Herculanum

Adrian Frutiger

Like Pompeijana and Rusticana , Herculanum is one of Adrian Frutiger’s contributions to the “Type Before Gutenberg” series. Linotype invited accomplished designers and calligraphers to create new interpretations of scripts from the centuries before Gutenberg’s revolutionary invention. Herculanum is named after Herculaneum, one of the ancient Roman cities destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The typeface is based on cursive writing found on papyri from this period, and is composed of all-capital letters. Narrow caps are mixed with wide ones, and the lively strokes create an expressive line flow. Alternate caps include A, K, M, N, R, U, V, X, Y and Z. Herculanum has an aura of informal grace and dignity; it works well as an individualistic headline font.

– From Wikipedia