Fonts from the Flea Market #1447

Sleeve for a French single by German singer Mary Roos (b. 1949), released in 1971 by CBS Records. Zipper is used in all caps, and Pump Bold in all lowercase letters. Both typefaces were designed by Bob Newman and released in 1970 by Letraset.

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Fonts from the Flea Market #1443

Georges Chelon (b. 1943) is a French singer-songwriter who released his debut album in 1965. In 1968, EMI Records brought out this compilation album to introduce him and his chansons to a German audience as well. Chelon’s name is set big and tight in caps from West Barnum, an exclusive by Photo-Lettering. Apparently it was important to the marketing department to make the singer’s country of origin crystal clear: not only was Chelon’s face colored in red, white and blue; a tricolore band was added to the sleeve as well.

Fonts from the Flea Market #1439

Adam & Eve were a – very blonde – schlager music pop duo from Germany. Founded in 1966 by Eva Bartova (1938–1989) and John Christian Dee (1944–2004), the latter was replaced by a new Adam in 1967, Hartmut Schairer (b. 1946). Released in 1972, Wenn die Sonne erwacht (“When the sun awakens”) was their third studio album.

The cover design combines three typefaces that were available from Letraset at the time: Stack by Les Lawrence, Linear by Fred Lambert, and Welt-Antiqua Extra Bold for the ampersand.

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Fonts from the Flea Market #1304

A bicolor application of Letraset’s Plaza Inline, paired with Flash Bold on an angle, for the sleeve to Mike Krüger’s 1980 single “Der Nippel”. The comedy schlager that pokes fun at nonsensical user manuals and operating instructions was a #1 hit in Germany and Austria. The song is taken from an album of the same title (and with the same cover design) that was performed live at Saalbau Witten in January 1980, recorded and mixed by Conny Plank.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1438

“Dynamite Dragster” is 1976 single by French disco combo Performance. For the Spanish release in Carnaby’s Especial Discotecas series, the title was unceremoniously altered to “Dinamita” on the cover. The perspective caps are from Buster. Originally a shadow-only design, the uncredited sleeve designer added an outline to the top and left of the letterforms, probably to enhance legibility. The series logo enclosed by headphones is another Letraset classic, Compacta.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1435

Letraset’s Lazybones for a 1977 single with the disco track “Amor Amor” by Gino Cudsi and Lucille Bailly, with “Bellissimo” on the B-side. The same typeface was also used on their 1978 album Only You, likewise released on Disques Sonopresse.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1343

Two Mecanorma releases from 1969, combined in early use on the cover of a single with medleys of nine golden rock ’n’ roll oldies performed by The Dave Clark Five. The band name is in the Roller-inspired unicase face Dreamline; the bottom-heavy style used for the title is the caps-only Laurent follower Poster.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1391

Antonio Tabet’s Hot Dog (Mecanorma, 1975) in early use on the sleeve for a single by Stephan Forman. The chansonnier’s name is added in (poorly spaced) Eurostile caps.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1358

I Cugini di Campagna (“The cousins from Campagna”) are an Italian pop band, formed in Rome in 1970. For the sleeve of their 1975 single “Preghiera” (“Prayer”), the four members got dressed in tight black leather and brought a chain and a – hopefully stuffed – bird of prey to the photo shoot. The badass typeface to go with this look is Motter Ombra. Note the r and a bumping fists.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1401

German picture sleeve for a single by Golden Earring, with two songs from their 1972 album Together. A year later, the rock band from The Hague would achieve worldwide fame with “Radar Love”. Founded in 1961 as The Tornados, the band is scheduled to play a series of five farewell concerts at the Rotterdam Ahoy in 2026.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1421

This single by the Dutch group around singer George Baker a.k.a. Hans Bouwens was released in 1970, from their second album, Love in the World. A follow-up to their 1969 hit “Little Green Bag”, it made the Top Ten in the Netherlands and Belgium.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1427

