How it works
Type in Your text and this antique font generator sets it in five old printing faces, listed by age from 1600s Oxford book type to nineteenth-century wood poster type, framed on old paper. Download picture (PNG) saves it.
Read the full guide
Five faces, oldest first
IM Fell English SC copies type John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, gathered for his press from 1668, with small capitals for lowercase. Playfair Display follows late 1700s book type: thick stems, hairline serifs. Abril Fatface is the fat poster letter of nineteenth-century Britain and France. Alfa Slab One is an Egyptian, the heavy slab style printers called Antique. Holtwood One SC is wood poster type.
Make the label
It opens with a Frame on Old paper. New look deals 14 designs; Rough print wears the ink. Under More options, Decoration swaps the frame for a Signature line or Underline swash. With a decoration on, the file keeps the whole 2400 by 1200 board. Transparent with Decoration None cuts it to the lettering.
Tips
- Type a date. IM Fell and Playfair Display draw old-style figures, so the 5 in 1815 hangs below the line.
- Add & Co. Each face draws its own ampersand, and Holtwood One SC's is a joined Et.
- Sand on Black reads as gilt lettering. Sand on Old paper is too faint, and the tool says so.
Questions and answers
What does antique mean in printing?
It is an old trade name for slab serif type. London typefounder Vincent Figgins showed the style as Antique in a specimen dated 1815, and other founders sold it as Egyptian. Alfa Slab One is the Antique on this page in that strict sense.
Which antique font looks the oldest?
IM Fell English SC. Its outlines keep the lumps and soft corners of seventeenth-century metal type, which show even on the Plain look. Playfair Display is sharper and a century younger in style. The other three belong to the 1800s, when posters needed loud letters.
Are these real antique typefaces?
They are modern fonts drawn after old type. IM Fell is the closest, made from the Fell types kept at Oxford. Playfair Display's own description says it revives no particular design. Abril Fatface, Alfa Slab One and Holtwood One SC rework nineteenth-century poster styles.
Can I put the lettering on labels I sell?
Yes. All five fonts carry the SIL Open Font License, and its FAQ lists logos, stationery, signage and rubber stamps among the allowed uses, with no credit required. The picture you make is yours.