Beatrice No. 30
Annie Szafranski
Beatrice No. 30 is a typeface inspired by a late 19th-century printing of Dante Alighieri’s, The Vision: Purgatory,
published by Hurst & Company, New York. This old printed translation found in the library stacks used, what I believe to
be, Long Primer No. 20 from the Bruce Type Foundry in New York. No. 20 is a lightweight, transitional, book typeface
with a vertical stress, ball terminals, old-style figures, and other defining characteristics dependent on size. For
this revival, I stayed fairly true to the source—with some contemporary modifications.
American type designer, Sol Hess, designed a revival of Bruce's No. 20 for Lanston Monotype and later Monotype in 1909,
named Bruce Old Style No. 31. Hess’ revival added lining figures, which helped inform some of my design decisions ,
along with the work of Alexander Phemister. With these two typefaces and the rich poetry of Dante to guide me, I named
my revival Beatrice No. 30 for Beatrice—Dante's love and divine light throughout The Divine Comedy.
Annie Szafranski is a California based designer and typographer designing editorial experiences across the web and in print.
