Rhodesian Condensed

UPPERCASE: A to Z

PROVENANCE: As the early nineteenth century progressed the marketing of type was still mainly categorised by generic styles. Naming of types became necessary as a wealth of new designs were being rapidly introduced. These attributed names could be arbitrary or specific to an event or fashion happening at the very same time. As in this case, when the Boer War came to an end in 1902, there was still an air of familiarity with the names and events of the conflict. Foundries and manufacturers were bringing out fresh innovations and in this very year of 1902, P M Shanks, the London typefounder, introduced ‘Pretorian’, which was soon followed by ‘Rhodesian’ in wood by Day & Collins [Regd. No 385905]. Pretoria was the capital of the Transvaal (one of the two Boer republics) and soon to become the capital of the new territory of Southern Rhodesia. This font ‘Rhodesian Condensed’ is one of three wood variants of the earlier original metal ‘Pretorian’.