205TF – Petit Serif

TypefacePetit Serif

DesignerMatthieu Cortat

Release 2012

Fonts In Use

Specimen

For Petit Serif, Matthieu Cortat drew inspiration from lettering created by Percy J. Delf Smith for the building at 55 Broadway, S.W.1, London, reproduced in his book Civic and Memorial Lettering*.

Petit Serif is a lineal typeface of monumental Roman capitals with classical proportions. Its subtle serifs stem from the brushwork used in the original lettering.

Designed for titles and shopfronts, it has no lowercase, but includes Greek and Cyrillic alphabets. Alternate forms of A and I are also available for Basque.

The 2026 update introduces two new weights, Light and Bold, alongside the original Regular released in 2012. It also expands the character set, refines Cyrillic support, and adds a variable font format for greater flexibility.

*Percy J. Delf smith R.D.I., Civic and Memorial Lettering, Adam & Charles Black, London, 1946.

3 Styles

Roman

1 Variable

Variable

word

Broadway is not only a place—it is a continuum, stretching from 1900 to now, from gaslight to LED, from whispered lines to voices amplified into the farthest corners of a darkened room. It lives in transitions: 1910 becoming 1950, 1950 dissolving into 2020, each era layered over the next like scenery changed in silence. Nothing truly disappears here. The past lingers in fragments—an opening night in 1927, a standing ovation in 1943, a reinvention in 1975—moments that do not belong to history alone but to a kind of suspended present. A stage remembers, even when it appears empty. Time behaves differently under the lights. Eight shows a week, year after year, yet no performance is identical. A line spoken on March 3rd is not the same as the same line spoken on March 4th. Something shifts—tone, breath, intention—small variations that redefine everything. Language expands beyond words. A pause held for 2 seconds too long can reshape a scene. A movement repeated 100 times in rehearsal becomes instinct, then becomes something alive, something that cannot be fully controlled. Precision exists, but so does drift. Backstage, the structure is almost mathematical. Cues follow cues, sequences unfold with near-perfect timing. A single signal marks the turning point between stillness and motion. Everything depends on that exact moment—too early, too late, and the illusion fractures. The audience enters as individuals and becomes something collective. On a night in 2001, they may respond differently than on a night in 2026. Context changes perception, and perception reshapes meaning. The same story, carried across decades, never lands in quite the same way. Broadway is built on repetition, yet defined by difference. It is an art form measured in nights, in years, in fleeting instants that refuse to be fixed. What begins at 8:00 ends a few hours later, but does not truly end. It continues in memory, in conversation, in the quiet persistence of something felt but not fully explained. And so it moves forward—always between dates, never contained by them, suspended somewhere between what has been and what is still about to happen. Broadway

Light

sentence

Regular

word

Dramatic Broadway is not only a place—it is a continuum, stretching from 1900 to now, from gaslight to LED, from whispered lines to voices amplified into the farthest corners of a darkened room. It lives in transitions: 1910 becoming 1950, 1950 dissolving into 2020, each era layered over the next like scenery changed in silence. Nothing truly disappears here. The past lingers in fragments—an opening night in 1927, a standing ovation in 1943, a reinvention in 1975—moments that do not belong to history alone but to a kind of suspended present. A stage remembers, even when it appears empty. Time behaves differently under the lights. Eight shows a week, year after year, yet no performance is identical. A line spoken on March 3rd is not the same as the same line spoken on March 4th. Something shifts—tone, breath, intention—small variations that redefine everything. Language expands beyond words. A pause held for 2 seconds too long can reshape a scene. A movement repeated 100 times in rehearsal becomes instinct, then becomes something alive, something that cannot be fully controlled. Precision exists, but so does drift. Backstage, the structure is almost mathematical. Cues follow cues, sequences unfold with near-perfect timing. A single signal marks the turning point between stillness and motion. Everything depends on that exact moment—too early, too late, and the illusion fractures. The audience enters as individuals and becomes something collective. On a night in 2001, they may respond differently than on a night in 2026. Context changes perception, and perception reshapes meaning. The same story, carried across decades, never lands in quite the same way. Broadway is built on repetition, yet defined by difference. It is an art form measured in nights, in years, in fleeting instants that refuse to be fixed. What begins at 8:00 ends a few hours later, but does not truly end. It continues in memory, in conversation, in the quiet persistence of something felt but not fully explained. And so it moves forward—always between dates, never contained by them, suspended somewhere between what has been and what is still about to happen. Dramatic

