Sabon is an old-style
serif typeface designed by the German-born typographer and designer
Jan Tschichold (1902–1974) in the period 1964–1967. It was released jointly by the
Linotype,
Monotype, and
Stempel type foundries in 1967. The design of the roman is based on types by
Claude Garamond (c.1480–1561), particularly a specimen printed by the Frankfurt printer Konrad Berner. Berner had married the widow of a fellow printer
Jacques Sabon, the source of the face's name, who had bought some of Garamond's type after his death. The italics are based on types designed by a contemporary of Garamond's,
Robert Granjon. It is effectively a Garamond revival, though a different name was chosen as
many other modern typefaces already carry this name.