Two little typefaces

duncapher
on 8 Sep 11 (15:03)

Howdy y’all -

I’ve got a railroad invoice from 1902 with two typefaces that look pretty good together. I thought I would try to re-create the overall aesthetic for something else, but I’m having trouble pinning them down, or finding suitable alternatives. I recognize them both but I can’t place them. Any ideas?

The photos aren’t great but I think they’re clear enough. I’m looking for the serif and the sans serif both.

duncapher
on 8 Sep 11 (15:05)

Here are the images.

photo (1).JPG

photo.JPG

jhenry
on 8 Sep 11 (15:39)

The sans-serif face could be imitated quite closely with a condensed version of Helvetica or other non-descript san face.

The italic is Law Italic.

duncapher
on 8 Sep 11 (19:33)

Many thanks. Law Italic is a good one to know. I had tried condensing Arial to 90% and changing the spacing, and it came close, but I was under the impression that that kind of manipulation wasn’t good to do.

Thanks!
D

Foolproof546
on 9 Sep 11 (08:34)

You probably won’t have much luck condensing Arial, Helvetica, etc. to capture the same ‘flavor.’

What you need is an older, more eccentric sans serif to start with. Note the high cross bars on the A and R for instance. Also the curved leg on the R. These things a subtle, but they are exactly what gives that font the character that has attracted you to it. The cleaned-up contemporary sans serifs are way too sterile to get you where you want to be.

Rick

AdLibPress
on 9 Sep 11 (09:53)

It’s also pretty similar to News Gothic, except for the leg of the R — you could use that to get close until you find the original face — News Gothic dates from 1908.

Bob

duncapher
on 7 Dec 11 (18:34)

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Just what I needed.