Drawn under the guidance of Stanley Morison, Bembo was based on the roman types cut by Francesco Griffo, and used by Aldus Manutius in Venice in 1495 to print Cardinal Bembo's tract, "de Aetna".

Bembo is considered one of the first old style typefaces, which also include the highly popular Garamond.

There were no italics at this time. Bembo Italicwas based on an original print from the writing master, Giovanni Tagliente, Venice 1524.

The modern version of Bembo was re-designed in 1929 by the Monotype Type Drawing Office, supervised by Stanley Morison.

Bembo has been widely used for books, in advertising and display work over the last 60 years.

One reason for its popularity is its functional serifs which help provide readability, and guarantee an easy reading experience. Books and other texts set in Bembo can encompass a large variety of subjects and formats because of its quiet classical beauty.


Designers: Monotype Staff, Stanley Morison
Classification: Garalde Oldstyle
Trademark of the Monotype Corp.

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