Antique No. 6 Family
From one surviving bold weight to a seven-weight family with an original italic
Antique No. 6 revives an idiosyncratic slab serif first seen in the 1870s, originally released by the Figgins foundry and passing through several ownerships before being among the last faces cast by Stevens, Shanks & Sons Ltd. Paul Barnes initially revived it as an alternate bold weight for Caslon Ionic. In 2020 the family expanded from that single bold weight to seven weights plus an original italic. Designed for text sizes, its distinctive character also suits headline use.
Set in Antique No. 6
Insights
- The revival began instrumentally—as a bold companion to Caslon Ionic—before being developed into a standalone family.
- Expanding from a single historical weight required designing six additional weights and a wholly original italic.
- The typeface survived multiple foundry ownership changes before its final casting at the end of the twentieth century.
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