Montagu Slab
Montagu Slab is a slab-serif display typeface designed by Florian Karsten. The typeface draws inspiration from 19th-century classic designs and it is available as a variable font with weight and optical size axes. The optical size axis, which controls x-height, spacing, contrast and aperture, provides a wide range of variation – from low contrast and higher x-height version suitable for long texts, to a tight and high contrast display variant with prominent upturned tails. To contribute, see github.com/floriankarsten/montagu-slab .
- Classification
- Display
- Foundry
- License
- free
- Source
- Get this font ↗
01Style templates
Montagu Slab for the heading, Public Sans for the body.
03Projects using Montagu Slab
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AaBbCc
0123456789
{(!@#$?&})
05Type scale
Waterfall · 64 → 16 pxDesign starts with a question.
Good letters carry the memory of the pen.
A soft serif with old-style warmth, drawn for display sizes and unhurried reading.
This typeface borrows the melting charm of phototype and rebuilds it, patiently, for the screen.
At text sizes the warmth settles into something quieter: open counters, a generous x-height, and forms that curve rather than cut. It reads like a well-worn paperback — familiar, unhurried, and slightly mischievous.
06Weights
7 styles07In context
Text settingsGood letters carry the memory of the pen.
The brief asked for warmth without nostalgia, and authority without sternness. Montagu Slab answered both at once — a face that feels typeset by hand yet holds up at retinal resolutions. At this size it settles into an unhurried rhythm: generous spacing, open counters, and letterforms that carry tone before they announce themselves.
Small sizes are where display faces usually apologise for themselves. Montagu Slab does not. Drop into text and the texture tightens into a competent, readable grey — open counters, a generous x-height, and forms that curve rather than cut. At text sizes the warmth settles into something quieter: familiar, unhurried, and slightly mischievous. It reads like a well-worn paperback, holding its voice across captions, footnotes, and long paragraphs without flattening into noise. Paired with a neutral grotesque for wayfinding and labels, it gives an identity system exactly one strong opinion — usually the right number — while the body keeps doing the quiet work underneath.
08Character set
Hover a glyph to inspect09About Montagu Slab
Montagu Slab is a slab-serif display typeface designed by Florian Karsten. The typeface draws inspiration from 19th-century classic designs and it is available as a variable font with weight and optical size axes. The optical size axis, which controls x-height, spacing, contrast and aperture, provides a wide range of variation – from low contrast and higher x-height version suitable for long texts, to a tight and high contrast display variant with prominent upturned tails. To contribute, see github.com/floriankarsten/montagu-slab .