All-caps Windsor Elongated set on a semi-circle for Signet’s paperback edition of Ellison Wonderland from 1974. The title is integrated into the fantastic cover art by Bob Pepper, hovering as a sort of halo above the open head.

[More info on ISFDB]

Lots of all-caps Romanesque for the cover of Signet W4479, 1970. Originally designed by Herman Ihlenburg in 1874 for MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan, the bold condensed face with long serifs, split shade and decorative tendrils was revived by Photo-Lettering by 1960.

About the book, from Wikipedia:

The French Lieutenant’s Woman is a 1969 postmodern historical fiction novel by John Fowles. The plot explores the fraught relationship of gentleman and amateur naturalist Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, the former governess and independent woman with whom he falls in love. The novel builds on Fowles’s authority in Victorian literature, both following and critiquing many of the conventions of period novels.

The book was the author's third, after The Collector (1963), and The Magus (1965). […]

The novel was adapted as a 1981 film, written by playwright Harold Pinter and directed by Karel Reisz. The film starred Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.

The Lovers Guide to Sensuous Astrology was written by astrologers and psychics Marlowe & Urna Gray and published by Signet in 1974.

Cover variant used for the tenth printing

The Disobedient Daughter, June 1982

Before Barbara Hazard (1931–2019) started to write poetry (at sixty) and to quilt (at seventy), she already explored several other creative fields. In 1953, she graduated from Rhode Island School of Design and worked as a graphic designer for an advertising firm in Concord, New Hampshire. Hazard also trained as a musician and studied oil painting with Amy Jones. According to Open Library’s bio –

she began to write historical fiction in 1978. First published in 1981, she went on to write and publish 48 books, several of which are also in circulation abroad. She won several awards for her writing.

Shown here are the covers of fourteen romance novels published in the Signet Regency Romance series between 1982 and 1988. The title typeface on all of them is Reid Bookman. This Bookman variety was drawn by William Reid in a single Italic Swash style and issued by Photo-Lettering in 1967. Between the fourteen covers, we get to see a good chunk of Reid Bookman’s character set – including the q and the Q.

It’s not clear who was responsible for the typography. With her background in graphic design, Hazard might have had a say in it herself. In any case, the art is not by her: thirteen of the covers were illustrated by Allan Kass. Only one title, The Rake’s Protégée, has art by Walter Popp.

Hat tip to Javi Gonzales for the pointer.

A Surfeit of Suitors, March 1983

The Calico Countess, May 1984

The Singular Miss Carrington, August 1984

Enchanting Stranger, October 1984

The Emerald Duchess, January 1985

Mad Masquerade, April 1985

The Dreadful Duke, November 1985

The Rake’s Protégée, 1985

The Turnabout Twins, May 1986

The Cloisonné Locket, November 1986

The Royal Snuff Box, March 1987

Lady Lochinvar, November 1987

The Queen Bee, August 1988

“The divorced woman’s step-by-step guide to the good life” was first published by Rawson Associates in 1977. This is Bantam’s paperback edition that followed a year later. The typeface used for it is ITC Bookman, the second Bookman credited to Ed Benguiat, after Benguiat Bookman.

Announced in late 1975 in U&lc, vol. 2, No. 4, ITC Bookman spans four weights in roman and italic. The title is set in caps from the Bold weight, with one of the alternate ampersands, several swash forms, and some modifications: the nested LI pair was made from parts of existing glyphs, the top of the second G is retracted to make space for the ampersand, and the swash forms for V and R lost the ball terminal on the top left to enable tight letterspacing.

Glyph sets for the eight core styles of ITC Bookman, as show inn U&lc, vol. 2, No. 4. ITC’s digital version includes most of the original alternates.

Assignment in Eternity (1953), Signet D2587, 1964 (Second Printing). Artist unknown. [More info on ISFDB]

Two paperbacks by Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988), “the dean of space fiction”, reissued in 1964 by Signet Books. Both books feature Inserat-Grotesk for the title, set in big lowercase letters and with one word per line. The title type clasps around the synopsis in News Gothic. The author’s name is added on the left, set in a rotated line of Ludlow’s Stencil.

