Isabella was designed by Hermann Ihlenburg in 1892 for MacKellar, Smiths and Jordan, one of many type houses that were amalgamated into American Type Founders later that year.

As testimony to its long-lived appeal, Isabella was one of the first PostScript® language typeface releases (in 1988) of Agfa Compugraphic.

With its unmistakable 19th-century characteristics - swirls, loops, and surprising letter shapes - Isabella is a natural for display situations that demand high drama or, dare we say, melodrama.