Café Du Monde postcard
“The Original French Market Coffee Stand“ in New Orleans, Louisiana, as shown on an undated (1940s?) postcard. From The Cardboard America Archives, Jordan Smith’s superb collection of vintage postcards:
Situated in New Orleans, in the Old Historic French Market. Erected 1813 opposite Jackson Square. Following an old New Orleans custom, both home folks and strangers gather nightly to sip this famous blend of “Cafe-au-Lait” with hot French doughnuts. The marble counter in this old establishment is reported to be over 100 years old.
Vogue is a typeface commonly seen on US postcards from the mid 20th century. This Futura follower by Intertype was originally made for Vogue magazine in the early 1930s. It’s distinguished by a two-storey a, an M with vertical legs, and capitals that (almost) reach the full height of ascenders, among other things. In 2018, Richard Miller made a digital revival named Intervogue and claims it “brings this classic to life in the modern age”. On closer inspection, though, his interpretation is not faithful to the original in many of its defining characteristics, see the visual comparison below.
Detail from the postcard set in the original Vogue (Intertype, 1930; left), compared to the digital Intervogue Medium (Miller Type Foundry, 2018; right). With the uncurtailed descender on g, the monocular a (no two-storey alternate available), the M with splayed legs, and the shorter capitals, the revival moves closer to Futura.
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Here’s how the Café Du Monde looked like in the 1930s. The shop sign with the exaggerated acute accent appears to match the one depicted on the postcard. This picture was taken at the Coffee exhibit at the Calbido in New Orleans in 2008.
John Sellards made another digitization of Vogue for his own use. As far as I know, it’s not released.