Years ago, I developed an interest in the Japanese art of dwarfed potted trees, bonsai. I bought some books on the subject from Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In one—Handbook on Bonsai: Special Techniques (seventh printing, February 1976)—the type was bad. Old worn lead type, I suspect, spread wide in the tops of characters and disappearing on the bottoms. Two decades later, I came across my Brooklyn Botanic Garden collection and was struck again by this interesting type. Inspired, I made a typeface. Didn’t take me long to decide on a name for it either: a name with a double-meaning, based both on its look and its inspiration. Bonsai, the typeface, has two styles, a roman and a true italic.* $US49. | Order  

*The OpenType release of Bonsai™ adds true small capitals, old-style and lining figures, numerous ligatures, and Central/Eastern European alphabets.

“Oh! I'm in loooove with this font! It's lovely, it's organic, it's real, it's got history & tradition. My designs are singing!”
—C.C., Palo Alto CA

“Keep up the fonts! They are some of the best I have seen in 10-plus years of design.”
—M.O., Little Rock AR

“I took one look at American Scribe and knew it was the Declaration of Independence before reading the ad copy. You captured it perfectly.”
—B.P., Marietta OH

“Our 3rd and 4th graders are thrilled that their historical writing is going to look so authentic!
—S.E., Charlottesville VA

“Well done on preserving the old ways of writing—they wrote and spoke so much nicer than we do now.”
—A.K., Adelaide, S. Australia

“Your fonts are gorgeous, and in particular, your handwriting fonts are the best I've ever seen.”
—J.H., Witny, Oxfordshire, England

“I think this font is amazing. It is incredibly beautiful and in my opinion looks very authentic.”
—E.H., Brookline MA