Beyond This Horizon (1942), Signet D2539, 1964. Cover art by Sandy Kossin. [More info on ISFDB]

La Femme infidèle is a novel by French writer Jules Roy (1907–2000), originally published by Gallimard in 1955. Shown here is Signet’s paperback edition of the English translation, published in 1957 as The Unfaithful Wife.

The cover art is by James Avati (1912–2005), a.k.a. the “Rembrandt of Paperback Book Covers”. See also The Paperback Art of James Avati (2005), authored by Kenneth Fulton and Piet Schreuders.

Signet’s paper back edition of The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World was first published in April 1974. This printing is from 1976.

The cover combines art by Bob Pepper with a typeface by Jerry Matejka: Soul was issued by VGC around 1972. It here is used exclusively in caps from the Bold weight, and paired with ITC Avant Garde Gothic.

[More info on ISFDB]

See also the first-edition cover design by Leo and Diane Dillon.

When the Word Is Given: A Report on Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and the Black Muslim World by Louis E. Lomax was first published by World Publishing Company in 1963. This is the cover of Signet’s paperback edition from 1964. Flickr user Make It Old comments:

Cover designer isn't credited, but I’m wondering … could it be Neil Fujita?

The typeface is Alternate Gothic, the slightly lighter cousin of Franklin Gothic Condensed with straight-sided rounds, here featuring the elusive 9-dot ellipsis.

“Magic” is lettering based on Mad’s custom logo. The animated condensed sans-serif caps with contour used for “Dirty Tricks” are probably custom dran as well. The smaller text uses Futura Medium in caps.

Master cartoonist Al Jaffee (1921–2023) of Mad magazine, who is best known for his Mad Fold-Ins and Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions series, created this classic book of wild and psychotic magic tricks. Edited together with Jerry De Fuccio and published by Signet in 1970, it became a hit through North America and Europe, becoming a household item for many growing up in the 1970s.

After I found out about the passing of ole Jaffee I searched my library for works of his that I had found in antique/charity stores on my travels, as to dedicate a well deserved use on Fonts In Use. One of my most relished books of his is this, and what better book to include; it uses a great variety of typefaces alongside his timeless artwork.

Rest in peace Al, your work will never be forgotten (YECCH!).

The original page art for the book will be pictured whenever feasible instead of regular print pages, in order to get a clean view and fair insight. Imaging courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Title page, featuring Clarion Wide (“The”), Mad’s outlined logo, Quentin or the virtually identical Davison Carousel F (“Magic”), Hobo (credits), and News Gothic (“A Signet Book”. locations). The wide futuristic sans for “New American Library” is probably a custom font used by Times Mirror, see Patrick Concannon’s comment. Corporate Image is similar.

Melior Bold Condensed is used for chapter headings, with a subheading in the original curved leg design of Beton Bold, each of which is written in all caps.

An example of News Gothic. This is the main text face (including the speech bubbles), and in most Mad books and magazines.

“Iron Stomach Man” is stylized in Orplid on a curve with its round-top form for A.

“The Great Bumbleoni” features Beton Extra Bold. Included in the artwork, a crossed-out sign in Playbill.

Within the last sentence of this introductory paragraph “MAGIC” is stylized in Clarendon Bold Condensed.

The “John” person that noted this suggestion in text (seen to the lower right of the page art) is John Putnam, presumably designing for this book.

Volta and Latin Bold Condensed used for a sign

More Playbill and Volta used for another sign.

From the top left, it features the Chop Suey styled Peking (“THE GREAT CHINESE”), Flyer (“MAGIC FOLD-IN”), and an unidentified bold wide grotesque (“PUZZLE”). The “A”/B” labels probably are in Optima Bold.

Orplid makes another appearance ("EBUC").

