FREE Copperplate Font To Give Your Projects a Classic Touch
There’s a reason classics survive. Aside from nostalgia, many vintage pieces and design elements – like old-style fonts – have been created by artisans, master craftsmen and -women of their time. The special care and knowledge that goes into them is priceless.
Much like the hard work that went with the making of Copperplate Gothic.
Why Is Copperplate ‘Gothic’?
Designed by Frederic W. Goudy and distributed by American Type Founders (ATF) in 1901, the Copperplate font was an amalgamation of influences. But perhaps its most charming feature is its lettering style. It’s evocative of copperplate engravings that were once widely used until the early part of the 20th century.
The original works by Goudy were all capitals (no lowercase) as in many of the adaptations today. However, you may find other styles, like condensed, shaded, or bold. If you prefer the Copperplate Gothic appearance but would love a version with lowercase characters, try Balthazar free from Google Fonts.
Copperplate is tagged by many typographers as a wedge-serif because of its tiny, narrow projections (serifs) at the end of its letter strokes. The term ‘wedge’ is due to the shape of the serif (other shapes are slab, rounded, and hairline). What makes this font unique is that, its serifs are thinner and smaller compared to others in the same category (e.g. Manier, Boucherie, Millenia, and Aviano).
FREE Copperplate Gothic Font
Get the entire Copperplate font family by URW Type Foundry at MyFonts for a nominal fee. You can also purchase just one style for a reasonable amount. For the FREE version of this font family, check out Cufon Fonts. For bold and regular styles, download them from Fonts Geek at no cost.
Wondering what to pair with this wedge-serif? Surprisingly, it goes well with fonts similar to it. Try lovely fonts such as Baskerville, Delight, or Cheesecake. Any sans would be a great option too, just to balance out the traditional look. Helvetica Neue or Untitled Sans would make wonderful choices.