Oblique type facts for kids

An oblique type is a form of type that slants slightly to the right. It is used for the same purposes as italic type. But unlike italic type, it does not use different glyph shapes. It uses the same glyphs as Roman type, except slanted.

Type designers have called oblique as less organic and calligraphic than italics. That may be preferred in some situations.

Many sans serif typefaces use oblique designs instead of italic ones. This is especially true with grotesque designs like Helvetica.

Images for kids

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  A simply slanted (L) and corrected (R) example of oblique type.

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  Unusual backslanted oblique lettering on a Norwegian banknote of 1807.

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  Serif typefaces with an oblique are rare, but the Central Type Foundry's "De Vinne" (the words "American Lining System" in this specimen) is an early exception.

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  Three sans-serif "italics". News Gothic, a 1908 grotesque design, has an oblique. Gothic Italic no. 124, an 1890s grotesque, has a crisp true italic resembling Didone serif families of the period. Seravek, a modern humanist family, has a more informal italic in the style of handwriting.