Empresario Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836) is considered by many the “Father of Texas” for leading the first Anglo-American colony into the then-Mexican territory back in the 1820s. A few years later, while on a diplomatic mission to Mexico City, Austin was arrested on suspicion of plotting Texas independence* and imprisoned for virtually all of 1834. During this time he kept a secret diary—much of it written in Spanish. Austin Pen is my interpretation of his scribblings in this miniature prison journal (now in the collection of the wonderful Dolph Briscoe Center for American History). I trust you’ll agree the font is both legible and evocative of commonplace American penmanship of two centuries ago. Austin Pen has regular and bold weights—the latter replicating look of ink-smudged script. Both come with numerous OpenType features.† US$49 | Order  

*Of course Texas did in fact gain independence from Mexico, in 1836, and Austin ran for the new republic’s first president. He lost to Sam Houston (see Houston Pen), who appointed him Secretary of State—but soon afterward Stephen Fuller Austin died at the early age of 43, of pneumonia. Incidentally, our Emily Austin font is modeled after the hand of Austin’s sister, Emily Austin Perry (1795–1851).

†OpenType features include scores of standard and discretionary ligatures, stylistic alternates, contextual substitutions, lining and old-style figures, cross-outs, ink blots, a hand-lettered uppercase alphabet, and full Latin support.

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