Civilite is a historic font revival designed by P22 type foundry, based on 16th century sources with a lineage going back to Robert Granjon in France and from early Dutch type specimens. Presented in Opentype with several variations.
Civilite is a non-connecting upright script font based on 16th century handwriting. The P22 Civilite suite of fonts includes the 6 basic Dutch versions of Civilite in both "historical" and "modern" styles in basic OpenType format and Pro versions that combine the historical, modern & sorts into one OpenType font with alternates, expanded language coverage and pro features. Opentype features allow for insertion of swashes and alternates (automatically via stylistic sets, discretionary ligatures and contextual alternates or manually via the glyph palette).
Historic & Modern Sources
The P22 Civilite Suite of fonts combines historically accurate revivals of the 16th Century non-connecting script known as Civilité with modern renditions derived from the centuries-old font. The sources of P22's revival set include: the 1908 large volume publication containing the entire historic collection of the Enschedé foundry, printed using types cast from matrices struck from the original punches; the 1978 English translation by Harry Carter, exquisitely printed using flawlessly cast type from centuries old punches; and an additional specimen from the Enschedé foundry in 1926.
The P22 Civilité suite of fonts includes the 6 basic Dutch versions of Civilite- the styles 8, 9, 11, 14 & 32 (historic) are digitized as they were displayed in the Enschedé specimens. Each style includes a "historic" and "modern" variation. The modern versions are designed to include newly drawn letter-forms that are sympathetic to the historical style, but much more legible to the contemporary reader.
OpenType Features
The 6 Civilite pro fonts combine their respective modern, historic and sorts styles into a single pro OpenType font. Utilizing contextual substitutions and ligatures, the designer can reproduce documents similar to those set with the original metal Civilité. Contextual swash variations that place ornamental swash characters at the beginning or end of words add to the rhythm and color of the face while discretionary ligatures add variety.
In many styles, there are also historical swash and ligature variations. These have been added in separate features in case the designer wishes to fully recreate the look of historically set documents.
Civilite Suite Specimen Booklet
An in-depth look at the Civilite Suite with running text outlining its lineage and modern adaptation. Beautifully printed and designed in keeping with its source specimens. 5.5" by 8.25", 16 pages.
Free with any Civilite Suite font or family purchase. Purchase separately for $3 (shipping included).
Note: If you would like to have the book shipped to an address other than the billing address you supply at checkout, please e-mail p22(at)p22(dot)com with the correct shipping address. Make sure to reference your order number in the subject field of the e-mail message.