Century Expanded

Theodore Low DeVinne, publisher of Century Magazine, commissioned Linn Boyd Benton to design a new typeface for the magazine. The result, in 1894, was a roman type called Century Roman; a large x-height gave Century Roman the appearance of being condensed. Benton’s son, Morris Fuller Benton, redrew Century Roman for American Type Founders in 1900 so it would meet the standards of the Typographical Union. Benton’s Century Expanded is only slightly wider, but was advertised by DeVinne as allowing for an expansion in the number of characters that could fit in a line, “the expansion is upward, enabling one to get much matter in a small space.” Century Expanded is useful for text settings of magazines, books, newsletters, and brochures.