The Cottrell & Babcock Manufacturing Company was founded in 1855 in Stonington, Connecticut. In 1880, Nathan Babcock purchased the shares of co-founder Calvert Cottrell and set up a new printing press manufactory together with his nephew George Fenner. Renamed the Babcock Printing Press Manufacturing Company, it was moved to New London. Around 1886, Babcock introduced the two-revolution “Optimus” press. From Steve Fithian’s 2024 article for Otis Library:

The Optimus became the new industry standard for the production of high quality printing. Harper & Bros. of New York used the Optimus exclusively to print their popular and influential periodicals, Harpers Weekly and Harper’s Monthly magazine. By 1899, the company’s strong commercial success allowed for the expansion of the employee base to 250 men occupying 180,000 square feet of factory floor. During the period between 1883 and 1919, the company sold over 7,000 printing presses to businesses in every state of the Union with a global market that included Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.

In their Handy Book of Artistic Printing from 2009, Doug Clouse and Angela Voulangas date the advertising card shown above to 1886. All the linework—including curves—were done up in brass rules, along with the metal type fleurons and dingbats. The main typefaces are Mother Hubbard (1885) for “‘Optimus’ Press” and “New York Office” and Latin Condensed (1873) with initials from Ideal (1884) for “The Babcock Printing Press Mfg. Company”. The then freshly introduced Art Gothic (1886) is used with caps from Mother Hubbard for “Drum Cylinder”, “Stop Cylinder” and “Two Revolution”. “Lithographic” and the New York address are set in Old Style Extended (by 1884). There are a couple of unidentified typefaces, including a generic gothic. The inclined sans probably is Gothic Italic (see Halbfette Cursiv-Grotesque).

The colored card shown below followed in 1887. Its design also features Mother Hubbard. The wide typeface used for “Babcock” and, in mixed case, for “Drum Cylinder / Stop Cylinder / Two-Revolution / Lithographic” is Bowl, shown by Farmer the same year.

For both cards A. J. Smith was the compositor, with the printing firm of John P. Smith in Rochester, NY.

The first page of a large 480-page catalog advertising goods offered by Feldheim, Gotthelf & Co., an Australian importer of “British, Continental and American Merchandise”. Founded in the 1850s, the company entered a period of growth starting with a new warehouse in 1892. This catalog, published around 1905, offers an extensive window into essentially the entire breadth of goods available to Australian households at the time. The company entered a period of decline a few years later due to partners retiring from business, and in 1924 began the process of shutting down the company which concluded in 1927.

The catalog is set in a smorgasbord of period typefaces. The shown page features Facade for the company’s name, followed by Maltese Shaded, Condensed Sans Serifs Italic (see Condensed & Elongated Sans Serifs), Grotesque No. 4A, and Reed’s Runic Extended (for “Sydney”). “On Sale” is in DeVinne Ornamental and the list of items in De Vinne. The caps used for the name and location shown integrated in the red border are from Concave. Some of the typefaces used for smaller text are yet unidentified.

The teardrop-shaped letterforms of Smoke, appropriately suggesting an oozing substance, act as a subtle counterpoint to a graphic tightly-cropped close-up of Rick Baker’s gruesome make-up effects on this Super 8 film box art for The Incredible Melting Man.

Though dating back to the 1890s, the moment of glory for Smoke was the psychedelic era. The Doors’ Waiting for the Sun features one example. With its trippy associations, Smoke is perhaps not the obvious choice for a horror movie, introducing a slightly incongruous note into this striking design.

A cut-down ‘digest’ version of the AIP film, this Super 8 reel was released by Mountain/Ken Films in the late 1970s. Operating from an office on Wardour Street, they were one of the major operators in the home cinema market, prior to the advent of home video. Remarkably, via a deal with 20th Century Fox, they were able to release a version of Star Wars in the UK prior to the cinema premiere.

Read more in a 2024 article by Ged Jones on Derann Vaults.

SCELBI Computer Consulting, Inc., was (briefly and significantly) a 1970s microcomputer manufacturer but was mostly known in that era for its technical publications. The cover work for some of the early books features plenty of fun with photo lettering. The company name was often rendered in Koloss, as it is here. Helvetica is the baseline text choice, and Avant Garde Gothic with multiple ligatures is used for the title.