Futura is used for the foreword, along with a Bold heading. This foreword was only added after the reprints of the book.

In the dedication page, the heading is set in Commercial Script between ornaments, and the text in Bodoni.

In the preface, the initial “If” is set in Flash and the rest in News Gothic Bold.

On the back cover, the book’s tagline (“Amaze friends…”) is written in Alternate Gothic, and the book title is reiterated using Dom Casual in all caps.

The book spine features more Alternate Gothic.

Downward to the Earth “is a tale of the quest for transcendence (a frequent Silverberg theme) set on another planet, and includes references to Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad’s classic tale of colonialism”. Originally published as a four-part series starting in the November 1969 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction, it was published in book form by Doubleday in 1970. This is the cover of Signet’s paperback edition from 1971, with cover art by Gene Szafran.

[More info on ISFDB]

The geometric sans is Arthur Thinline, used with its alternate forms for r and t. It was included in one of the first two volumes of Phil Martin’s Alphabet Innovations, both released in 1969. Roc Mitchell claimed to be its designer. King Arthur is a variant with stroke contrast.

See also Bentley: according to Joe Taylor, he drew this face as a “revision of ‘Arthur Thinline’”, in a single weight, possibly in late 1969 or early 1970, and made it available via Lettergraphics, where it was later extended into five weights with biform alternates. The high waistline in A E H S and the vertically compact g on this cover suggest to me that this is the original Arthur Thinline, and not Bentley Thinline.

Here’s one for Briar, who recently mentioned she longed to see more Moulin Rouge in use, and who contributed a fine in-use example for this Art Nouveau-inspired face by Photo-Lettering herself.

Davison Moulin Rouge was specified with EndcapS for the cover of The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. More specifically, it’s Signet’s paperback edition from 1985, with cover art by Vicente Segrelles. Smaller text including the blurb by Asimov is added in ITC Korinna, another design with roots in the 1900s that likewise was produced at Photo-Lettering around 1970.

[More info on ISFDB]

Book covers for Sydney Omarr’s series Astrological Revelations About You, featuring Thorowgood Sans Shaded for the author’s name. The shaded caps are set on a curve, with some fanning applied. The name of the zodiac sign is set in all-caps Anzeigen-Grotesk. Unknown illustrator which is unfortunate considering these incredible illustrations! From circa 1969, Signet Publishers, according to The Peculiar Manicule.

Two similar slab serifs, combined on the cover of Big Bend. The title is set in the heaviest weight of Heinrich Jost’s Beton, the extrafett. It was copied in the U.S. by Intertype as Beton Extra Bold. While Bauer’s family included condensed weights, too, these weren’t available from Intertype. The smaller text is set in caps from Linotype’s Memphis Medium Condensed and Bold Condensed.

The book was written by Ben Haas (1926–1977) under his pen name Richard Meade. First published in 1968 by Doubleday, this is the first paperback edition, issued as Signet Brand Western (P4130) in 1970. From Lynn Munroe Books:

The Big Bend of the Rio Grande in South Texas is the setting for several of Ben’s Westerns under various pen names. One of them is Richard Meade’s BIG BEND, the story of Nora Stewart, lost in the wild country with two men who love her – a rancher named Sam Ramsay looking for his rustled horses, and the huge and powerful ex-slave named Concho.

Columbus in use for Signet’s paperback edition of a selection of writings by Walter Pater (1839–1894), edited by Harold Bloom. Signet Classics CJ743, 1974.

Make It Old comments:

No visible signature in the cover art; it has Pushpin Studio written all over it.

Columbus had indeed been used by Milton Glaser at Push Pin Studios, see the “Take a Trip to Lotus Land” poster from 1967.

Designed by Hermann Ihlenburg, Columbus was first released in 1890 by the MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan foundry. It’s reproduced in Ludwig Petzendorfer’s Schriftenatlas Neue Folge (1903–1905), and was rediscovered in the 1960s. One such revival was made at Photo-Lettering. It’s shown in their 1971 catalog under the name Columbus Antique, with a second, slightly beefier weight.

