page_title: Perpetua (typeface)
section_title: Digitisations and adaptations
hierarchical_section_title: Perpetua (typeface) / Digitisations and adaptations
caption_attribution_description: English: The top line is a printed sample of the Perpetua typeface, taken from On Type Designs Past and Present by Stanley Morison (London: Ernest Benn, 1962), p. 79. The bottom line is a digital sample of Perpetua generated using GIMP software.
context_page_description: Perpetua is a serif typeface that was designed by English sculptor and stonemason Eric Gill for the British Monotype Corporation. Perpetua was commissioned at the request of Stanley Morison, an influential historian of printing and adviser to Monotype around 1925, at a time when Gill's reputation as a leading artist-craftsman was high. Perpetua was intended as a crisp, contemporary design not following any specific historic model, with a structure influenced by Gill's experience of carving lettering for monuments and memorials. Perpetua is commonly used for covers and headings and also sometimes for body text; it has been particularly popular in fine book printing. Perpetua was released with characters for the Greek alphabet and a matching set of titling capitals for headings.
  Perpetua is named for the Christian martyr Vibia Perpetua, an account of whose life was used in one of its first showings; its companion italic is named "Felicity" for her companion of that name. The choice had appeal to Morison and Gill, both converts to Catholicism.
context_section_description: Perpetua has been digitised by Monotype and a basic release is included with Microsoft Office. The professional release adds additional features likely to be used in professional printing, such as small capitals and text figures. Lapidary 333 by Bitstream is an unofficial digitisation.
caption: Comparison between printed (top) and digital (bottom) versions of Perpetua
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