Century® Expanded

What is the Century® Expanded font?

Theodore Low DeVinne, publisher of Century Magazine, commissioned Linn Boyd Benton to design a new typeface for the magazine. The result, in 1894, was a roman type called Century Roman; a large x-height gave Century Roman the appearance of being condensed. Benton’s son, Morris Fuller Benton, redrew Century Roman for American Type Founders in 1900 so it would meet the standards of the Typographical Union. Benton’s Century Expanded is only slightly wider, but was advertised by DeVinne as allowing for an expansion in the number of characters that could fit in a line, “the expansion is upward, enabling one to get much matter in a small space.” Century Expanded is useful for text settings of magazines, books, newsletters, and brochures.

Century® Expanded Font families

The Century® Expanded includes the following font families:

  • Century Expanded
  • Century Expanded Italic

Century® Expanded Preview

Here is a preview of how Century® Expanded will look. For more previews using your own text as an example, click here.


Is A free font? Is Free to Download?

No, is not free to download. You will need to pay for it I'm afraid. Almost every font that we list on HighFonts.com is a paid-for, premium font. We do have a Free Fonts section where we list free fonts that you can download. There is no point trying to find a free download of so please don't waste your time looking.

It is highly unlikely that you'll be able to find for free. There's a lot of websites that will say "Free Download" but these are just attempts to get you to click on a link which will either take you to an ad landing page or you risk getting viruses on your computer. In the rare occasion that you do find a free download for remember that it's illegal to use a font if you didn't pay for it!

If you really want and you want to truly own it the legal and safe way, then click here to visit the download and purchase page on MyFonts.com. Here you will be able to obtain the proper license. The designer and publisher deserves to be paid for their work, as they have put in the hours and the creativity to produce such an amazing font. Good luck with your purchase and future use of this font. :)