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I realize that you’re referring to traditionally-typed text, but Monotype was recently commissioned to design a typeface for the illustrator of Roald Dahl’s boo

I realize that you’re referring to traditionally-typed text, but Monotype was recently commissioned to design a typeface for the illustrator of Roald Dahl’s books, and they did indeed include alternates for each letter (along with variations in kerning): >…He selected four subtly different alternates for each character that, combined, would make the text look random enough to look authentic while keeping the glyph set manageable Article: http://www.monotype.com/expertise/case-studies/a-bespoke-handwriting-typeface-for-sir-quentin-blake/ http://www.monotype.com/expertise/case-studies/a-bespoke-han... Visual comparison of the alternates: http://www.monotype.com/media/1837/quentin-alternates2.png http://www.monotype.com/media/1837/quentin-alternates2.png

WalterBright 10y ago
That is a step in the right direction. My parents' handwriting was borderline illegible, so they took to typing letters on a manual typewriter. Typewriters suffering from all the problems of complex finicky mechanisms, and being a write-only medium, resulted in a pleasing quirkiness that is completely absent from email. Read enough typed text, and you begin to recognize a person's particular "hand" at the typewriter, as well as the machine's individual quirks. Electric typewriters put an end to most of that, and email finished it off.
- gotodengo 10y ago
  I distinctly remember a scene from some random show years ago, in which a kid was selling fake school excuses. The other kids were amazed that the "top quality" excuse even had the same off center 'e' as the typewriter the school nurse used.