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Baskerville Font

John Baskerville's elegant 18th-century transitional serif

John Baskerville · Transitional serif · 1757 · ! Bundled with macOS and Office, premium cuts paid

Download Free Alternative

Libre Baskerville · closest free match to Baskerville

Baskerville font poster: elegant Baskerville headline on ivory paper with a deep green panelBaskerville style serif type on a green clothbound book and a formal letterheadBaskerville style character set: uppercase and lowercase alphabet, numbers and symbols

Illustrations of the Baskerville style made for DaFontFonts. Letterforms are approximate; check the official specimen before you buy.

Download Baskerville

License:
Bundled with macOS and Office, premium cuts paid
Font Type:
System font
Download:
Free alternative: Libre Baskerville (OFL-1.1)
Format:
TTF
Total Files:
8 styles + licence
Download Free Alternative

Baskerville itself is not free to download. This button gives you Libre Baskerville, the closest free match, licensed for commercial use. Buy Baskerville on MyFonts

About Baskerville

John Baskerville was a printer and businessman in Birmingham, England, who printed his famous edition of Virgil in 1757 with his own typeface. He pushed the contrast between thick and thin strokes further than earlier old-style types, sharpened the serifs and made the curves rounder and more vertical, creating what is now called a transitional serif. He also improved ink, paper and presses so the fine details would print cleanly.

Many revivals followed. Microsoft Office includes Baskerville Old Face, which Microsoft describes as the version first issued by the Fry foundry, under the name of its manager Isaac Moore. Apple ships its own Baskerville family on macOS. Its crisp, stately look makes Baskerville a favourite for book covers, academic publishing, formal stationery and brands that want to feel trustworthy and refined.

Where Baskerville works best

  • Book covers and literary publishing
  • Formal letterheads and invitations
  • Editorial headlines
  • Heritage and luxury branding

Free alternatives to Baskerville

Open-licence fonts with a comparable feel, every one verified free for commercial use and downloadable from DaFontFonts.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Libre Baskerville Serif · 8 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Libre Baskerville is a direct free revival, based on 1941 American Type Founders specimens and adjusted with a taller x-height for comfortable web reading. For body text it is the obvious choice.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Playfair Display Serif · 12 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Playfair Display draws on the same 18th-century transitional period at its most contrasted, ideal for the large headlines and mastheads where premium Baskerville display cuts are used.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Lora Serif · 8 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Lora is a contemporary serif with moderate contrast that reads gracefully in long text, a softer, more modern take on the roles Baskerville fills in editorial design.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Spectral Serif · 14 styles ✓ OFL

Spectral offers a transitional-flavored serif with a large weight range, useful for building a full editorial hierarchy the way premium Baskerville families do.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Libre Caslon Text Serif · 4 styles ✓ OFL

Libre Caslon Text is a loose match from the previous generation of English type: Caslon is the old-style face Baskerville's design reacted against, but the two share a period English character that works in similar projects.

Compare all Baskerville alternatives

Baskerville is a trademark of its owner. DaFontFonts does not host or distribute the Baskerville font files; download and licence links go to the official source.

Questions

Is Baskerville font free?

Mac users get a Baskerville family, and Office users get Baskerville Old Face, both for documents they create. Premium cuts are paid. Libre Baskerville is a free alternative licensed for any use, including websites.

Who designed Baskerville?

John Baskerville of Birmingham designed it in the 1750s and used it in his 1757 edition of Virgil.

What is Baskerville Old Face?

It is the Baskerville version included with Microsoft Office, based on the type first issued by the Fry foundry in the 1760s under the name of its manager, Isaac Moore.

What is a free alternative to Baskerville?

Libre Baskerville is the closest free option and is optimised for screens. Playfair Display works well for high-contrast headlines.

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