Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle (1791–1847) was an English officer and military engineer who served in the War of 1812 and ultimately settled in Canada. I stumbled upon copies of some of his charts and maps and became so infatuated with their hand-lettered titles that I decided to work them into a full-fledged font.
The eponymous Bonnycastle has a bold weight and an italic style but works best as a sort of stylish standalone, evocative of its period in history. I envision it used as a titling face in such varied applications as branded promotional materials, event posters, book covers, magazine illustrations, and historical displays.
OpenType features include true small caps, alternate upper- and lower-case alphabets, dozens of ligatures, contextual and discretionary alternates, lining and old-style figures, many cartographic ornaments, and full support for Central and Eastern European languages.
