Jazz with a Twist is a 1962 album by American jazz trombonist Locksley Wellington “Slide” Hampton (1932–2021).

The italic Fat Face is a bit of a puzzle. I have tagged Thorowgood, but also added the “uncertain typeface ID” tag, as I haven’t found a version yet that is a perfect match. Thorowgood’s Fat Italic, as Stephenson Blake named their 1950 revival of a 19th-century design, is a match for several glyphs, including the swash A, the i with the flat dot, and the h with the cupped stem, see this 1952 specimen by printer Cowell (which unfortunately doesn’t show all glyphs for all four sizes). Cover designer Loring Eutemey was a regular customer of Photo-Lettering, but the closest option I can find in their catalogs is a Bruce Italic 10, which goes back to a related American typeface from the 1820s, and which is off in those details. Compared to the 12 and 36pt sizes in the Cowell specimen, the z lacks the ball terminals. And the looping w sticks out like a sore ahistorical thumb. There were a number of phototype adaptations of early italic Fat Faces, as Thorowgood and under other names, not all of which are authentic in all details. I can imagine that this is one of them, maybe with a custom added w … Thorowgood with a twist.

[More info on Discogs]

The back cover with the liner notes by Mort Fega is set in Century Expanded.

A Handbook of Electros & Casts was issued by Stephenson Blake in 1959. It shows a wide range of devices, symbols, initials, and badges which were either cast from metal or electrotyped.

The italic Fat Face on the cover is Thorowgood, Stephenson Blake’s name for their 1950 revival (along with Thorne Shaded) of an early 19th-century typeface by Robert Thorne of the Fann Street foundry. Thorowgood’s Fat Italic first appeared in 1820. The smaller and lighter roman appears to be Modern No. 20, another revival and recutting from an earlier mid-19th-century version which got its new name in 1955.

Originally released in 1958 with a different cover design, this is the 1966 reissue of an album recorded by country musicians Elton Britt (1912–1972) and Rosalie “Queen of Yodeling” Allen (1924–2003) with “Shorty” Warren (1913–2005) & His Western Rangers.

The typeface specified by art director Charles E. Murphy is Thorowgood Fat Italic. Note the differences between the sizes, in respect of the cupped stems (n r t) and the shape of the i dot.

[More info on Discogs]

“Hot & Cold” (No. 228) ft. Chwast Blimp and Benguiat Charisma Script. “COLD” appears to be based on Oprescu Fingerprint, with the outer lines removed. All three faces are original designs carried by Photo-Lettering.

Covers for various clip books of line art issued by Volk Corp in 1972. This volume continues the portrait format that was introduced in the year before. Just as in 1970 and 1971, many of the display faces like Brave and Free or Futura Dot are novelties from the extensive catalog of Photo-Lettering. Jolly Roger and the refreshingly blasphemous Helvetica Flair originated at Phil Martin’s Alphabet Innovations. The covers with Countdown and Premier Shaded might be among the earliest examples for Letraset originals used by Volk. On most covers, the line “Clip Book of Line Art” is set in ITC Avant Garde Gothic with alternates for e and A.

See also the dedicated post about the subseries titled Grafika which includes booklets published in 1972. For more information on Harry Volk Jr. Art Studio, see the post about the clip books issued in 1955.

“Distaffers” (No. 227) ft. Kabel Black, contrasted with Kabel Light.

“Holidays” (No. 229) ft. Brave and Free.

“Radio & TV” (No. 230) ft. Goudy Heavyface Italic.

“Insurance” (No. 231) with a graphic depiction of why you might need one, ft. Kabel Black.

“Opposites” (No. 234) ft. all-caps Kabel Black.

“Occupations” (No. 236) ft. Eurostile and Helvetica [see comments].

“Expressions” (No. 240) ft. tightly spaced Charter Oak.

“Mail” (No. 241) ft. Profil. The subline here uses a bolder weight from ITC Avant Garde Gothic, to avoid a too great contrast in weight next to the chunky shadowed slab serif. Illustration by Tom Sawyer.

