Glyptic DJR revives Herman Ihlenburgâs Glyptic, a decorative Victorian serif designed in 1878 and issued by MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan. My interpretation leans into the frenzied energy of the design, emphasizing the angularity of the wedges and vertical serifs, and then contrasting them against delicate spirals and curlicues. The spacing is tightâoptimized for contemporary use. This monthâs update adds an Uncial-inspired lowercase, lining figures, and borders, none of which were present in the original design.
This monthâs update started with a sneaky little change I made in August. I love Herman Ihlenburgâs Glyptic, but its U felt off to me. Thereâs something stilted and overly-mechanical about the squared-off left edges of the vertical stem, and I didnât like how all the serifs seemed to push out from the letterâs center.
So in my revival, I changed it. I removed the bottom serif and replaced it with a vertical spikeâsimpler and still sharp. I did the same thing to G, which already has a lot going on and could afford to be less busy.
Then I added a bilateral serif to the U, echoing the bilateral serifs you see in the rest of the typeface.