The Courier Monospaced Typeface Debuts

1955

Howard "Bud" Kettler designed the monospaced, or fixed-width or non-proportional, slab serif Courier typeface to resemble the output from a strike-on typewriter.

"The design of the original Courier typeface was commissioned in the 1950s by IBM for use in typewriters, but they did not secure legal exclusivity to the typeface and it soon became a standard font used throughout the typewriter industry. As a monospaced font, it has recently found renewed use in the electronic world in situations where columns of characters must be consistently aligned. . . .

"Kettler was once quoted about how the name was chosen. The font was nearly released with the name "Messenger." After giving it some thought, Kettler said, 'A letter can be just an ordinary messenger, or it can be the courier, which radiates dignity, prestige, and stability' " (Wikipedia article on Courier [typeface], accessed 04-26-2009).

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