Solus (typeface)

Solus is a serif typeface that was designed by English sculptor and stonemason Eric Gill for the British Monotype Corporation and released in 1929.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Solus has a structure of straight, regular serifs reminiscent of slab-serif typefaces of the nineteenth century, but with a reduced build giving an impression of crispness.^[6] Along with these characteristics, Solus bears the distinct personality of Gill's characteristic preferences in letterforms, such as the pointed end to the top left of the letter 'a'.^[7][8][9] James Mosley describes Solus as "essentially a mechanistic type — a ‘light Egyptian’", a conclusion also reached by editor Robert Harling in his book on Gill's work.^[10][a]

Solus was not particularly popular during the metal type period, which Harling suggests was because it was too similar to Gill's pre-existing Perpetua, not having an italic and having little appeal in display use, unlike more aggressive slab serif designs.^[12] Gill's Joanna, designed some years later in a similar style but with an italic, has become much more popular.^[10]

Solus has not been digitised by Monotype; an unofficial revival has been made by the company K-Type.