display license Miller to achieve a complementary, more balanced reading experience on paper. Reverse-contrast styles An eccentric method of reworking and parodying Didone typefaces has long been to invert the contrast, making the thin strokes thick and the thick strokes thin. First seen around 1821 in Britain and occasionally revived since, these are often called reverse-contrast fonts. They effectively become slab serif designs because of the serifs becoming thick. In the 19th century, these designs were called Italian because of their exotic appearance, but this name is problematic since the designs have no clear connection with Italy; they do slightly resemble capitalis rustica Roman writing, although this may be a coincidence. They were also called Egyptian, an equally inauthentic term applied to slab serifs of the period. Intended as attention-grabbing novelty display designs more than as serious choices for body text, within four years of their introduction the printer Thomas Curson Hansard had described them as 'typographic monstrosities'. Nonetheless, somewhat toned-down derivatives of this style persisted in popular use throughout the nineteenth century, and are commonly associated with 'wild west' printing on posters. They ultimately became part of the Clarendon genre of slab-serif typefaces, and these later designs are often called French Clarendon designs. Notes References Further reading Valerie Lester, Giambattista Bodoni: His Life and His World (2015) Sébastien Morlighem, The 'modern face' in France and Great Britain, 1781-1825: typography as an ideal of progress (thesis, University of Reading, 2014), download link T. M. Cleland, (1916) External links Computer Modern release, for general use (select otf) Libre Bodoni release Period specimen books: Manuale Tipografico of Bodoni's types (1818, published posthumously by his wife), at Rare Book Room Specimen of Printing Types by Vincent Figgins, Letter Founder - the specimen book of London typefounder Vincent Figgins, 1834 Typography Modern serif typefaces