Often referred to as Roman type or architectural lettering, the history of Inscriptional typefaces goes all the way back to the Greek and Roman empires (and surely prior to those periods). Historically speaking, those fonts used to be hand carved in stone and light and context was very important.

Today, since we all use computers, those fonts are often digitized reproductions of the original faces used in monumental Greek and Roman carvings and can now be used for headings and script-looking documents and designs. More often than not, these typefaces come in all caps and small caps.

Here are 20 great examples of Inscriptional fonts. We hope you enjoy it!

Trajan Pro and Trajan Pro Bold, from the Adobe Type Foundry, can be used for display work in magazines, books, and billboards. It’s a pretty popular Roman typeface.

The Mantinia typeface includes raised caps and very distinctive ligatures. It was designed by Matthew Carter and was inspired by letterforms engraved by Andrea Mantagna, from the Italian Renaissance.

The Pontif typeface was based on the work of Luca Horfei, a Vatican scribe who designed the inscriptions for Pope Sixtus V in the sixteenth century. This typeface is owned by LetterPerfect and was designed by Garrett Boge in 1997.

Ceres is another Roman typeface whose name is derived from Ceres, the Roman goddess. The great thing about the Ceres font is that it also comes in lowercase, unlike many Inscriptional fonts that are available only in all caps.

Arrus was first released in 1991 and was designed by Bitstream. This typeface draws inspiration from classic Inscriptional fonts and comes in all caps, small caps and lowercase formats.

Augustus is a free font inspired by Greek and Roman engravings. It comes in all caps only and is well suited for headings in books and magazines or even on the web.

The Capitalis Typoasis typeface was designed by Manfred Klein and available for free. It works very well for headings where a very legible all caps typeface is needed.

Roman Caps is a pretty popular (and free) stylish all caps and small caps typeface. It was designed by Steve Deffeyes.

Greek is a typeface designed by Pedro Muñoz Pastor. Being a very particular typeface it may not be suitable for all types of designs but it can sure be used for historical documents and brochures.

The Kartago typeface was inspired by the inscriptions in the Roman ruins in the city of Cartago in Tunisia. This typeface was created by Dino dos Santos from DSType.

Optimus Princeps is another great typeface designed by Manfred Klein. It’s a very legible all caps typeface that can be used in books or magazines and even on the web in some cases.

Caesar is not your typical Inscriptional Roman typeface. It features double-lined glyphs and is reminiscent of Rome and ancient Roman architecture.

Empiric Roman was designed by SDFonts. I particularly like the A and E characters. This is an all caps typeface that is well suited for headings and it also has a very strong Roman feel, especially because of the U and V characters, which are basically the same.

Rusticus STD, as the name may suggest, is an old-looking (but fun), typeface that is best used sparingly for headings and book or magazine designs. This typeface was designed by Denis Serikov.

Archeological Caps is a great typeface that is slightly grunge-looking. It features worn-edges and comes in all caps and small caps formats. Designed by Manfred Klein.

SPQR is a stylish all caps/small caps typeface also designed by Iconian Fonts. It may not be suitable for a lot of things, but used sparingly it can definitely make an impact.

The Cartesius typeface finds its roots in 16th and 17th century France. This typeface is very suitable for book and magazine design. It was created in 2006 by Bo Berndal and is published by T4.

Designed by Manfred Klein, the Monograms Toolbox typeface can be used for old-looking designs and headings. Very suitable for book covers and brochures.

Justinian is another friendly and fun typeface designed by Iconian Fonts. While it may not be suitable for any type of design, it can certainly be used for logo and brochure design. It has this hand-written feel to it.

Marathon is a strong typeface that features some rounded-ness and it also shares some similarities with hand-written fonts. I find it very friendly. It was designed by Dan Zadorozny of Iconian Fonts.

About The Author

Jon Phillips is a designer and Wordpress developer who also blogs for a specialist supplier of laser toner from various brands to the print industry throughout the United Kingdom.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Design, Fonts, Type Showcase, Typography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.