In addition to the manuscript fonts, early typographers took letterforms from the inscriptions found on Roman monuments. Roman stonecutters used a brush and paint to sketch their letters onto the marble before cutting them with hammer and chisel. The serifs (cross strokes at the ends of letter forms) were required to keep the stone from chipping when the cutters ended their chisel strokes.
Typographers recognize three forms of Roman fonts:
Old
style, Transitional, and Modern. Comparative
samples
help
clarify the differences between the Old style, Transitional,
and Modern forms.
Old style, transitional, and modern Romans also exist with
proportions suitable for use as a "book" font.
