Münchner Fraktur / Renaissance-Fraktur in use

Vom Fels zum Meer letterhead (1894)

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 18:23:21 +0000

Photo(s) by altpapiersammler on Flickr.

Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by altpapiersammler and tagged with “münchnerfraktur” and “tudorblack”. License: All Rights Reserved.

Vom Fels zum Meer (“From rock to sea”) is an “illustrated journal for the German house” edited by Wilhelm Spemann (1844–1910) and published from 1881 to 1917. Between 1890 and 1897, Spemann’s publishing house was merged into Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, a company he had founded together with Adolf Kröner (1836–1911).

The shown letter was sent in January 1894 to one of the family journal’s advertisers, the “Duc” Cycle Co. in Herzogenbusch, that is ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. “Duc” was a brand by B.A. Jansen who imported bicycles manufactured by the Quinton Cycle Co. in Coventry, England. Pasted in the bottom left corner is a sample of the ad that was to be included in Vom Fels zum Meer.

The text block at the top right features five different blackletter typefaces. The title is set in Renaissance-Fraktur, with the subtitle added in a version of Original-Gotisch. “Monats-Ausgabe” uses a German adaptation of Tudor Black, possibly Psalter-Gotisch by Krebs. Last but not least, we get to see Flinsch’s Halbfette Schwabacher and Albert Anklam’s Neue Schwabacher.

Detail

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Die drei Musketiere by Alexandre Dumas, Karl Prochaska

Sat, 09 Nov 2024 07:29:00 +0000

Photo(s) by altpapiersammler on Flickr.

Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by altpapiersammler and tagged with “renaissancekanzlei”. License: All Rights Reserved.

This undated German translation of Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers) was published by Karl Prochaska in Teschen, Austria (today: Cieszyn/Těšín), in a series titled “Die besten Romane der Weltliteratur” (“The best novels in world literature”).

The series title on the top of the title page pairs Heinz König’s Renaissance-Fraktur (1885) with initials from Friedrich W. Bauer’s Renaissance-Kanzlei (1883). “Die drei Musketiere” is presented in a lighter typeface, likewise with flourished capitals: Antike Kanzlei (1882) was designed in-house at Flinsch and cut by William Kirkwood. The name of Alexander [sic!] Dumas uses Original-Gotisch or similar. The smaller text including the caption of the frontispiece is set in a Normal-Fraktur.

“Die besten Romane der Weltliteratur” on the cover appears to be a (custom-made?) open variant of Renaissance-Fraktur. The author’s name here is set in Albert Anklam’s Neue Schwabacher (1876).

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

“Genießet Zucker” ad

Sat, 10 Jun 2023 14:25:55 +0000

Photo(s) by altpapiersammler on Flickr.

Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by altpapiersammler and tagged with “renaissancefraktur”, “alteschwabacher”, “neueschwabacher” and “morrisgotisch”. License: All Rights Reserved.

A full-page ad in a German publication from 1901, singing the praises of sugar:

Enjoy sugar, not only because it increases the pleasant taste, but rather because it is a valuable food and at the same time cheaper than other nutrients such as fat and protein.

The middle part details how to enjoy sugar: in tea and coffee, in all milk and water soups, in all hard to digest vegetables and salads, on bread (in the form of jam, as cheap substitute for butter), in the form of preserved fruits, and, for breastfeeding women, in malt beer.

The bottom part addresses “smart mothers” and “smart housewives”. The former are asked not to deprive their children of sugar:

It is a wise institution of nature that children crave sweet foods and drinks; it is as if they know it that they cannot thrive without sugar.

The headline features Renaissance-Fraktur with an ß (eszett), a compact ck ligature, and a swashy r at the end. While the text directly below uses an Alte Schwabacher (starring umlauts with superscript e’s), all smaller text is set in a Neue Schwabacher, with a bold weight used for emphasis. The heading next to the numbered list combines this bold Neue Schwabacher with a question mark from Gloria schmal halbfett.

