Castine

There’s a cemetery in Castine, Maine—a lovely coastal town perhaps best known for Maine Maritime Academy and a surviving crop of stately old American elms—with headstones dating back into the 18th century, with the standard old headstone shape, often topped by winged skulls. Thanks to a Castine Historical Society volunteer, I got my hands on a couple rubbings; these show a particular style of stonecarving that proved captivating to the point of typeface design. Castine has both roman and italic styles; OpenType features include numerous ligatures, old-style and lining figures, and Central/Eastern European alphabets.