Centaur

Bruce Rogers
1929

Like Bembo, released for the Monotype machine the same year, Centaur was an exceptionally beautiful and eminently readable revival of Renaissance type.

Unfortunately, the producers of the digital version made a common mistake: the shapes are based on the most basic starting point of Bruce Rogers’ designs. These designs were intended for metal type that would press into paper, the ink spreading as it absorbed into the fibre. The resulting printed shapes had a good deal more visual force than the original designs. The process was total: design anticipating application.

This version of Centaur suffers from the perfection of the process of digital design and offset printing: the original shape is printed coldly intact, and thus it’s very difficult to set a well-made page in Centaur.

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