Who drew the nameplate
Fonts In Use, an archive of typefaces in real work, describes NYT Fraktur, a blackletter typeface Matthew Carter designed in 2004 for T, The New York Times Style Magazine. It says the typeface is based on the New York Times nameplate that Ed Benguiat drew in 1967, together with 16th-century sources. So the masthead itself is lettering drawn by hand for the paper, and the font came later, built from it.
Evidence for this attribution ↓No paid font selected
Free alternatives
Compare the actual letterforms with the same text. These are editorial alternatives, not fonts attributed to The New York Times.
Free alternative
Pirata One
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Regular · Latin specimen
A free blackletter with the same broken, pen-made strokes. It is narrower and simpler than the Times nameplate, with fewer hairlines and less contrast.
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Libre Baskerville
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Regular · Latin specimen
A bookish serif for newspaper-style headlines and text. It has more contrast and rounder curves than Cheltenham, so treat it as a mood match, not a copy.
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Archivo Narrow
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Regular · Latin specimen
A narrow grotesque sans that suits captions and labels in the spirit of NYT Franklin. Its letters are more even and modern than a Franklin Gothic.
View fontEd Benguiat and the 1967 logo
The Alliance Graphique Internationale, a membership body of graphic designers, lists the New York Times logo of 1967 among Ed Benguiat's works. Its biography says he created logotypes for leading publications, The New York Times among them. The same page lists typefaces he designed or co-designed, such as Souvenir and Bookman, but it does not link any of them to the nameplate.
Evidence for this attribution ↓The typefaces inside the paper
Fonts In Use's entry on the May 2013 article redesign says NYT Cheltenham is the main headline typeface, first commissioned by Tom Bodkin, with Matthew Carter drawing several widths and weights. NYT Franklin sets captions, meta information and navigation. NYT Stymie and NYT Karnak set headlines in magazine pieces and longer features. At that time Georgia was still used for the running text of articles on the website.
Evidence for this attribution ↓How to get the look
For a masthead, use a blackletter with sharp, broken strokes and set it in black on white. Pirata One is a free blackletter; it is plainer and more condensed than the Times nameplate, so give it generous letter spacing. For headlines, a sturdy serif in bold works best; for captions and labels, use a narrow gothic sans in small capitals or bold.
Common questions
What font is the New York Times logo?
It is not a font. The nameplate is blackletter lettering that Ed Benguiat drew in 1967. Matthew Carter later made a typeface called NYT Fraktur, based on it. It was made for T, The New York Times Style Magazine; we found no retail licence for it.
What font does the New York Times use for headlines?
In the 2013 website redesign, headlines used NYT Cheltenham, a custom version of the old Cheltenham typeface, with most weights designed by Matthew Carter in the early 2000s. Magazine pieces and longer features also used NYT Stymie and NYT Karnak.
Can I download the New York Times font?
Not from an official source. The NYT fonts were made for the paper, and we found no retail licence for them. For a free look, try Pirata One for a blackletter masthead and Libre Baskerville for headlines.
What font does the New York Times use for article text?
When Fonts In Use covered the 2013 article redesign, Georgia was still the font for running text online. Luc Devroye's type design reference, in its list of the paper's custom fonts from Carter & Cone also includes NYT Imperial, though it does not say where it is used.
Sources & evidence
Editorial review completed November 10, 2026.
- Fonts In Use — NYT Fraktur
Design archive
- AGI — Ed Benguiat, New York Times logo
Design organisation
- Fonts In Use — The New York Times article redesign (May 2013)
Design archive
- Fonts In Use — NYT Cheltenham
Design archive
- Luc Devroye — Carter & Cone
Type history reference