Souvenir was originally drawn by Morris Fuller Benton in 1914 as a single font for the American Type Founders (ATF). It is said to have been inspired by Schelter Antiqua. Some 50 years later, Photo-Lettering resurrected the typeface and adapted it for phototypesetting.

When the International Typeface Corporation (ITC) was founded in 1970 (see Avant Garde, #23 in this list) with support from Photo-Lettering, ITC Souvenir became part of its original collection. For this purpose, Ed Benguiat expanded the typeface to include four weights, and added italics. ITC Souvenir helped define the style of the 1970s.



Souvenir phototypesetting wheel