Addlethorpe isn’t your average letterpress typeface. Most digital “wood type” or “metal type” fonts only give you the letters. Addlethorpe gives you the whole slug—the letter and the block it’s printed on—so your designs capture the complete, authentic look of handset type.
This three-layer system lets you mix and match for maximum impact. Use the foreground layer for crisp, inked letters; drop in the fill layer for instant color separation; and finish with the background layer for that solid, greasy metal block feel. Align them neatly for a cleaner look or offset them for a hand-set, misaligned charm. Every block was built with painstaking detail—tight sidebearings, consistent gaps, and plenty of grit to keep it from looking sterile. Ligatures break up repeated shapes, making long headlines feel more organic. And because it’s a digital font, you can scale, color, and layer without the mess of real ink and lead.
Addlethorpe is perfect for retro posters, bold signage, packaging that needs an industrial kick, or any project that calls for a tactile, printed-on-iron vibe. The web version trims down the detail for faster load times, so your headlines can still have that punch online without slowing things down.
With support for a broad range of Latin-based languages, Addlethorpe brings the character of the print shop to screens and presses around the world. Whether you want to keep it precise or rough it up, Addlethorpe gives you all the tools to nail that authentic, blocky letterpress aesthetic.