean style in France, in
reaction to the widespread use of Didot-style faces at the same period.” — Savoie
“In 1846 the
printer Louis Perrin of Lyons
(1799–1865) registered his
‘Caractères Augustaux”,
which he designed after
sketches of Roman capitals
he made from inscriptions
in the local collections. They
were produced for him
by his fellow-townsman,
the typefounder P. F. C.
(Francisque) Rey (active 1844–1866)
and cut by J. M.
Fugère, who also cut some
vignettes in wood for Perrin.”
[Ovink 1971]
The capitals were used in 1854 for printing the titles in
Inscriptions antiques de Lyon by Alphonse de Boissieu.
By 1855, “the typeface was completed by a number of lowercase
fonts; certain bodies came from the stocks of Rey, others were
drawn by Perrin himself.” [205TF]
“With Caractères Augustaux, Perrin carried out what could
be called the first revival in the history of typography.
A practice that is quite common today, consisting of the
intentional reemployment of ancient forms for a renewed use adapted
to current technologies.” – Mazé
Adapted for phototypesetting in 1987–1988 by
Jean-Renaud Cuaz (roman) and Ronan Le Henaff (italic) at the
Atelier national de création
typographique (ANCT), under the supervision
of Ladislas More…
A.k.a. Augustal (after Augustus), but usually referred to in the plural form, lit. “Augustan characters”.
“The Augustaux types by the 19th-century French printer Louis Perrin are the subject of a fascinating story. Created between 1846 and 1855, they are believed to be the first attempt at reviving the Elzevirean style in France, in reaction to the widespread use of Didot-style faces at the same period.” — Savoie
“In 1846 the printer Louis Perrin of Lyons (1799–1865) registered his ‘Caractères Augustaux”, which he designed after sketches of Roman capitals he made from inscriptions in the local collections. They were produced for him by his fellow-townsman, the typefounder P. F. C. (Francisque) Rey (active 1844–1866) and cut by J. M. Fugère, who also cut some vignettes in wood for Perrin.” [Ovink 1971]
The capitals were used in 1854 for printing the titles in Inscriptions antiques de Lyon by Alphonse de Boissieu. By 1855, “the typeface was completed by a number of lowercase fonts; certain bodies came from the stocks of Rey, others were drawn by Perrin himself.” [205TF]
“With Caractères Augustaux, Perrin carried out what could be called the first revival in the history of typography. A practice that is quite common today, consisting of the intentional reemployment of ancient forms for a renewed use adapted to current technologies.” – Mazé
Adapted for phototypesetting in 1987–1988 by Jean-Renaud Cuaz (roman) and Ronan Le Henaff (italic) at the Atelier national de création typographique (ANCT), under the supervision of Ladislas Mandel and José Mendoza. Initially intended as a typeface for the Musée de l'Imprimerie et de la banque, but that remained unrealized. In 1995, Franck Jalleau digitized it at the Imprimerie Nationale, using Fontographer. The only known use is in René Ponot’s Louis Perrin et l’énigme des Augustaux, éd. des Cendres, 1998. [ANRT] The sample is based on a scan of Jalleau’s digitization. Louize (Matthieu Cortat, 2013) is a contemporary revival of Perrin’s types.
