Originally designed for American Type Founders, Goudy drew inspiration from the classical old style faces for Goudy Old Style. Round characters have a strong diagonal stress, ascenders are fairly long but descenders are very short. Goudy bold was introduced in 1920; this was designed by Morris Fuller Benton. This typeface has been particularly popular in America where it is extensively used in advertising, book jackets, for labels and packaging.
The word "Text" in Goudy Text™ is short for Textura, and textura is the style of blackletter or gothic writing developed in Northern Europe in the middle ages. The use of space in blackletter is quite different from what we know about Roman letterforms.
Lowercase forms in blackletter writing and typefaces must be evenly textured with black and white elements, like the texture of weaving or fabric. Capital letters can provide either an integration of the even texture (by the use of decoration in their construction) or, if they are wide and open and filled with white, they provide bright spots of visual emphasis. Goudy, despite being an American in the twentieth century, understood well the fundamental texture of medieval blackletter and the importance of both density and light. He designed Goudy Text in 1928 for Lanston Monotype after studying the type in Gutenberg's 42-line bible; still one of the best models for designers of blackletter typefaces. The lowercase of Goudy Text has impact and medieval authenticity. The standard caps have some Victorian eccentricities but are mostly well drawn. The alternate, or "Lombardic" caps are spectacular - they set beautifully with the lowercase letters, providing the proverbial shafts of light through the Gothic cathedral's stained glass windows. Use this potent font in sizes 14 point or larger, for Christmas greetings, certificates, wedding invitations, advertising, or music collateral pieces.
