Stephenson Blake
Historic British type foundry that created Impact and was the last major British metal type foundry.
www.fonts.com ↗Stephenson Blake was Britain's last major metal type foundry, with origins dating back to 1818. The Sheffield-based company produced typefaces for over 180 years before closing its type manufacturing operations in 2004.
Historic Significance
At its height, Stephenson Blake was one of the largest type foundries in the world. The company acquired numerous smaller British foundries throughout its history, accumulating an extensive library of typefaces spanning multiple centuries.
Impact's Cultural Moment
Impact, designed by Geoffrey Lee in 1965, was created for headlines and advertising. The ultra-condensed, heavy letterforms were designed to make an impression at large sizes. Decades later, Impact found unexpected fame as the default font for internet memes, becoming one of the most recognizable typefaces of the digital age.
Notable Typefaces
Stephenson Blake's library includes:
- Impact - The bold condensed face that defined internet culture
- Playbill - A distinctive Western-style slab serif
- Old English - A blackletter design
Legacy
When Stephenson Blake closed, its type archive—including thousands of original punches and matrices—was preserved by the Type Museum in London. This collection represents an invaluable record of British typographic history.
Digital Era
Stephenson Blake's typefaces were digitized and are now distributed through various foundries. Impact's inclusion in Microsoft's Core fonts for the Web ensured its continued ubiquity in the digital age.
