---
title: "Serif typefaces, oldest first"
description: "8 serif typefaces from 1530 onwards, who designed each and what it reads as today. Plus the ones they get confused with."
url: https://atoneplace.net/font/serif/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Serif typefaces

8 serif typefaces, oldest first.

| Typeface | Year | Designer | What it signals now |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Garamond | 1530 | Claude Garamond | Books, literature, anything that wants to look like it was set rather than typed. |
| Caslon | 1722 | William Caslon | Eighteenth-century English printing. Legal, literary, deliberately traditional. |
| Baskerville | 1757 | John Baskerville | Transitional, high-contrast, formal. Certificates, university crests, anything wanting authority. |
| Didot | 1784 | Firmin Didot | French luxury. The same territory as Bodoni, slightly more refined. |
| Bodoni | 1798 | Giambattista Bodoni | Fashion. Extreme contrast, hairline serifs, expensive. |
| Times New Roman | 1932 | Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent | A document that had no design decision made about it. Academic submissions, legal filings, defaults. |
| Trajan | 1989 | Carol Twombly | A film poster. Specifically a serious one, or a legal drama. |
| Georgia | 1996 | Matthew Carter | A blog, a newspaper website, or long-form reading on screen. |

- [Garamond](https://atoneplace.net/font/garamond/) — Claude Garamond, 1530
- [Caslon](https://atoneplace.net/font/caslon/) — William Caslon, 1722
- [Baskerville](https://atoneplace.net/font/baskerville/) — John Baskerville, 1757
- [Didot](https://atoneplace.net/font/didot/) — Firmin Didot, 1784
- [Bodoni](https://atoneplace.net/font/bodoni/) — Giambattista Bodoni, 1798
- [Times New Roman](https://atoneplace.net/font/times-new-roman/) — Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent, 1932
- [Trajan](https://atoneplace.net/font/trajan/) — Carol Twombly, 1989
- [Georgia](https://atoneplace.net/font/georgia/) — Matthew Carter, 1996

## Related pages

- [Sans-serif typefaces](https://atoneplace.net/font/sans/)
- [Slab serif typefaces](https://atoneplace.net/font/slab/)
- [Display typefaces](https://atoneplace.net/font/display/)
- [Monospace typefaces](https://atoneplace.net/font/monospace/)