Brought to you by the letter...

Today's letter is brought to you by the letter: G.
ITC Cheltenham, Book, lowercase g.

ITC Cheltenham Book 'g' is kicking off this new series exploring type because quite frankly this is the letter that inspired it. I want to learn more about fonts and typefaces, so I figured why not spend one day a week talking about a certain letter/typeface. (I already have a new typeface project in the works, but I'll share that little secret on another post.) You'll have to excuse me if I use the wrong terminology, but please do correct me.

What really caught my eye on this 'g' is the open-bowl ascender. That's what really separated it from the numerous other serif typefaces I was copying at the time. (My typography teacher once made us trace over the letters of five typefaces to learn the shapes, contours and minute differences. I absolutely loved this meticulous task, so I continue to trace.)

The ascended-bowl opening creates a more interesting white space that juxtaposes with the trapped white space of the top bowl. And then there's the perfect, strict stem (?) that connects the two curvy sections. It's a perfect synthesis of contrast. Plus, it's ear (or terminal) is pretty cute.

A very brief history of ITC Cheltenham Book courtesy of font.com:

Design Foundry: ITC - International Typeface Corp.
Designer: Tony Stan
Classification: Clarendon Serif which means strong vertical weight stress; usually with heavy, bracketed and square-cut serifs

About: The original Cheltenham was designed by the distinguished American architect, Bertram Goodhue in 1896, for the Cheltenham Press, New York. Generally stronger in appearance than the popular text types of the time, the ITC Cheltenham font family has a large x-height that adds to its legibility in text settings.

What are your takes on the 'g'?