“Holidays” (No. 242) ft. all-caps Goudy Heavyface Italic, paired with the similar (and earlier) Cooper Black Italic, here distinguished by swash caps.

“Summer” (No. 563) ft. Novel Gothic.

“The Golden Years” (No. 564) ft. Kabel. Sensitive typophiles may cringe at the combination of two very similar typefaces.

“Autumn” (No. 565) ft. Jolly Roger.

“Education” (No. 566) ft. Countdown, designed by Colin Brignall (Letraset, 1965).

“Groups” (No. 567) ft. Premier Shaded, designed by Colin Brignall (Letraset, 1970). Illustration by Tom Sawyer.

“Christmas” (No. 568) ft. Kalligraphia and Helvetica Flair.

“Couples” (No. 569) ft. slanted Futura Dot. The addition “20th Anniversary issue” suggests that Volk was founded in 1952 or 1953. The oldest booklets published in Bart Solenthaler’s collection are from 1954.

“Transportation” (No. 572) ft.Buxom. Just like in “Mail” (No. 241, see above), the weight of “Clip Book of Line Art” is increased to hold up against the heavyweight.

“Sales” (No. 573) ft. Uncle Bill.

“Women” (No. 575), pairing Normande Italic with handwriting.

“Human Relations” (No. 576) ft. Cartier and Windsor for the bottom line.

“Teens” (No. 577) with more Jolly Roger.

Letterform Archive tweeted these four amazing magazine advertisements by Paul Rand. They are all from a campaign he made for Westinghouse music-related electronic products in 1972. The ads were shown in Graphis Annual 72/73, (the cover of that annual was designed by Massimo Vignelli).

The ads make good use of four distinct typefaces, giving each ad a playful feel. Each letter is treated as an object and this creates a sense of visual rhythm and suggests sound. The names of the four composers dominate each composition and complement the photos of the products that are grounded in the lower half of the ads. The small ad copy blocks, set in Helvetica, create a visual base for the silhouetted product photos to sit on.

In each case, the choice of type, as well as its treatment echo the specific product advertised. The ad set in Thorowgood Italic (Mozart) mimics the bands of the radio. The French Clarendon ad (Chopin) suggests the flip clock feature and the tuning of the radio dial. The use of Bifur in the third ad (Tchaikovsky) nods to the rotation of the hands of the analog clock. The placement of the letters of Superba in the fourth ad (Brahms) could suggest the spinning of the vinyl record.

You can read more about Rand's work (including for Westinghouse) at Letterform Archive’s news announcement.

Updated: Thanks to Stephen Coles for pointing out that paulrand.design recently posted high-resolution images of the ads, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Symphony Archives. This last one uses Onyx.

A collection of popular tunes, released by Capitol Records. There is no information on the release year, but it could be 1958 as that seems to be the release year of the most recent recording included in the selection: “Tom Dooley” by The Kingston Trio. Other songs are from the 1950s and even the 1940s: “Tempation” by Jo Stafford & Red Ingle, and “Smoke! (That cigarette)” by Tex Williams, are both from 1947.

Beneath the title (lettering), the designer picked more than two handfuls of type for the track list. There’s five serifs: Torino (Sinatra), Onyx (That’s Amore), Thorowgood Italic (Slipping Around), Century Schoolbook Condensed (the Tennessee Waltz) and Latin Wide (Tommy Sands).

The sans serif selection features five or six type families, depending on the label for Copperplate Gothic (Nat King Cole, Mona Lisa). Here, its tiny serifs are discernable only on inspection from up close. “Tom Dooley” is set in Franklin Gothic, decorated with a hangman’s noose. An as yet unidentified gothic face is used for “Dean Martin” — it could be Railroad Gothic, especially the smaller point size samples in the 1934 ATF catalogue look like a match. Margareth Whiting & Jimmy Wakely use what looks like Alternate Gothic. Venus Bold Condensed and Bold Extended are used for “Smoke! (That Cigarette) Tex Williams”. The only sans serif that can be pinpointed without looking twice is Lydian (Temptation).