The Galaxy game was a space conquest adventure, in the vein of the classic Star Trek games from early computing. The books (available for the Intel 8008/8080 systems as well as the Motorola 6800) contained the whole game, reproduced as machine language code with explanations for both gameplay and how the program worked.

SCELBAL was a version of BASIC for SCELBI’s own computer system, and the title of its book is set in Baby Arbuckle, a follower of Baby Fat.

The company’s First Book of Computer Games is less aesthetically coherent. It repeats the Helvetica and Koloss, then throws Neil Bold, Pioneer, and Dubbeldik into the mix.

More on the SCELBI computer in the context of early micro computing can be found here, while a number of SCELBI’s books are available at the SCELBI Museum and the Internet Archive.

This Greatest Hits compilation by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels was released by Virgo Records in 1972. The shown pressing with identical cover design is by Roulette Records. The exclusively typographic design by Horace Fernandez uses ITC Pioneer in vibrating color combinations. Song names are listed in all-caps Windsor Elongated.

[More info on Discogs]

This album with music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by German lutenist Walter Gerwig was released on Nonesuch Records in 1966. The cover design is by William S. Harvey, with art by Donald Leake.

Phanitalian Ornamented No 2 was first shown by wood type manufacturer William Hamilton Page in 1879, more than a century after Bach had lived. Still, Harvey deemed the Tuscan with its bulbous terminals baroque enough to be used for the composer’s name. Its mid-stem decoration was a tad too much, though: the designer simplified the letterforms by cutting away the lateral knobs. The only letters to keep their decoration are those where the “rivet heads” connect to a structural element on the other side of the stem, see B E H. In the process, Harvey also made the letters a little wider.

[More info on Discogs]

Detail of Phanitalian Ornamented No 2, widened and minus the mid-stem ornamentation. Compare to the unmodified letterforms in Solotype’s phototype version, Bohemia.

The book jacket of the 2025 reissue of Monument Eternal by Alice Coltrane (1937–2007) uses ITC Pioneer with a rainbow fill for the title. Secondary text is set in several styles from Trade Gothic Next Soft Rounded. The design is by Alexis Fleisig, based on the original edition.

From publisher Akashic Books:

When Monument Eternal was originally published in 1977, Alice Coltrane was living in Southern California and had recently become a swami, building and nurturing an alternative spiritual community. In these pages, she says that the book is “based upon the soul’s realizations in Absolute Consciousness and its spiritual relationships with the Supreme One.” Monument Eternal offers deep insight into Coltrane’s tremendous musical output, and shines a light on her transformation from Alice McLeod, Detroit church organist and bebopper, to sage thought leader Swami Turiyasangitananda. It also reflects the extraordinary fluidity of American religious customs in the mid and late twentieth century.

Akashic’s long-awaited reissue of Monument Eternal includes a new foreword by Ashley Kahn.

Nice pairing of ITC Pioneer and Balloon typefaces on this cover by Oliver Munday for Sam Lipsyte’s Hark novel.

Publisher Granta describes the book this way:

In an America convulsed by political upheaval, cultural discord, environmental collapse and spiritual confusion, many folks are searching for peace, salvation, and – perhaps most immediately – just a little damn focus. Enter Hark Morner, an unwitting guru whose technique of “Mental Archery” – a combination of mindfulness, mythology, fake history, yoga, and, well, archery – is set to captivate the masses and raise him to near-messiah status. It’s a role he never asked for, and one he is woefully underprepared to take on. But his inner-circle of modern pilgrims have other plans, as do some suddenly powerful fringe players, including a renegade Ivy League ethicist, a gentle Swedish kidnapper, a crossbow-hunting veteran of jungle drug wars, a social media tycoon with an empire on the skids, and a mysteriously influential (but undeniably slimy) catfish.

2019 trade paperback edition

Color variant for the 2020 paperback edition

No Way Out is the debut album by American garage rock band The Chocolate Watchband, released in 1967 by Tower Records. The album blends garage rock, psychedelic influences, and elements of R&B, featuring a mix of original songs and covers, including “Let’s Talk About Girls” and “Come On”.

