Early sans serif typefaces came in contrasting flavours: from crude and loud designs for posters and advertisements to plain, no-frills jobbing type for small print. States is a synthesis of both extremes. A quintessential grotesque with a few surprises under its hood, released in two versions: States Grotesque and States Rounded. A selection of alternates turns the imperfection of physical printing into standout features, while celebrating grotesque eccentricities that undeservedly ended up in the dustbin of history. In the Variable font, both versions of States are connected through a Pressure axis.

Some stories begin with the discovery of something missing. While researching American sans serif type from the late 1800s, Anton Koovit was struck by a lowercase letter t that looked like someone had taken a bite out of its ascender. The typeface in question is Gothic N° 2, as offered in twelve sizes by the Boston Type Foundry in their 1889 type specimen. To be precise: 48 point Gothic N° 2, the largest size on offer. The curious detail is not repeated in any part of any other character on the page. This take on type design – at once sober and inconsistent, allowing room for unicorns and misfits – triggered the design of States.

In the early 19th century, sans serif letterforms are no longer an uncommon phenomenon in lettering, and in 1816 William Caslon IV’s foundry presents the very first sans serif typeface under the exotic name Egyptian. Featuring only capital letters, it is offered in a single size, which we would name Headline today: two lines of body text. Initially this modest debut seems to be a one-time experiment; serifless type is no instant hit. In the 1830s, two more British foundries present their take on the genre, using names and styles that are still commonplace today: Sans-Serif (uppercase only, by Figgins) and Grotesque (a condensed design with both upper- and lowercase, by Thorowgood). When the style makes its way to the United States in the mid-1800s, the unstoppable rise of the sans finally takes off, on both sides of the Atlantic.
    In the United States, sans serif type grows up from infancy to adulthood in an uncharted landscape. Foundries offer Gothics in all kinds of styles and sizes. There are original designs, followers and outright copies. Names are often absent – both of designers and typefaces. Usually they are simply called Gothic plus a number, and they are typically released as a single weight in a hand- ful of sizes. Foundries appear to agree that a certain degree of roughness or inconsistency is part of the game when it comes to sans serifs.
    In no small part, the idea of quirky early grotesques comes from our modern context. We are surrounded 24/7 by type in countless forms which yet follow more or less the same conventions about proportions. We can distinguish between grotesques and neo-grotesques, and have fully embraced the concept of type as a system of cooperating characters. Looking at early sans serif letters, what is most striking is what distinguishes them from our current assumptions. Take for example the capital letter G. Beginning with Caslon’s Egyptian, the G would often have the same shape as we are accustomed today – but without a crossbar. While that letterform looks unusual now, it was a perfectly normal variation back then.
    Even so, the imperfection of early grotesques contrasts with the flawless execution of other typefaces in type specimens of the time; a lack of technique is clearly not the cause. Perhaps foundries had not yet figured out the concept, and maybe some roughness was even desired for a grotesque. The sans serif typefaces of the late 1800s vary between crude and loud display designs and plain, no-frills jobbing type, often used in small sizes. In the United States, the wild years of sans serif type come to an end with the creation of mega-merger ATF and the work of type designer Morris Fuller Benton. A new wave of grotesques successfully presents itself as streamlined all-rounders, systematically organised into families with multiple weights and widths. In the next few years, early single-style grotesques quietly exit through the back door.
    States honors its physical roots. In printing shops, all kinds of pressure – from the printing press to deadlines – influenced the appearance of printed letters. Metal fonts were often used well beyond their expiration date and had to do their job despite clogged joints and missing parts. Koovit saw an opportunity to turn these accidents into standout features. The fonts contain two minimal stylistic sets. Inspired by battered metal letters, these radically reduced letterforms offer futuristic options for selected letters. States Rounded echoes the smoothed edges and clogged counters of letterpress printing. Users of the Variable version can set their ideal roundness with a Pressure axis.
    States is not a revival of a particular typeface, but a love letter to the past through today’s lens. A modern grotesque including a selection of stylistic sets, striking a mix of fun and functional.