Ronaldson Pro
Canada Type · Patrick Griffin
A digital revival of Ronaldson Old Style, the 1884 Philadelphia face considered the first original American text typeface, with a newly developed italic.
About
Patrick Griffin's Ronaldson Pro revisits the Alexander Kay design published by MacKellar, Smiths and Jordan in 1884, which held a dominant place in American printing for over fifty years. The original metal face was cut as a single roman weight, with a rarely used sloped version appearing in the early 1890s; printers typically borrowed italics from other old style faces. This digital version addresses that historical gap with a properly resolved italic.
Classification
Revival of Ronaldson Old Style, described as the New World's first original text face. Single roman weight in the original metal; a sloped roman and italic were part of the historical model. Patrick Griffin's digital expansion builds on the 1884 MacKellar, Smiths and Jordan original.