German sleeve for Joan Baez’s cover version of “Less than the Song” by Hoyt Axton, from her 1973 album, Where Are You Now, My Son? The J in Octopuss is descending. In this application, it was extended even further.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1420

Albert Boton’s Zan in use on the German sleeve for a 1973 single by Mac and Katie Kissoon, a Trinidad and Tobago-born pop soul duo consisting of brother and sister.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1419

Five days late for Belgian National Day, but here’s Indépendant in use for the debut single by English glam rock band Hello. The typeface was originally released in 1930 to commemorate the centennial of Belgian independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On the sleeve made for German and Italian markets, the Art Deco banger features in big yellow letters with a red contour.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1405

Dutch sleeve for a 1973 single by English singer-songwriter Clifford T. Ward (1944–2001), with two songs from his third album, Mantle Pieces. The designer made a green coffeepot by having yellow and blue overprinted. The all-lowercase typeface is Bau. Conceived by Danish designer Flemming Bau, it was issued by Letraset competitor Mecanorma around 1972.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1397

Two styles of Poell, Shaded and Medium Outline, in use on the German sleeve of a late single release by Union Express. The UK pop group was formed 1970 by songwriter and producer Paul Curtis and is probably best known for their 1972 hit “Ring a Ring of Roses”.

Poell is the only typeface credited to German designer Erwin Poell. It was released for Berthold’s phototype range in 1972.

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Fonts from the Flea Market 1353

“I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)” is a song by the English prog rock band The Moody Blues. It was released in 1973 as the second single from their 1972 album Seventh Sojourn, with “For My Lady” as its B-side.

The German sleeve uses three weights from a phototypeface of unclear origin: Melen is shown in a 1973 specimen by European typesetting chain Typeshop as well as on a 1974 poster by Conways’ Photosetting in London. Melen also appears in catalogs by Lettergraphics (and also Castcraft), but it’s unlikely that it originated at Lettergraphics: the Conways poster has a section dedicated to designs obtained from the Californian company, but Melen is listed elsewhere.

All glyphs are composed of straights and arcs. The fonts came with dozens of alternates – see the two forms for A in the third line. The family has six styles with unconventional names: Plump (bold), Girth (medium), Juicy (light), Sunny (extralight), Meek (thin), and Sliced (like Plump, but outlined). Three styles were combined in this Use, partly with lowered glyphs and with overlapping lines.

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The boldest weight, Melen Plump, with its many alternates, shown in Lettergraphics’ “Do a Comp” specimen issued sometime between 1968 and 1975

Fonts from the Flea Market 1367

Mierop Ginger Snap in early use for a compilation album by jazz saxophonist Charlie Barnet (1913–1991), released in 1969 by RCA Victor in their Vintage Series. The songs were recorded between February 24, 1939, and August 14, 1941, for Bluebird. The C appears to be an alternate or a modification.

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Fonts from the Flea Market #1385

The cover of this Swiss release of “Mozart’s most beautiful melodies in the sound of the time” combines three typefaces whose names are all prefixed by three letters.

In G.K.W. Computer, they refer to Gustav Kuhle Werbung, a German advertising agency with branches in Berlin and Munich. Their close follower of Moore Computer was distributed by Berthold Fototypes and Zipatone.

The initials in MGB Patrician stand for Don Munson, Lynda Graham, and Ray Barber. Lynda is the widow of Barber who co-designed the typeface together with Munson, then Art Director at Ballantine Books.

Last but not least, the prefix in ITC Garamond denotes the International Typeface Corporation. Founded in New York in 1970, it pioneered the licensing of typeface designs for phototypesetting and dry transfer lettering. ITC originated a number of highly successful releases, including reinterpretations of classic designs, typically with a raised x-height and expanded to a range of weights.

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An angled crossword made from multicolored Accelera, for a reissue of a hit compilation by Harry Nilsson. Originally released in 1967 as Spotlight on Nilsson, this version by Pickwick Records is dated 1977.

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