In 1995, David Berlow was commissioned by Agfa (now Monotype Imaging) to design a typeface based on a research visit to the Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp.

Berlow designed this family, in a tight range of weights, to address the issue of modern versus letterpress printing techniques, with respect to sixteenth-century types. Throhand follows many of the museum’s specimens, including works by Garamond, Van Den Keere, and unknown cutters.