Source: www.etsy.com Image: Barnaby Glen Vintage. License: All Rights Reserved.

The Wind from the Sun, 1982. Cover art by Paul Alexander. [ISFDB]

The Wind from the Sun is a collection of science fiction short stories by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. Some of the stories originally appeared in a number of different publications, and the collection was first published in 1972 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

This volume contains all the stories I wrote in the decade of the 60s, which was one of the most dramatic periods in the entire history of science and technology. Those years embraced the laser, the genetic code, the first robot probes of Mars and Venus, the discovery of pulsars — and the landing on the Moon. Many of these events, either in anticipation or after achievement, are reflected in these tales; for that reason, I have placed them in chronological order. — Arthur C. Clarke

The image shown at the top is Signet’s 7th printing which, according to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB), was published in 1982.

The photocompositor typeface used for the author and title is Roc Mitchell’s 1971 design, Corporate. To be more precise, it is probably Limited, a Corporate copy from Solotype which has minor variations such as 90-degree corners on the bottom of the ‘A’ counter. In designing Corporate, Mitchell is said to have been inspired by Eurostile, another squared, futuristic face which happens to be used here for the text above Clarke’s name.

The same typographic setup has been used for the whole series of Arthur C. Clarke novels published by Signet between 1981 and 1983. Fonts In Use contributor Alex Rosario had previously submitted a post about this series (thank you, Alex!), which has been merged into this post. In 2017, Alex made a digital revival and expansion of Corporate, named Corporatus.

Source: www.flickr.com License: All Rights Reserved.

The Other Side Of The Sky, 1981. Cover art by Vincent Di Fate, 1981. [ISFDB]

Source: www.flickr.com ortokur01. License: All Rights Reserved.

The Sands of Mars, ca. 1983. Cover art by Vincent Di Fate, 1981. [ISFDB]

Source: www.abebooks.co.uk John Thompson. License: All Rights Reserved.

Glide Path, 1982. Cover art by John Berkey. [ISFDB]

Source: www.flickr.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Islands in the Sun, 1981. Cover art by Vincent Di Fate, 1981. [ISFDB]

Source: www.isfdb.org License: All Rights Reserved.

The Deep Range, 1981. Cover artist unknown.

Source: www.isfdb.org License: All Rights Reserved.

Report on Planet Three, 1982. [ISFDB] Cover artist unknown.

Source: www.abebooks.co.uk Librodifaccia. License: All Rights Reserved.

Tales of Ten Worlds, 1981. Cover art by Paul Alexander. [ISFDB]

Checkmate, by Bob Quinzel for phototype studio Schaedler, is a fairly unusual typeface with an uncertain date of origin, other than its appearance in a 1976 Lettergraphics catalog. This use for a 1974 sci-fi paperback tells us it’s at least older than that specimen. The typeface is well suited for tight-and-touching spacing, as is demonstrated here.

[More info on ISFDB]

This cover belongs to the Signet Books edition, the third printing of Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The film was later adapted into the movie Blade Runner. The book’s title looks to be set in David Burke’s Burko Bold as shown in a 1969 annual. Though it’s almost impossible to tell it apart from Blippo Bold (cf. this glyph set) by Facsimile Fonts, which appears to be a copy of the former.

[More info on ISFDB]

US paperback edition of the famous French Gothic novel about Esmeralda and Quasimodo, set in Paris in 1482. Written by Victor Hugo, it was first published as Notre-Dame de Paris in 1831.

Signet Classics CQ460, 1965. Cover art by James Hill. Author and title are set in Hess Neobold. Its dark towering letterforms are adorned with tiny serifs that help to retain their sharpness.

Hermann Zapf's Saphir in use for a paperback cover of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. For the author’s name, the ornamented letterforms were filled in. Signet Classics CQ34, 1961. Cover artist: James Hill