Garalde (Old-style) vs Palatino
Palatino evolved from Garalde (Old-style) — a calligraphic old-style serif in the Renaissance humanist tradition.
Garalde (Old-style)
The classic old-style serif — humanist roots refined by Aldus Manutius and the French punchcutters, with moderate stroke contrast, bracketed serifs, and an inclined stress that recalls the broad-nib pen.
- Moderate contrast between thick and thin strokes
- Fully bracketed serifs flowing into the stems
- Angled (oblique) stress, from the broad-nib pen
- Slanted, pen-formed serifs on the ascenders
- Even, warm text color tuned for long reading
Palatino
Hermann Zapf's 1949 old-style serif — a calligrapher's roman with broad, open letterforms named after the Renaissance writing master Giambattista Palatino, drawn to stay legible on the rough paper of its day.
- Broad-nib calligraphic modulation in the strokes
- Generously bracketed serifs with a slight cupping
- Wide, open letterforms and a large x-height
- Open apertures and roomy counters for rough-paper printing
- Angled (oblique) old-style stress from the pen
At a glance
| Garalde (Old-style) | Palatino | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1490s–1700s | 1949 |
| Discipline | Typography | Typography |
| Region | Italy, France | Germany |
| Family | Serif | Old-style Serif, Humanist Serif |
| Formal traits | old-style, bracketed-serif, moderate-contrast, calligraphic | bracketed-serif, calligraphic, moderate-contrast, wide-set |
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