The first hot-metal sizes of Gloucester Family were issued in 1911, derived from a design created in 1896 by the distinguished American architect, Bertram Goodhue. Intended to maximize legibility, the original design featured long ascenders, while the descenders (considered of lesser importance) were very short. Gloucester Family is popular as a text face in the early 20th century, the extra-condensed variation proves particularly useful to maintain legibility while packing more characters into a certain space.