Related posts:

1. French Antique W
2. French Q
3. Damaged E

So, I thought I would post an update on the grecian typeface I bought a few weeks ago. After I got to look over the blocks, I ordered new materials to make plexi replacements for the letters that were missing. I noted initially that I didn’t think the typeface matched anything I had seen, and it turns out it’s a more obscure typeface than I realized.

University of Texas at Austin Professor David Shields contacted me by email last week, offering to try to help me identify the typeface. He mentioned a hand carved typeface from the RRK collection that was similar to mine, and this prompted me to study the blocks I had. I was surprised to find no evidence of pantograph work on the blocks, and Professor Shields confirmed my suspicion, making visual notes of several photos I sent him.

Here is his analysis:

1) The lack of surface finish (the grain being so evident), indicating the wood was not prepared or finished to prevailing industry standards.

2) The lack of stroke consistency from glyph to glyph.

3) Broad scooped or chipped patterns on the shoulders.

4) Imprecise finishing at joining of face to shoulder.

5) What seem to be alignment lines incised in the face, (though this could have easily happened after the face was cut and have nothing to do with the production, just possibly coincidence that it would align).

6) The slight angling of the cut, rather than being perpendicular, to the shoulder.

7) The imprecise fitting of the face on the body of the block.

Here is a shot of the face to shoulder imperfections.

The surface of the blocks is unfinished, which would not have been acceptable at most wood type manufacturers.

He hypothesized that the set was cut to match a foundry specimen, because my set and the set from the RRK collection shared several characteristics. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know which exact cut the blocks were based on, and I haven’t been able to find a match either. This makes the blocks hard to date. Professor Shields has noted these two major variations from other wood type grecians:

1) The relationship between thick and thin stroke is much more contrasted than anything the wood type manufacturers were showing. All wood type manufacturers Grecian styles had either equally weighted strokes or only subtle contrast between the thick and thin strokes.

2) The amazingly thick serif on the cross bar of the E and F. While almost all of the manufacturers up through the 1880s had a seriffed cross bar—and many continued showing it into the 1890s & 1900s as well—none show one where the serif matches the thickness of the stroke of the body. (I have attached an image of the specimen page first showing a Grecian in wood type so you can get an idea of the differences. L. Johnson’s Specimen of Wood Letter, 1846—Darius Wells & ER Webb were selling select wood types through Johnson at that point. This image was shot from the specimen book held at Columbia University as part of the American Typefounders Library Collection at the Butler Rare Books Library.)

I combined two different specimen images from the Rob Roy Kelly collection website with the print of my own set to illustrate the oddities of the typeface. The end cut Grecian X Condensed has more traditional Grecian attributes. There isn’t a large amount of thick and thin contrast, and the serif on the E and F is thinner than the stroke of the body. If you compare that to the hand cut Grecian X Condensed from the Rob Roy Kelly Collection, you will notice it has much more contrast in the stroke weight, and the serifs on the crossbars are extremely thick. Moving to my set, there are some obvious similarities to the hand cut set from the RRK collection, but they are not identical. Several letterforms are slimmer, such as the A and the M, and the serif on the E and F are not as thick, and they are inconsistent from block to block. Also, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw the slope on the top of the X, but it turns out it is actually a little crooked! Professor Shields believes that the typefaces were visually copied, resulting an non-uniform set.

In conclusion, what started as a harmless ebay purchase has turned into a full blown investigation! I never thought there would be anything out of the ordinary with this set, so to learn all of these unique details about the blocks is fascinating. What are the odds that I would have a typeface that was hand carved, and that the RRK collection held its long lost cousin? Now, my job is to hunt through specimen books and try to find a foundry type that has some of the same oddball characteristics of this set. I will post updates as I work to find the source for the typeface and create plexi replacements for it!

Related posts:

1. Grecian A
2. Grimy Grecian T
3. P Grecian

The whole motley crew.

You can see the uneven marks underneath the face.

The sloppy pantograph passes don’t show up in prints.

These Js show the variety within the lot.

Last fall, several lots of type (most of which is 5 inches or more) came up on eBay, and I quickly snatched up as much as I could. What drew me to the lots was that most of the type was derived from a modern, rounded style sans serif. This is one of my favorites style of typefaces and I had not seen much wood type in that style, particularity at this size. This style became popular in the ’20s and ’30s, which was well into the life of letterpress printing. Most of the movable type I have seen in this style has been metal type, and the typeface was called Airport Tourist. Futura Display was another variant on this style produced in the ’30s, and is still in use today, seen often in works by the poster shop Aesthetic Apparatus.

Here’s the poster type next to the 2.5 inch tall gothic set.

It’s a sea of beautiful type!

When they type arrived, I was stunned at how large it was. It’s one thing to read about 8 inch type, it’s another to hold it in your hands and then print with it! After sorting and examining the type more closely, I noticed that there was several variations of the same letterforms. There are 4 different Es, all the same height and style, but they have different weights and widths, and the corner radii vary as well. I think it is interesting that someone had so many variations on the same style face at that large a size, and it demonstrates the need for print shops to constantly be producing new styles to stay viable.

Many of the blocks from this set have mostly straight lines, and when there are curves, they are geometric. Some of the router lines are really irregular near the shoulder, but the cuts on the faces are pristine. As discussed previously, I think this was due to the final pantograph pass being a little deeper than necessary, and the first passes were at a shallower depth. Normally all passes would have been the same depth, so the final cuts would be impossible to see. Multiple pieces of the type have pencil marks coming out of the counters, such as the H. I think this block was hand cut, because of the simple form and lack of pantograph marks. The blocks were cut side grain, and the wood used seems to be pretty consistent. I discovered a penciled note on the back of one of the Vs, but have been unable to figure out what it means. It seems to have the word “raisin” and the letter “S”. Other blocks are backed with thin sheets of paper, which might have bring to bring their height up to match the other blocks. Overall, they look a little sloppy, but they still print well.

If anyone wants to take a stab at what this says, send me an email

This H and several other blocks, like one of the Os and Us, were chiseled by hand, as the pencil marks show.

I have not been able to find a close match for many of the letterforms, such as the Ms. The alterations between letterforms add to my confusion, like as the differences in the Js. Some of the Js originally had an angle on the end of the stroke, which was later flattened out by the printer. So, were the producers of this type copying other typefaces, or are these original interpretations of a popular style? I love the imperfect and unique feel of this lot, and I’m sure I’ll be studying it for quite some time.

Many thanks to Nick Sherman for his help in writing this and many other posts.

Related posts:

1. Clarendon M
2. E With a Modern Flare
3. Quirky Ampersand

I will post updates as I work to complete the font and do research as to who made the font and what it is.

Related posts:

1. The Grecian Mystery
2. Grecian A
3. One Step Closer

Here are some printed characters from the typeface.

These blocks have a wonderful grain, and the holes in the grain seem more pronounced than other blocks I own.

I enjoy blowing up images of the blocks and the prints and seeing what imperfections show up in the print.

Related posts:

1. Zero Antique
2. Antique Ampersand
3. A Bold Clarendon