Memphis is a "geometric" slab serif, reflecting the style of German
geometric sans-serifs (in particular
Futura) which had attracted considerable attention, and adapting the design to the slab serif structure.[2] Its structure is strictly monoline, with a "single-storey" 'a' similar to
blackletter or
handwriting, in an almost-perfect circle. It was released in several weights and with
alternative characters such as
swashes, which digitisations have mostly not included.[3][4]
Memphis has an
Egyptian name, in reference to the fact that early slab serifs were often called "Egyptians" as an exoticism by nineteenth-century typefounders.[5][a]
Memphis and other similar designs were popular in printing during the
hot metal typesetting period and several foundries brought out similar designs or direct imitations such as
Karnak and Stymie in the United States and Rosmini from Nebiolo in Italy, and (more loosely)
Rockwell from Monotype.[8] Digital designs in a similar style include
Neutraface Slab and
Archer.[9][10][11] Memphis itself has been released digitally by Linotype, who licensed it from Stempel, and by Bitstream in a release including condensed weights under the name "Geometric Slabserif 703".[12][13]
Notes
^Although, confusingly, the term was first used to refer to sans-serifs, and the earliest slab-serifs were often called "Antiques".[6][7]