“The most important letter forms used today arose in four rather similar periods: In classical antiquity the roman capital alphabet developed, the Carolingian Renaissance gave us our minuscule characters, the Quattrocento created Old Face and the unity of capitals and lowercase small letters as well as the corresponding italic, and our Modern Face originated in neo-Classicism. These are obviously quite progressive periods in which a new class or group gained authority and influence in the cultural life of its country; they were periods in which education, books and reading continued to be supported by state institutions.”

—Albert Kapr, The Art of Lettering; The History, Anatomy, and Aesthetics of the Roman Letter Forms, 1983.