Hoefler & Frere-Jones

A missing Victorian gem.

Saracen is the Latin (wedge serif) member of The Proteus Project, a collection of four interchangeable type families designed in different nineteenth century styles.

Though the wedge serif printing type is a nineteenth century innovation, Saracen does not resemble any font from this era. It’s mysterious that typefounders of the Victorian age who sought the extreme and fanciful in their work — exploring all manner of serif treatments, and creating extra-condensed and super-expanded designs — never made a latin font of this straightforward proportion.