Vincent Figgins
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Vincent Figgins was a British typefounder based in London, who cast and sold metal type for printing. After an apprenticeship with typefounder Joseph Jackson, he established his own type foundry in 17
Engraved portrait of Joseph Jackson, Figgins' master
The Common Council Chamber at the Guildhall, pictured in 1808
Radical candidate Henry Hunt (speaking, left) in an 1818 cartoon. Ten years later he unsuccessfully ran against Figgins for election. Figgins described him as a "shameless fellow".
Figgins' 1792 type in the transitional style
Fat face
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In typography, a fat face letterform is a serif typeface or piece of lettering in the Didone or modern style with an extremely bold design. Fat face typefaces appeared in London around 1805–1810 and b
Vincent Figgins
…figure in the history of type, but let's face it -- his letterforms were imbalanced and hideous." Figgins was one of the first typefounders to sell "fat face" ultra-bold typefaces. These were serif faces based on the model of Didone letterforms, but with much bolder verticals. Matthew Carter's Elephant (also…
London poster, c. 1840s
Early theatre poster, 1808: all text is in fonts similar to body text faces.
1818 poster; complete change in style. Fat face, or at least bold, letterforms used throughout; the main heading is in an inline italic design.
Early typeface in what became the fat face style by Robert Thorne in his 1803 specimen