Designed by Joshua Darden. Production assistance by Noam Berg, David Fusilier, Thomas Jockin, Scott Kellum, Lisette Kelmanson, Lucas Sharp, and Eben Sorkin.

In the late 18th century, baroque flourishes gradually gave way to stark rationalism. This period saw some of the greatest practitioners of the balance of beauty and function, among them Pierre-Simon Fournier.

Corundum Text’s twelve alphabetic styles are complemented by 50 pictographic symbols from Fournier’s Manuel Typographique, including lunar, planetary, zodiac, and indication symbols (fists, arrows, &c.)

Expanding upon the utility of Fournier’s designs for prose and poetry, Corundum Text includes two heavier weights, each with a fully-equipped arsenal of italics and small capitals, suitable for subtle, immersive text settings or robust display with a literary touch.

Based on the middle sizes of Fournier’s body of work, Corundum Text’s generous capitals and strong color on the page mark it unequivocally as a text face in the Neoclassic style: when stripped of its letterpress veneer, a quiet, crisp brilliance emerges. The italics demand special attention in this regard: hailed by historian Harry Carter as ‘the most legible … of all’, they were among the first to merge the undulous line of handwritten Italics with the broken strokes of the roman, an innovation which is now a standard practice in the design of typefaces for legibility.