First Edition, Fourth Printing, 1971.

First hardcover edition by Viking Press (1970), with a jacket design that pairs a painting by LeRoy Neiman (1921–2012) with Thorowgood.

The book was the inspiration for the successful 1971 ABC Movie of the Week, Brian’s Song that explored the relationship between Gale Sayers (b. 1943) and Brian Piccolo (1943–1970), a fellow football player stricken with terminal cancer. Billy Dee Williams played Gale Sayers and James Caan played Brian Piccolo.

See also the first paperback edition by Bantam Books.

Single sleeve for the German release of “Long” John Baldry’s biggest US hit Don’t Try to Lay No Boogie-Woogie On the King of Rock and Roll. A and B sides were produced by the team of Elton John and Rod Stewart, who both enjoyed worldwide success as solo artists in years following. Thorowgood is seen right-aligned here, the hippest I’ve ever seen it look!

6th printing (July 1968).

Meridien Giants (1956).

Early 19th-century advertising handbill from the John Soulby collection, University of Reading. (Source: Michael Hochleitner)

The first truly fat roman typeface is believed to have been introduced by prominent London type founder Robert Thorne, in 1803. This was a period of invention and discovery, when Europe was experiencing an enormous expansion of trade and commerce. As innovation in printing technology improved and enterprising new trades began to flourish, so did the demand for print advertising. Job printers who formerly relied on printing books soon discovered new sources of commercial print work. Thorne responded to this new surge in advertising by designing his “improved printing types” expressly for job printers composing short lines of large text. His bold new, all caps fat face, which looked more like a Didone on steroids, proved to be wildly successful and was largely responsible for altering the appearance of advertising in this era. Although Thorne never published another book of specimens after 1803, he came very close to completing one, and he continued turning out bold new fonts at his Fann Street Foundry until his death in 1820.

Backslanted italic fat face from the 1815 Figgins type specimen at Butler Library. (Source: Daily Type Specimen)

Fold-out of fat face from the 1825 Fann Street Foundry type specimen book at the Butler Library. (Source: Daily Type Specimen)

1826 advertisement from the John Soulby collection, University of Reading, via Michael Hochleitner. The mere size of the fat face display characters often dominated the page, virtually transforming them into images. These characters had a rather affable, friendly nature about them, which made them perfectly suited for advertising.

1832 reward poster for lost horse, from the John Soulby collection, University of Reading, via Rafael Dietzsch. This poster includes an italic, an upper and lower case, and a decorative variant of Thorne’s fat face.

Source: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collection

English Battledore published by William Davison in 1830. Battledores were a 19th century children’s primer, which usually contained a printed alphabet, brief samples of text and several wood engravings, printed in a tri-fold format. Many were composed with a fat face font as they were considered friendly and jovial, and suiting to young children. (Source: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collection)

The Fat Face Race

After Robert Thorne’s death, the Fann Street Foundry was put up for auction, and purchased by William Thorowgood in 1820 from winnings he received in a state lottery. Although Thorowgood had no previous experience in type founding, he quickly learned his ‘p’s and ‘q’s. Months later, he published 132 pages of Thorne’s composed specimens which remained after his death, including the first showing of his original fat face with the ill-fitting title of “Five-lines Pica, No. 5”. Over the course of the next century, every successful type foundry issued their own revival of Thorne’s original full-figured fat face font. The first italic cut was released in 1808, the first shaded version was believed to be issued in 1810, followed by compressed, elongated, and expanded versions according to Nicolete Gray in her book, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Types and Title Pages. The Bruce Type Foundry showed a particularly nice version of a regular and italic in their 1828 Specimen. This italic had many of the handsome attributes of Thorowgood’s first italic, including the lovely swashes and ball terminals of many of the cap letters. Initially nameless, it was later shown as No. 1 in their 1869, and then updated to Style 101 by 1901. By 1906, typefounders Stephenson Blake acquired the entire Fann Street Foundry holdings, and Thorne’s original fat faces were among them. It was nearly fifty years later however, that Thorne was finally recut and renamed as Thorowgood.

