William Caslon (1693–1766), also known as William Caslon the Elder, was an English typefounder. Caslon began his career as a gun engraver in 1716. In 1720 he designed his first typefaces and 14 years later issued his first specimen sheet. The distinction and legibility of his type secured him the patronage of the leading printers of the day in England and on the continent. His typefaces transformed English type design and first established an English national typographic style.
Though his name would come to be identified with an enduring style of Latin alphabet, Caslon's first typefaces were what contemporary typefounders called "exotics." His first design was an Arabic made at the English size (14pt), His first Latin typefaces were a roman and italic cut in the pica size (12pt), of a style that was fully realized by the publication of his foundry's specimen sheet in 1734. Caslon typefaces were immediately popular and used for many important printed works, including the first printed version of the United States Of Declaration Independence. Caslon's types became so popular that the expression about typeface choice, "when in doubt, use Caslon," came about. The Caslon types fell out of favour in the century after his death, but were revived in the 1840s. Several revivals of the Caslon types are widely used today.
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