Robert Besley

A carte-de-visite portrait of the English typographer Robert Besley (1794–1876), the creator of Clarendon (typeface) in 1845 and the Lord Mayor of London from 1869 to 1870.

Besley joined the Fann Street Foundry in 1838, also the home of typographer William Thorowgood, creator of Grotesque. He created Clarendon in 1845 and although he patented it, the typeface quickly became so popular that the proliferation of knock-offs made the patent virtually unenforceable. It is still remembered as the world's first registered typeface.

Photographed by Maull and Co of London.