# Smythe font

> A condensed display serif by Vernon Adams, reworked from Arts and Crafts and Art Deco era type, in one weight.

Smythe is a condensed display typeface by Vernon Adams, a reworking of typefaces of the late 1800s and early 1900s in the Arts and Crafts and Art Deco manner. Smythe has one Regular style with 269 glyphs, is not a variable font, is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits posters, titles and period-style headings.

## Facts

- Classification: [Display](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/display)
- Designed by: Vernon Adams
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 1 (Regular 400)
- Variable font: No
- Glyphs: 269
- Character sets: latin
- Last updated: 2025-09-16
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Smythe
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/smythe
- Tagged for: Headlines, Posters, Retro, Condensed

## About Smythe

Smythe is a narrow display face with small flared serifs and a period flavour. In the specimen the letters are tall and tightly proportioned, the lowercase y and g finish in curled descenders, the K and L extend a leg along the baseline, the Q has a wavy tail, and the ampersand is drawn as a joined E and t. The zero carries a short horizontal bar at its centre. The official description calls Smythe a reworking and mixing of various typefaces of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which it sums up as Arts and Crafts or Art Deco. The family is one Regular file with 269 glyphs and is not a variable font. Besides Western European Latin it includes the Turkish letters. Vernon Adams is the designer, and the license is the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright (c) 2011 by vernon adams (vern@newtypography.co.uk), with Reserved Font Name Smythe.

Allowed:
- Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps.
- Modify the fonts and build new versions from them.
- Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them.

Conditions:
- The fonts cannot be sold by themselves.
- A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission.
- The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission.

Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/

## Where it works

- **Theatre and exhibition posters**: Narrow letters fit a long title on one line, and the curled descenders supply period detail.
- **Book covers and chapter openers**: The Arts and Crafts and Art Deco sources suit titles set in the decades around 1900.
- **Labels with a vintage tone**: The joined E and t of the ampersand and the wavy Q tail add ornament to a two-word product name.
- **Headlines in narrow columns**: The condensed proportions hold more characters per line than a normal-width face at the same size.
- **Turkish titles**: The letters ğ, ş, ı and İ are present, so Turkish headings can be set.

## Things to know

- **One weight**: Smythe has Regular 400 only, with no bold or italic.
- **An unusual ampersand**: The & is drawn as a joined E and t, which some readers may not recognise at once.
- **Limited Latin Extended**: Turkish is covered, but Polish ą and ę, Czech č and Hungarian ő are not in the font.

## FAQs

### Is Smythe free for commercial use?

Yes, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. Smythe may be used in personal and commercial projects, modified and redistributed, but it cannot be sold on its own, and a modified version keeps the same license and may not use the Reserved Font Name without permission.

### Who designed Smythe?

Smythe was designed by Vernon Adams, who is named in the copyright notice.

### How many weights does Smythe have?

Smythe has one weight, Regular 400, and it is not a variable font.

### What style is Smythe?

Smythe is a condensed display face. Its official description places it between Arts and Crafts and Art Deco, as a reworking of typefaces from around 1900.

### Which languages does Smythe support?

Smythe includes the letters needed for English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Catalan, the Nordic languages, Estonian and Turkish.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/smythe (trendhub)