These showings of Thorowgood Italic and Thorne Shaded are from the 1950 Stephenson Blake catalog. The italic has some fine alternates for the A, M, N, V, W and Y. There was no showing of the standard Thorowgood in their catalogs until their 1953 specimen was published.

From A Book of Typefaces, W.S. Cowell Ltd., 1952, with claim that Ultra Bodoni Italic “lacks the vigor of the Thorowgood face”.

The Move Towards Modernism

The 20th century brought many economic and political changes to the Western world. This fueled reaction from progressive groups of artists, writers, and critics who called for social and economic reforms and rebelled against mass culture and industrialization. A cultural shift towards modernism emerged and gained influence in all aspects of society. Nowhere was this move towards modernism more pronounced than in advertising, book design, and printed arts throughout most of the 20th century. Type foundries responded by releasing dozens of new styles of san serif fonts such as Bernhard Gothic, Agency Gothic, Gill Sans, Futura, and News Gothic.

Not ones to be shy, fat faces came to the dance as well, and this time they were dressed to kill. With new releases from the German foundry Stempel in 1923 (Ratio Modern Extra Bold), the French foundry Deberny & Peignot in 1925 (Sphinx), American Type Founders in 1928 (Ultra Bodoni), Linotype in 1929 (Poster Bodoni), and Monotype in 1931 (Falstaff), the fat face had international appeal. Sizable fat faces were no longer being used exclusively as bursts of attention-grabbing display headlines, but were discreetly used as body copy, or as small, but readable design elements. By their very nature, they could be loud, flamboyant and conspicuous, or speak softly with restrained elegance. Like an addition of spice to a bland dish, the fat face added character and flavor to an otherwise simple design.

Two showings of the fat face Sphinx from the 1925 Deberny & Peignot type catalogs. (Source: Musée de L’Imprimerie Lyon)

A 1934 and 1935 example of Thorne’s fat face used for the Czech Avant-Garde journal, Typografia. Using a lower case fat face, the designer took advantage of applying it both as a display heading and a body text in the first example. (Source: Modernism 101 Rare Design Books)

A 1932 calendar cover with Normande, designed by Herbert Bayer for the Berthold type foundry. (Source: Mikey Ashworth)

1939 self-promotion brochure designed by Herbert Bayer using Ultra Bodoni. (Source: Herb Lubalin Study Center)

Herbert Bayer cover design using Ultra Bodoni for the 1939 issue of PM Magazine, a journal showcasing the finest examples of quality graphic art reproduction and modern design. (Source: Display)

Catalog cover and poster for an exhibition by British artist Barbara Jones at the Whitechapel Gallery as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain celebrations. These are two very nice examples were designed and illustrated by Jones and use Thorne Shaded and a decorative Thorne Shaded. (Sources: Quad Royal, Mikey Ashworth)

Elaine Lustig Cohen’s 1956 paperback cover design for Meridian Books. The playful polka-dot design pairs nicely with the Thorowgood italic. (Source: Scott Lindberg)

Alongside Thorowgood, another second-generation fat face with a decorative balled italic was the Style 101 from Bruce Type Foundry, later called Bruce Roman and Italic. This typeface was also used for mid-century modern work like these book covers: Svenska Aforismer (1951), and English Fairs and Markets (1953), the latter illustrated by Barbara Jones. (Sources: Martin Klasch, Quad Royal)

These whimsical chapter dividers combining monsters with a fat face are designed by Maximilien Vox for the 1960 French typographic annual, Caractère Noel. All six of the dividers vary slightly in color and design, but the circular path of the text is consistent. The dynamic placement of the chapter numerals also vary, but are easily interpreted.

