Dingbat fonts likely have a long history in typesetting, a history in which I’d love to research in depth. When composing this post I briefly read the wikipedia entry which didn’t fully satisfy my curiosities in regards to the history of dingbats or “printer’s ornaments”. For part 2 of this post, we’ll see if I can dig up more information for the tale of the printer’s character. For now, have a look at these gorgeous dings. I find them fascinating and irresistible.
Warning: If you go and download them all, I highly suggest using some sort of font manager, as a lot of these can be very graphics/processor intensive. Nexus Font is what I use in windows, and it allows you to use font sets on a per need basis without installing them on your computer. If you run linux, you can run fonty python or create a folder called .fonts in your home directory (use ctrl-H to show hidden dot files). You can switch them out on a per need basis this way manually by just renaming your working font folder to .fonts. Here’s a myfonts list by os.
Post Image Book Cover Texture by: Lost Thyme
Modified ACaslon Ornaments by: Perry Mason or Linotype?
AGA Arabesque Desktop Font by: Qomarudin
Davy’s Dingbat Font by: David Rakowski
4YEOGarden Dingbat Font by: 4YEO
Angst Dingbats One Font by: Chris Dunfield
2Peas GGs Love Me Font by: Melissa Baxter Two Peas in a Bucket
Charming Symbols Fonts by: Iacy
Beautiful Ornaments Three by: Dixie’s Delights
LiveStyle Dingbat Font by: Manfred Klein
Nymphette Font by: Lauren Thompson | Pixel Vixen
Line Dings BRK Font by: Ænigma
I’m Fell Flowers 1 by: Igino Marini
I’m Fell Flowers 2 by: Igino Marini | Brief History of the Fell Types
Obey Galleria by: Bobistheowl | ObeyGiant
The Ikea Uniform Font by: Manfred Klein
Now the Weather Font by: Manfred Klein
