25 lbs. 50 lbs. 75 lbs. 100 lbs.
Coal Ice Wood
John Finnegan
Moving and Expressing
3328 So. Oakley Ave. Lafayette 8456

The internet seems to hold no relevant information about John Finnegan or his moving and expressing service. [editor’s note: see the comments for more info.] The sign measures 7″×11″ and may have been used as an indicator sign.

Judging by the type, it was printed after 1904, the year Franklin Gothic by Morris F. Benton was released at ATF. Franklin Gothic is used for the address line. Another ATF release, Copperplate Gothic (Frederic W. Goudy and Clarence Marder, 1901) is used for “LBS.” “JOHN FINNEGAN / COAL / WOOD” is set with Alternate Gothic No. 1, the narrowest width of Alternate Gothic’s three styles..

“ICE” is set with wood type: Gothic (Nesbitt 1837). The numbers match the Gothic 4 Line size. The serif used for “MOVING and EXPRESSING” could be Bold Antique (ATF).

Invoice from a hauling company in Nürnberg-Erlenstegen, issued in July 1920 to Herrn Göselt, a local merchant (Kaufmann dahier) for carting six stere (Steer) of wood for Zeltner — possibly the local brewery of the same name?

The typography uses both weights of Mars, a so-called neudeutsche Schrift from the Jugendstil period that brings together elements of blackletter and roman type. Designed by Albert Auspurg, Mars and its bold companion were issued by the A.-G. für Schriftgießerei und Maschinenbau in Offenbach in 1906 and 1909, respectively.

In 1939, Georg Kalb had a tragic accident and crashed his wagon into the Pegnitz river. After his death, his brother — who, oddly enough, was named Georg as well — continued the hauling business. Georg Kalb (1870–1941), who may have been this brother or yet another family member with the same name, was the landlord of the Kalbsgarten. This popular countryside inn existed until 1969, see a picture from 1911 and the address on Google Street View.

The letterhead of Arno Heinrich’s haulage company in Leipzig is simple and functional, and yet it has style. The compact format (11.8×10.4 cm) is accentuated by borders that bleed off the top and right edges. Printed in a single brown color, the typography is limited to two typefaces. While the smaller items are in nondescript Industria (1910), the company’s name and “Rechnung” feature Grotesk-Pfeiler. These “sans serif pillars” comprise monolinear caps of narrow proportions, adding some metropolitan flair. The strict geometric construction and the low waist reveal their Art Deco origin. Designed by F. Schultze [or H. Schulze?], the Grotesk-Pfeiler (or Groteskpfeiler) typeface was first cast in 1927 by Norddeutsche Schriftgießerei, and later by Johannes Wagner.

Grotesk-Pfeiler’s ‘Z’ has a crossbar. This feature can often be found in German lettering. It occasionally appears in type, too (see e.g. Tiemann-Mediäval, Liturgisch), but typically not in sans serifs. Here it further emphasizes the low waistline. The ‘P’ is the only capital with a descender. This can be seen as a blackletter influence.

Grotesk-Pfeiler has an unusual character set. In addition to a full set of caps, it includes a few lowercase characters with enlongated ascenders (‘bdfhklſßt’), to be combined with the lowercase of Edel-Grotesk or Wotan-Grotesk (i.e. Norddeutsche’s and J. Wagner’s versions of Neue Moderne Grotesk / Aurora-Grotesk I–IV).