Schwartz cleverly integrated many of Fleischman’s hallmarks, such as the mixture of flat and wedge-shaped serifs, while avoiding extreme traits like exaggerated spikiness that could have impacted readability. Open, “normal” styles in the Text contrasted with the merrily dancing swashes of the Display’s italics. Farnham Text and Display made a harmonious duo while still exhibiting an intriguing tension. Schwartz retained that sparkle, but took the design in a direction more suited to a contemporary text family. In documenting the development of Farnham, he said: “Fleischman’s Romans are remarkable for their energy and ‘sparkle’ on the page, as he took advantage of better tools and harder steel to push the limits of how thin strokes could get.” Not interested in a strict revival, Schwartz used Fleischman’s work as a jumping-off point for the text design that would become Farnham. But it was his transitional Roman forms that struck a chord with modern designers like Matthew Carter, Stanley Morison, Paul Renner, and Schwartz.įarnham Headline’s versatility and charm are evident throughout seven weights ranging from Light to Black. Fleischman’s impressive repertoire included sumptuous Blackletter faces and a comprehensive set of fonts for musical notation. In developing Farnham, Schwartz studied the work of Fleischman, a German-born standout in the Dutch type scene who worked with Haarlem’s Enschedé in the mid- to late-1700s. The 14 finely rendered styles of Farnham Headline, commissioned for use in newspapers, are now available to the public. A contemporary take on the work of 18th-century punchcutter Johann Michael Fleischman, Farnham was originally drawn in Text and Display. In 2004, Font Bureau first released Farnham, a transitional typeface by Christian Schwartz. Christian Schwartz expands his Fleischman-inspired family with a finessed set of styles for headlines.