: How far back does the concept of a "bold" typeface variant go What I'd like to know is where in history the idea of having a bold variant of a typeface came about. I suspect that back in

@Lengel450

As KMSTR states, the idea of a "bold" typeface has its own channel of history. A blackletter in contrast to a Roman font would certainly appear bold, and chunky lettering goes back much further than either of those styles.

But in checking out this thread, the consensus seems to be that Clarendon is the first bold typeface that was made to complement a regular Roman face:


For the record, the Clarendon type of the Besley foundry is indeed the first type actually designed as a ‘related bold’ – that is, made to harmonize in design and align with the roman types it was set with. It was registered in Britain in 1845 under the new Ornamental Designs Act of 1842.


Follow the link and find that post; there's a picture of it in action. Good stuff.

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@Rivera951

According to this and this, bold typeface developed historically different from roman and italic. Emphasis (variance in blackness) was was achieved by letter-spacing. To actually achieve "bold", one would have to replace fonts. So maybe your research should focus on mixing typefaces.

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