The album cover features bold typography, combining two distinct typefaces. The band’s name and album title are set in Braggadocio, a geometric stencil typeface designed by W.A. Wooley in 1930 for Monotype. Below the title, the band's name appears again in Caslon Rounded. Track names are set in Akzidenz-Grotesk schmal fett, also known as Standard Bold Condensed. “Keep the 18th Amendment” is added in Helvetica, and “LP” at the bottom features Agency Gothic Open. The cover designer remains unknown.

[More info on Discogs]

The dedication on the back cover appears to be set in all-caps News Gothic Condensed.

Ticket stubs for the Super Bowl VIII which was played on January 13, 1974, at Houston’s Rice Stadium and ended in a 24–7 win for the Miami Dolphins over the Minnesota Vikings.

“Super Bowl VIII” is shown in linked letters from Yagi Bold. Even the Roman numerals were connected. The name of the location is set in contoured caps from Friz Quadrata, integrated into the illustration by Peter Palombi. Information at the bottom is in Helvetica. The seat info at the top appears to use News Gothic and Alternate Gothic. The flag in 1 is a little different – maybe it’s a version for special numbering machines.

Here is a gorgeous label on a box of a travel chess set sold by Henri Delaire in the first half of the 20th century. The manufacturer of the chess set is unknown.

Walter Biensur, the owner of the set, writes:

The first address is also that of the French Chess Federation, because Henri Delaire was also the first president:

“It was Henri Delaire who succeeded, in 1921, in giving life to the French Chess Federation (FFE), itself attached to the International Chess Federation (FIDE), which he founded in 1924 with Pierre Vincent. Henri Delaire is therefore an integral part of the world history of chess. [Translated from Echecs & Strategie]

Delaire was a chess theorist, Director of La Stratégie, the great monthly chess information magazine between 1867 and 1940. He was also the founder-honorary President of the Cercle Philidor.” [Translated from Le Café de la Régence]

I figured the title ‘Delaire’ was lettering, but Florian found that it’s Spread (c. 1887), issued by Farmer. He also found the typeface used for the Lombardic-style ‘Jeux De Salon’, which is Lettres Manuscrits, shown by Deberny & Cie in a c. 1878 type specimen.

The tagline ‘Spécialité pour Joueurs d’Echecs’ is set in the bold style of Cheltenham (1902), designed by Bertram Goodhue (assisted by Hannibal Ingalls Kimball, director of the Cheltenham Press)—although Hrant Papazian suggests it’s likely set in a French imitation of Cheltenham, as it would have been costly to transport lead type overseas. The first instance of é seems to be set in a larger point size of the same typeface, perhaps due to a lack of another é in the same point size.

The addresses (‘85, Faubourg Saint-Denis, 85’ & ‘4 et 6, Rue des Pyramides’) are set in Della Robbia (1902) by Thomas Maitland Cleland. The typeface used for ‘Mème Maison :’ is Sabines (c. 1901) by Beaudoire.

And finally, ‘Paris’ is set in Blanchard (1900), issued by Inland Type Foundry.

EU packshot with the cover art for MediEvil (1998)

Ticonderoga was used for the logo of the 1998 video game MediEvil. It’s featured in all caps, with letterforms of varying size and condensation, effects, and a custom skull on top of the second I. The logo appears in the game itself, as well as on the game packaging, and in advertisements for the game.

See also the post about the logo as used in Japan.

The 2019 remake developed by Other Ocean Emeryville for PS4 uses an updated version of the logo, with letterforms fit to a curved baseline.

Ulick O’Connor’s biography of Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican Brendan Behan (1923–1964) was printed by Hazell’s and published by Coronet (Hodder’s paperback imprint) in 1972. Dan Farson’s photo is not credited to him but to Radio Times Hulton Picture Library, the copyright holders.

The title uses a chromatic setting of Caslon Rounded (a.k.a. Old Bowery), and the author’s name is either in Harry or Letraset’s close follower, Horatio. Back cover set in Helvetica Light Condensed 967 and Univers 685 and 689.

“Living in a House Divided” was released in February 1972, ahead of Cher’s eighth album Foxy Lady. The German single sleeve still advertises the previous album: originally released as Chér in September 1971, it was retitled to Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves. From Wikipedia:

The song's lyrics discuss the separation of a couple, as a rather poignant descriptor of Cher’s marriage to then-husband, Sonny. Due to Cher’s feelings of resentment over Sonny's control of both her life and her career, their marriage soured. They divorced two years after this song became a hit.

