This typeface is interesting to me because it still has elements of the older grotesque faces, but it’s clearly moving into the more modern sans serif direction. The weight shifts are more regimented and the shapes more geometric and uniform. You can see how the stroke tapers at the ends, which makes for a very proper looking, no nonsense S. The mixture of black and red ink that’s still on this ...

This block is so geometric and graphic, it’s one of my favorite shapes. The negative space is really fascinating. I love how the middle arm of the E is so truncated, how it pushes up against the huge serifs on the top and bottom. It’s like they are blocking it in. I don’t think the block would be nearly as interesting if those serifs weren’t as prominent. There’s a chip ...

I‘m really becoming fond of this typeface, and I’m itching to print with it! This typeface has a more normally proportioned serif than the French Clarendons, with very rounded brackets. The brackets create a really nice counter shape in between the strokes of the W, it would be fun to use it graphically and play with that negative space. Another filthy block. This one has several pot marks on the face ...

These two guys actually don’t belong together, though they came together in a lot I recently purchased. If you look at the Number 514 specimen page on the Rob Roy Kelly Collection site, you’ll see that the uppercase S should have the same triangular protrusions that the lowercase form does. I think what happened is that the set I bought is actually two similar typefaces mixed together (the other F ...