American Grotesk
Klim Type Foundry · Kris Sowersby · 2024
Kris Sowersby's 2024 revival of Franklin Gothic, consolidating the Benton grotesque tradition – Normal, Condensed and Compressed – into 42 styles across seven weights with matching italics.
About
American Grotesk draws from Morris Fuller Benton's Franklin Gothic (1902) and its siblings – News Gothic and Lightline Gothic – unifying their disparate proportions into a coherent family for the first time. Three widths span seven weights each, with matching italics, totalling 42 styles. Key characteristics of the original are preserved: medium stroke contrast, short cap extenders, angled terminals and the asymmetric C bite, alongside alternate glyphs that honour the wood type heritage.
Classification
Lineal grotesque revival rooted in Morris Fuller Benton's Franklin Gothic (1902) and its siblings – News Gothic and Lightline Gothic. Preserves the original's medium stroke contrast, short cap extenders, angled terminals and asymmetric C bite. Three widths (Normal, Condensed, Compressed) are unified into a single coherent family for the first time, totalling 42 styles.