[More info on Discogs]

Published by Gyldendal in 1972, Hare, hvorhen? (“Rabbit, where to?”) is the Norwegian edition of John Updike’s 1971 novel Rabbit Redux. It’s the follow-up to Rabbit, Run (1960), known in Norwegian as Hare, hopp!

The cover design by Peter Haars brings together two display faces from 1969 which both carry first names starting with M: while the multiline Michel is named after its designer, Michel Waxmann, the inflated Marianna by Joseph Churchward got its name from one of the designer’s daughters. The author’s name is in ITC Pioneer.

Since the late 1960s, designer and art director Paula Bisacca (b. 1945) worked on more than two-hundred record covers. For this Herbie Mann album recorded live at the 1972 New York (Newport) and Montreux Jazz Festivals, she used a whole lot of ITC Pioneer.

The shaded blocky letterforms from the 1970 typeface by Ronné Bonder and Tom Carnase are set in lines of decreasing size, much like in a “waterfall” type specimen, and feature several of the extending alternate glyphs. The lines are arranged in a wedge shape that complements an upside-down counterpart comprising six stripes. Filled with photography by Katsuji Abe (1929–2008), the latter resembles the leaning A in the Atlantic Records logo.

The diagonal theme is continued for the list of the personnel and the track list on the back cover, where ITC Pioneer is combined with Eurostile Bold Condensed. The left part of the gatefold echoes the diagonally divided square, now with black stripes on the left and typography in both weights of Trade Gothic Extended on the right.

[More info on Discogs]

Front cover of Warren Presents Alien Invasions Comix, a comic book published by Warren Publishing in August 1979. This particular issue also features a look at the science fiction horror film Alien. The cover title is set in Earth with surrounding text, including the rotated "Warren Presents," set in Yagi Bold. Price and issue date look to be set in Antique Olive. Cover by Kim McQuaite.

Taito's promotional flyer for the Japanese release

From Wikipedia:

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. Space Invaders was the first fixed shooter and set the template for the shoot 'em up genre. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser to earn as many points as possible.

1978 promotional flyers for the Space Invaders arcade game.

The game's title is based on ITC Machine and rendered in an imposing perspective with repeated lines in alternating colors, suggesting a falling motion, much like the descending waves of invaders in the game itself.

On Midway's arcade machine, the text on the control panel is set in what appears to be Eurostile and the points-per-invader on the monitor bezel are set in Countdown.

A flyer for Universe Affiliated International's table top edition features the game's title set in an unusual combination of Burst Caps and ITC Pioneer.

Midway’s promotional flyer for the North American release. “The world’s hottest game” is in Helvetica.

On Midway’s arcade machine, the text on the control panel is set in what appears to be Eurostile. The 1 seen here is likely custom.

On Midway’s arcade machine, the points-per-invader on the monitor bezel are set in Countdown.

1978 flyer for Universe Affiliated International’s table top edition, featuring Burst Caps and ITC Pioneer. The copy and the address use ITC Zapf Book and ITC Avant Garde Gothic.

By the very kind permission of Simon Robinson this contribution originated at this article on his ST33 blog. The images used for the contribution originate, however, at Ebay, where there is the rear cover of the sleeve as an additional bonus, the front cover also being signed by the group's members in that instance.

Nightair were Lynda Airey on bass/double vocals, Kevin Airey on drums and vocals, and Dave Knight on rhythm guitar and vocals. This self-titled album from 1976 – apparently the trio’s only one – was recorded at Fairview Music, Hull. It was what is known as a ‘private pressing’, by something of a private pressing specialist, SRT Productions Ltd., more information about which can be found at the aforementioned ST33 post, where there is a further link to some more private pressings.

The title, arranged on a curve on both front and rear covers, is set in Lettres Ornées. As Robinson notes, this Victorian typeface is not unlike that used by Pulp on We Love Life from 2001.

The track list and the credits on the back cover are set in two weights from Melior, in all caps, with the small print in Univers.

The sleeve was printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse.

[More info on Discogs]

There It Is from 1972 was James Brown’s second release for Polydor Records, after Hot Pants. The album includes a number of hits, like “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing”, “King Heroin”, and the titular “There It Is”.

ITC Pioneer is used with several of its extending alternates, see J M R W N. The cover art is by Abdul Rahman.

[More info on Discogs]