The original Aetna font was patented by William Page on April 18, 1871. The sturdy letters featured the Detroit Serif with trapezoidal rather than rectangular terminations. The point was a bolder display font that could “withstand rough handling,” as described in Rob Kelly’s American Wood Type 1828-1900. We recommend reading Mark Simonson’s excellent summary of the Aetna story, which can be found here.

Although the original Aetna’s popularity faded in the early 20th Century, it is now back in grand style. This sturdy Roman wood type is now available in Aaron Bell’s digital version, offering a user-friendly experience beyond anything William Page could have wished for. The font features the four widths most offered by 19th Century wood type manufactures. Bell also recreates chromatic streamer and shadow effects based on William Page’s Chromatic Types.

The result is a powerful superstructure with interesting depth and attractive lines, a Flatiron Building of a display font: HWT Aetna. The font indeed has deep vintage resonance, recalling retro circus posters, saloons, and medical tonics of yore. At the same time, its depth and digital flexibility push Aetna into the modern world, where it holds its own in social media, web design, and digital marketing. Aetna is a great example of modern designers paying homage and reinventing great older designs: breathing new life into them and making them user-friendly and globally accessible.

Aetna is presented by the Hamilton Wood Type Foundry, which is a joint venture between Hamilton Wood Type and P22. Aetna precisely renders the project’s mission, as P22’s goal is “to present historical materials in a contemporary, relevant form.” P22 is “a vehicle for resurrecting lost artifacts” and we highly recommend you check them out. In the meantime, enjoy Aetna from Hamilton’s Aaron Bell. Aetna is fantastic for headlines, posters, magazines, books, signage, art projects, film, social media, branding, packaging, and more.