Sansom

A Tuscan display face revived from Concave, shown by MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan of Philadelphia by 1878.

Pay once, use forever. No monthly subscriptions.
Launch price until 1 August 2026.

$39 AUD

Buy Sansom  

Origin

Page 359 of MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan's Eleventh Book of Specimens, headed Concave and Antique Pointed, showing Concave from Nonpareil up to Two-Line Great Primer with the line ARTILLERY THUNDERINGS.
Engraving of the MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan foundry building at 606 to 614 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, with The Johnson Type Foundry painted along the parapet.

Concave's earliest dated showing is MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan's Eleventh Book of Specimens, first issued in 1878.1 The 1876 date that follows this face around traces to modern indexes, not to any dated document. The condensed cut shows up only in the 1885 issue, and by then Marder, Luse & Co. of Chicago were listing Concave too, so the face travelled, as faces did then. It never stopped: Skyline Type Foundry casts Concave in metal to this day, crediting the Chicago foundry.2

The foundry stood on Sansom Street in Philadelphia.

Character set

Caps, numerals and basic punctuation. The character set will grow. The price rises when it does. Licences bought now get every update free.

Type tester

PHILADELPHIA 1878

Buy

Sansom

Tuscan display face. OTF file, desktop and web licence. Download link by email, every update free. Launch price until 1 August 2026.

$39 AUD

Buy Sansom  

Licence

  • Single user
  • Desktop and web files included
  • Commercial use included: client work and personal projects
  • Up to 5 website domains
  • Up to 5 app installs
  • No subscription. One payment, every update free.

Proof

Uppercase

Numerals

Punctuation

Alphabet

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Numerals

0123456789

Punctuation

. , ! ? & $

FAQ

What's in the character set?
Caps, numerals and basic punctuation. The set will grow and the price rises when it does; the launch price holds until 1 August 2026. Buy now and every update is free.
What file formats are included?
OTF (OpenType), suitable for desktop use in all major design applications. The purchase also includes a web licence; the woff2 for self-hosting is available on request.
Is commercial use included?
Yes. The licence covers use in client work, commercial projects and personal projects. See the Licence summary above for seat and domain limits.
What is the refund policy?
Because the files are delivered digitally, sales are final. The tester on this page uses the real letterforms, so try the full character set before you buy. If something went wrong with your order, get in touch at hi@tomlucey.com.

Also from the foundry

Lonsdale: uppercase display face from Melbourne ghost signs, available now. Disco Cowboy: reverse-contrast display typeface, in progress. View the full catalogue.

Notes

  1. Specimen page and foundry engraving from MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan, Eleventh Book of Specimens, Philadelphia, via Internet Archive. ⤴
  2. Concave's wider lineage is traced at Fonts In Use: versions carried by ATF, Barnhart Brothers & Spindler and others, a Bauer & Co. cut with a lowercase, and uses as late as Phil Smee's 1989 Kevin Ayers compilation cover. Skyline Type Foundry casts Concave in 18 point metal, attributing it to Marder, Luse & Co., 1884: a measure of how far the Chicago attribution travelled. ⤴

Sansom$39 AUD

Buy