Commonly credited to Aldo Novarese, though the original style (tondo normale) may have been designed by Alessandro Butti before Oct. 1952. [Colizzi & Olocco] [Olocco] Announced in 1958 as a 21-style series (4 weights, 4 widths, plus italics). By 1963, 8 styles were complete, with the light and extra bold ends of the spectrum following later. [Specimens]

Revived by Canada Type in 2011, who added extra weights and widths, small caps, and italics. In 2010, Louise Paradis worked on another revival which has not been released yet.

In 2022, Reber R41 released a digitization made by Zetafonts, in three widths; Recta Tonda (seven weights), Recta Stretta (condensed, seven weights), and Recta Strettissima (compressed, five weights); each in roman and italic styles.