A revival refers to a new typeface whose letterforms are based on historic models.
Today, when we speak of revivals, we usually refer to digital typefaces that take their designs from existing ones. Most often, they base their forms on exisiting typefaces cast in metal, engraved into word, or produced for photo-composition.
The oldest revivals were made by 19th century type foundries when they adapted early 18th century typefaces for industrial printing conditions. In the 20th century, more revivals from mechanical and photo-typesetting device manufacturers followed.

Inevitably, the design of a revival contains unique details of the designer, from interpretations of the initial design while analyzing printed results on paper to those on screen at various resolutions. Today, we can see multiple typefaces designed as revivals from one and the same typeface, but each have (sometimes very subtle) differences. For example, we can think of the many versions of the Garamond.

A revival from a running text typeface is considered as a good assignment for students starting to learn typeface design, as this allows to get more familiar with styles considered as “conventional” before experimenting further with more creativity.