Bold

word

Theatre district Broadway is not only a place—it is a continuum, stretching from 1900 to now, from gaslight to LED, from whispered lines to voices amplified into the farthest corners of a darkened room. It lives in transitions: 1910 becoming 1950, 1950 dissolving into 2020, each era layered over the next like scenery changed in silence. Nothing truly disappears here. The past lingers in fragments—an opening night in 1927, a standing ovation in 1943, a reinvention in 1975—moments that do not belong to history alone but to a kind of suspended present. A stage remembers, even when it appears empty. Time behaves differently under the lights. Eight shows a week, year after year, yet no performance is identical. A line spoken on March 3rd is not the same as the same line spoken on March 4th. Something shifts—tone, breath, intention—small variations that redefine everything. Language expands beyond words. A pause held for 2 seconds too long can reshape a scene. A movement repeated 100 times in rehearsal becomes instinct, then becomes something alive, something that cannot be fully controlled. Precision exists, but so does drift. Backstage, the structure is almost mathematical. Cues follow cues, sequences unfold with near-perfect timing. A single signal marks the turning point between stillness and motion. Everything depends on that exact moment—too early, too late, and the illusion fractures. The audience enters as individuals and becomes something collective. On a night in 2001, they may respond differently than on a night in 2026. Context changes perception, and perception reshapes meaning. The same story, carried across decades, never lands in quite the same way. Broadway is built on repetition, yet defined by difference. It is an art form measured in nights, in years, in fleeting instants that refuse to be fixed. What begins at 8:00 ends a few hours later, but does not truly end. It continues in memory, in conversation, in the quiet persistence of something felt but not fully explained. And so it moves forward—always between dates, never contained by them, suspended somewhere between what has been and what is still about to happen. Theatre district

Bold

sentence

Wardrobe Time behaves differently under the lights. Eight shows a week, year after year, yet no performance is identical. A line spoken on March 3rd is not the same as the same line spoken on March 4th. Something shifts—tone, breath, intention—small variations that redefine everything. Language expands beyond words. A pause held for 2 seconds too long can reshape a scene. A movement repeated 100 times in rehearsal becomes instinct, then becomes something alive, something that cannot be fully controlled. Precision exists, but so does drift. Backstage, the structure is almost mathematical. Cues follow cues, sequences unfold with near-perfect timing. A single signal marks the turning point between stillness and motion. Everything depends on that exact moment—too early, too late, and the illusion fractures. The audience enters as individuals and becomes something collective. On a night in 2001, they may respond differently than on a night in 2026. Context changes perception, and perception reshapes meaning. The same story, carried across decades, never lands in quite the same way. Broadway is built on repetition, yet defined by difference. It is an art form measured in nights, in years, in fleeting instants that refuse to be fixed. What begins at 8:00 ends a few hours later, but does not truly end. It continues in memory, in conversation, in the quiet persistence of something felt but not fully explained. And so it moves forward—always between dates, never contained by them, suspended somewhere between what has been and what is still about to happen. Broadway is not only a place—it is a continuum, stretching from 1900 to now, from gaslight to LED, from whispered lines to voices amplified into the farthest corners of a darkened room. It lives in transitions: 1910 becoming 1950, 1950 dissolving into 2020, each era layered over the next like scenery changed in silence. Nothing truly disappears here. The past lingers in fragments—an opening night in 1927, a standing ovation in 1943, a reinvention in 1975—moments that do not belong to history alone but to a kind of suspended present. A stage remembers, even when it appears empty. Wardrobe

OpenType Features

Style

On Basque A I

SS02

Broadway

On @ Lowercase

SS03

meet @ london

Glyphs

Style

Cap Height800

X Height500

Baseline0

Ascender1201

Descender-400

Basic Latin

(

)

;

[

]

