Roman is the second of the three major categories of wood-type. The typeface predates wood-type and in fact dates back to the time of the Caesars. It can be found inscribed in many buildings and monuments from the era of the Roman Empire. The typeface is characterized by a blend of thick and thin vertical strokes connecting thin horizontal strokes. Over time the difference in line thickness became exaggerated and by the early 1800 it was known as Fat Faced Roman.This form appeared as wood type in 1828 when Darius Wells the founder of the wood-type industry established the methods for mass production of wood-type. Over the years, the stroke thickness difference became less exaggerated, and the condensed variation gained in popularity. Our sample “LAX” is a 24 line condensed Roman version. Many variations of Roman also became popular including Aetna, Doric, Caslon, Unique and others. All of these had further variations including outlined, shaded, condensed, expanded, etc. Today you can find excellent examples of Roman typeface on US coins and paper currency. Pick up any bill and find several variations of Roman on the front and back. The backside of the dollar bill has at least four variations of Roman typeface plus Roman numerals as well as Latin inscriptions.