Italian designer Bruno Munari first published his ABC book in 1960. Munari’s use of Normandia — a mid-century interpretation of the older fat faces — complements his playful illustrations throughout this entire book. (Source: Artists’ Books and Multiples)

Paul Rand’s 1962 simple cover design exploiting size and contrast with almost nothing but Ultra Bodoni. (Source: Scott Lindberg)

Monofil logo design with nice ligature, for the company who developed fabric from the nylon filament. Designer unknown. (Source: Marken und Signete, 1957)

Bridging Centuries

Many fashions have come and gone since the advent of Thorne’s first elephantine fat face in 1803, and the many revivals that followed. From the Victorian era to Modernism and back, the fat face has managed to consistently reinvent itself at the hands of legendary designers such as Herbert Bayer, Paul Rand, and Bruno Munari. Over the course of the past 200 years, its impact and contributions to the printed word have few parallels. Surely there will be more to follow.

Revivals, Reinterpretations, and Progressions

One proof that the style continues its popularity are the many new digital fat faces released in the last few years. Some are faithful revivals of old designs, and some are completely new interpretations of the genre, mixing new ideas with those from the fat faces of the past.

Sybarite and Poster are two of the few digital font families that offer size-specific designs so hairlines aren’t lost at smaller sizes.

Battista is a Thorowgood follower with a set of decorative fill fonts.

Brunel and its corpulent cousin Isambard are part of an extensive family by Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz, inspired in particular by fat faces of the Caslon foundry and John Isaac Drury.

As a contemporary interpretation of the more idiosyncratic Didot styles, the Ambroise family is quite different from most in this list, but the Black could be classified as a French fat face. Also unusual: three widths, down to the tightly packed François.

Trilogy Fatface only comes in italic, but there are five widths, swashes, and an accompanying superfamily of contrasting and compatible styles from the same historical period.

Ingeborg is a design that is not necessarily cut from the same Didonesque cloth as other fat faces, but its Fat Italic has the familiar balled swashes and its Block brings to mind Thorne Shaded.

Ben Kiel’s Worthe Numerals is a House Industries adventure into the most bulbous and expressive forms of fat face figures.

FB Bodoni is a revival of Ultra Bodoni’s Extra Condensed and adds an even narrower Compressed, while Oban and Geotica reduce Ultra Bodoni’s forms to their most spare and geometric.

In addition to these contemporary releases, the typefaces shown and mentioned in this article are shown, as usual, at the top of the sidebar at right. Click through the names and take your own journey into fat land!

Source: www.davidgentleman.com David Gentleman. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.davidgentleman.com David Gentleman. License: All Rights Reserved.

In 1966, David Gentleman designed a series of four illustrated children books about a little girl on holiday. In addition to Greece and Ireland, Fenella also travelled to Spain and the south of France. The books were released in 1967 by Jonathan Cape Ltd., London.

The type for the titles is a combination of two heavily decorated and shaded display typefaces. The first one is an ornamented fat face known in the mid-20th century as Macdonald. It has been revived digitally as Bodoni Ornamental by Michael Hagemann of Font Mesa. The second one goes back to a typeface from c. 1820 by the Paris-based foundry of Joseph Gillé. It was adopted by Deberny & Peignot, where it went under the name of Lettres Ombrées Ornées. Dieter Steffmann made a freely available (but unsatisfactory and limited) digitization of the same name in 2002. José Jiménez’ commercial version, Parisian Ornamentals (2010), is even worse and maybe derived from the freebie. If you happen to know more about the origin of the historic typeface designs, I’d be grateful for any pointers [see comments]. The italic fat face is Thorowgood.

You can see two interior pages from Fenella in the South of France on the website of Picturebook Museum.

Source: www.abebooks.com Robin Summers Books. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.abebooks.com Robin Summers Books. License: All Rights Reserved.

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

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