{

}

Latin-1 Supplement

Latin Extended-A

Latin Extended-B

IPA Extensions

Spacing Modifier Letters

Combining Diacritical Marks

Greek and Coptic

Cyrillic

Cyrillic Supplement

Thai

฿

Latin Extended Additional

Ḅ

ḅ

Ḍ

ḍ

Ḏ

ḏ

Ḓ

ḓ

Ḡ

ḡ

Ḥ

ḥ

Ḫ

ḫ

Ḯ

ḯ

Ḱ

ḱ

Ḵ

ḵ

Ḷ

ḷ

Ḹ

ḹ

Ḻ

ḻ

Ḽ

ḽ

Ḿ

ḿ

Ṁ

ṁ

Ṃ

ṃ

Ṅ

ṅ

Ṇ

ṇ

Ṉ

ṉ

Ṋ

ṋ

Ṍ

ṍ

Ṑ

ṑ

Ṓ

ṓ

Ṕ

ṕ

Ṛ

ṛ

Ṝ

ṝ

Ṟ

ṟ

Ṣ

ṣ

Ṭ

ṭ

Ṯ

ṯ

Ṱ

ṱ

Ẁ

ẁ

Ẃ

ẃ

Ẅ

ẅ

Ẏ

ẏ

Ẓ

ẓ

Ẕ

ẕ

ẖ

ẗ

ẞ

Ạ

ạ

Ả

ả

Ấ

ấ

Ầ

ầ

Ẩ

ẩ

Ẫ

ẫ

Ậ

ậ

Ắ

ắ

Ằ

ằ

Ẳ

ẳ

Ẵ

ẵ

Ặ

ặ

Ẹ

ẹ

Ẻ

ẻ

Ẽ

ẽ

Ế

ế

Ề

ề

Ể

ể

Ễ

ễ

Ệ

ệ

Ỉ

ỉ

Ị

ị

Ọ

ọ

Ỏ

ỏ

Ố

ố

Ồ

ồ

Ổ

ổ

Ỗ

ỗ

Ộ

ộ

Ớ

ớ

Ờ

ờ

Ở

ở

Ỡ

ỡ

Ợ

ợ

Ụ

ụ

Ủ

ủ

Ứ

ứ

Ừ

ừ

Ử

ử

Ữ

ữ

Ự

ự

Ỳ

ỳ

Ỵ

ỵ

Ỷ

ỷ

Ỹ

ỹ

General Punctuation

–

—

―

‘

’

‚

‛

“

”

„

‟

†

‡

•

․

‥

…

‰

′

″

‹

›

‼

⁄

⁇

⁈

⁉

⁋

Superscripts and Subscripts

⁰

⁴

⁵

⁶

⁷

⁸

⁹

₀

₁

₂

₃

₄

₅

₆

₇

₈

₉

Currency Symbols

₡

₣

₤

₦

₧

₨

₩

₪

₫

€

₮

₱

₲

₴

₵

₸

₹

₺

₼

₽

₿

Letterlike Symbols

℅

ℓ

№

℗

™

Ω

℮

Number Forms

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Ⅲ

Ⅳ

Ⅴ

Ⅵ

Ⅶ

Ⅷ

Ⅸ

Ⅹ

Ⅺ

Ⅻ

Ⅼ

Ⅽ

Ⅾ

Ⅿ

ⅰ

ⅱ

ⅲ

ⅳ

ⅴ

ⅵ

ⅶ

ⅷ

ⅸ

ⅹ

ⅺ

ⅻ

ⅼ

ⅽ

ⅾ

ⅿ

ↀ

ↁ

ↂ

Ↄ

Arrows

←

↑

→

↓

↖

↗

↘

↙

Mathematical Operators

∂

∆

∏

∑

−

∕

∙

√

∞

∫

≈

≠

≤

≥

Geometric Shapes

■

▲

►

▼

◀

◆

◊

●

Dingbats

❤

Latin Extended-C

Ɽ

Ⱨ

ⱨ

Ɑ

Ⱳ

ⱳ

Latin Extended-D

Ꞌ

ꞌ

Ɥ

Ɦ

Private Use Area



Alphabetic Presentation Forms

ﬁ

ﬂ

Discretionary Ligatures

№s

Denominators

Diagonal Fractions

Numerators

Ordinals

(

)

NOS

−

Scientific Inferiors

(

)

−

SS01 Arrows

--NE

--NW

--SE

--SW

--E

--N

--S

--W

SS02 Basque A I

SS03 @ Lowercase

Subscript

(

)

−

Superscript

(

)

−

Slashed Zero

Supported Languages

▼

Afar
Afrikaans
Albanian
Azerbaijani
Basque
Belarusian
Bislama
Bosnian
Breton
Catalan
Chamorro
Chichewa
Comorian
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
Estonian
Esperanto
Faroese
Fijian
Filipino
Finnish
Flemish
Frison
French
Gaelic
Gagauz
German
Gikuyu
Gilbertese
Greenlandic
Guarani
Haitian
Haitian Creole
Hawaiian
Hungarian
Icelandic
Igbo
Indonesian
Irish
Italian
Javanese
Kashubian
Kinyarwanda
Kirundi
Luba
Latin
Latvian
Lithuanian
Luxembourgish
Malagasy
Malay
Maltese
Manx
Maori
Marquesan
Moldavian
Montenegrin
Nauruan
Ndebele
Norwegian
Occitan
Oromo
Palauan
Polish
Portuguese
Quechua
Romanian
Romansh
Sami
Samoan
Sango
Scottish
Serbian
Sesotho
Seychellois
Silesian
Slovak
Slovenian
Somali
Sorbian
Sotho
Spanish
Setswana
Swati
Swahili
Swedish
Tahitian
Tetum
Tok Pisin
Tongan
Tsonga
Tswana
Turkish
Turkmen
Tuvaluan
Uzbek
Wallisian
Walloon
Welsh
Xhosa
Zulu

Petit Serif in Use

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