In 1846, Lyonnais printer, Louis Perrin commissioned founder Francisque Rey to engrave a series of capitals inspired by monumental roman inscriptions. They would go on to be used in the composition of work on the Antique inscriptions of Lyon, by Alphonse de Boissieu. In 1855, the typeface was completed by a number of lowercase fonts; certain bodies came from the stocks of Rey, others were drawn by Perrin himself. His Augustaux, one of the first “revivals” in the history of typography, became rapidly successful, launching the “Renouveau Elzévirien” (Old-style Renewal) movement.

With Louize, Matthieu Cortat provides a contemporary reinterpretation of the Augustaux. It retains a wise and serene tone, the grey of clear text, the soft roundness of the curves. Louize is discreet, calm, harmonious.

Available in three weights, Louize has a number of small capitals (for the roman styles) and ornamental capitals (for the italics).

For use in titles, Louize is available in a Display version. This sharp and clear variant is inspired by letters engraved in stone. It brings a new contemporary freshness to this timeless typeface. The Display variants also offer, in the roman styles, a series of ligatures inspired by that of concise engravings.