“Zucker / Zucker / Zucker” and the triple-underlined “Kluge Mütter / Kluge Hausfrauen” are set in Stempel’s Morris-Gotisch. This adaptation of Morris Troy is distinguished from William Morris’s original – as well as from other German releases under the same name including those by Berthold and Ludwig & Mayer – by a different g. It also sports an uncial-like M which might be unique to the Stempel version.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Typographische Vereinigung Karlsruhe, New Year wishes 1917

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 19:18:31 +0000

Photo(s) by Kirsten Solveig Schneider on Flickr.

Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by Kirsten Solveig Schneider and tagged with “münchnerfraktur”. License: All Rights Reserved.

“Herzlichen Glückwunsch allen unseren Mitgliedern und Freunden zur Jahreswende 1917. Möge das kommende Jahr baldigen dauernden Frieden und eine bessere Zeit bringen. Typographische Vereinigung Karlsruhe i. B. [in Baden]”

[Congratulations to all of our members and friends on the turn of the year 1917. May the coming year soon bring lasting peace and a better time. Typographical Association Karlsruhe i. B.]

In: Typographische Mitteilungen, Vol. 14, Issue 2, February 1917.

The blackletter typeface is Renaissance-Fraktur, designed by Heinz König in 1885 for Genzsch & Heyse.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

MAMSAM mugs

Threedotstype — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 16:07:22 +0000

Contributed by Threedotstype

Żoliborz by Marian Misiak / threedotstype

MAMSAM mugs —

are associated, first of all, with an aesthetics of PRL (People’s Republic of Poland), although they were also inspired from the German design of 1960s. The first patterns referred directly to the Polish applied graphic design of 1970s. However, with time the designers cooperating with us started to treat them as a medium of comments towards the present days and to make reference to the current events or texts of the culture.

MANSAM Mugs, are first and foremost good Polish design as well as the gallery presenting the works of Polish graphic artists and designers distinguishing themselves.

They are formed as limited series, not exceeding 100 pieces (there are mostly 30 pieces of them of one pattern). Each series is an unrepeated collection of logotypes, which are not produced more by us in case if they have beeen already sold.

The MAMSAM shop currently lists 979 different designs submitted by 173 designers, sorted in 12 categories like cities, sport, animals, objects, words. This post shows a selection of mugs with typographic designs. Unless otherwise noted, all depicted mugs were designed by Janek Bersz, one of the most prolific contributors. The selection also includes mugs by Polish type designers who have used the MAMSAM mugs as a platform to showcase their typefaces.

אהבה by Mixcolour

Śląsk by Marian Misiak / threedotstype

Singiel by Tomasz Tkaczyk

Służew by Szymon Sznajder

Bielany by Joanna Angulska

Żoliborz by Zuzanna Rogatty

Ursynów by Rafał Buchner

Bemowo by Mateusz Machalski

Śródmieście by Mateusz Machalski

Saska Kępa by Ludka Niezgoda

Wilanów by Anna Wieluńska

Mokotów by Robert Jarzec

Żerań by Maciej Połczyński

Praga by Maciej Włoczewski

Białołęka by Beata Kurek

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Trans-Alpine Yodel, No. 314, 19 Oct 1932: “Will There Be War?”

Pierre Brossard — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 06:22:37 +0000

Contributed by Pierre Brossard

License: All Rights Reserved.

The word “PRESS” on the newsstand is written in FF DIN. The two signs below seem to use Toronto Gothic.

This use focuses on the morning edition of the Trans-Alpine Yodel of the October 19th 1932, as featured in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel (2013) — see also this previous post about the movie poster and some other props used in the film.

We can notice that all the typefaces used in the newspaper from the Republic of Zubrowka have origins that lie before 1932.

For the newspaper’s masthead, Münchner Fraktur is mixed with a T and A from Old English. The main headline uses Cheltenham.

Body copy is typeset in Romana, and Fletcher was picked for the tragic “Dowager Countess Found Dead in Boudoir”. Fletcher is a revival of Lettres Angulaires, a typeface with arrow-like serifs, originally issued in ca. 1865 by the Beaudoire & Cie foundry in Paris.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

“Er De skriftklog?”

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 16:01:03 +0000

Photo(s) by Sander Pedersen on Flickr.

Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by Sander Pedersen and tagged with “rockwell” and “renaissancefraktur”. License: All Rights Reserved.

Double page advertisement for Olaf Gulowsen’s type foundry in the 1940 volume of Norsk Boktrykk Kalender. This volume honors the 500-year anniversary of the invention of Gutenberg’s press. Many of the ads are designed as pastiche of an older style, with blackletter type and a centered, symmetrical axis. This ad juxtaposes the old style with the modern style. The spelling is old-fashioned as well, and Oslo is referred to as Christiania, its name from 1624 to 1924.

Do you know about type?

Then you will know that at Olaf Gulowsen A-s, you get extra good and strong type. All for the lowest price possible. We use the old proverb: Do not cross the river after water. Use Olaf Gulowsen’s type foundry.

When you see the ad on the other side and compare it with this, you must admit that tastes shift. The requirements for the written word must first be that it is always clear and easy to read. This characterizes all the typefaces from Olaf Gulowsen’s type foundry.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

The Grand Budapest Hotel poster and props

Andreas Kofler — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 12:06:13 +0000

Theatrical release poster, using Archer.

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel is remarkable for numberous reasons, but the use of typefaces may not have been largely discussed yet. While Anderson has made extensive, and nearly exclusive, use of Futura for all of his movie titles and posters until Moonrise Kingdom (where he opted for a custom typeface, designed by Jessica Hische), he has employed Archer for The Grand Budapest Hotel. The countless number of graphic props that were designed by Annie Atkins include packaging, stationery, banknotes, postage stamps, signage, keychains, gates, flags, shopfronts, menus, passports, books and local newspapers:

The Continental Drift, using Beaufort. Headline using DIN.

The Trans-Alpine Yodel, using Old English and Münchner Fraktur. Headline using a faux-bolded Trajan. The text is set in a Garamond.

The Daily Fact, using a modified Russian. Headlines using an outlined Bebas and DIN.

Another edition of the Trans-Alpine Yodel, this time following The New York Times’ lead with Cheltenham.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Volksbühne Berlin flyers and leaflets

Florian Hardwig — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 16:32:28 +0000

Contributed by Florian Hardwig

Photo: Florian Hardwig. License: CC BY-NC-SA.

Posted as an addendum to my blog article about the Volksbühne poster campaign.

In the blog post, I wrote “Volksbühne is blackletter. Blackletter is Volksbühne.” It should become clear what I meant by that when you take a look at the countless flyers for the events of the current season. LSD Design uses more than a dozen different blackletter typefaces, from all subcategories. They are claiming the whole genre for the Volksbühne identity – and it works, because hardly anyone else dares to use these typefaces.

There is textura, fraktur, and one bastarda (Zeitungs-Schwabacher). Some are well-known, like Wilhelm Klingspor Gotisch, others relatively obscure, like Münchner Gotisch. Linotype Textur is not the only contemporary design: there is also Agincourt (David Quay, 1983) and Avebury (Jim Parkinson, 2005). One could think that each flyer got its own typeface, but that’s not true. Some appear twice, like Haenel Fraktur, some even three times, like Deutsche Reichsschrift.

There are three exponents of the controversial simplified gotisch or “schaftstiefelgrotesk”: Nürnberg (Ludwig Wagner, 1934), Tannenberg (D. Stempel AG, 1933–35) and National (Ludwig & Mayer, 1933–38). Unlike on the posters, Potsdam does not make an appearance here (yet). Tannenberg (Das Duell, Dancing About) is confusingly similar to National (Kill your Darlings!). Seeing all the elements of the eclectic visual identity in context, I must admit that, from a formal standpoint, it makes sense to include some simpler, unadorned typefaces – blackletter grotesks, so to say – in the mix.

Photo: Florian Hardwig. License: CC BY-NC-SA.

The backside of each sticker holds information about the event. This text is presented rather conventionally, in Akzidenz-Grotesk.

Photo: Florian Hardwig. License: CC BY-NC-SA.

The showcases on the outside of the Volksbühne building display the monthly program, unfolded. The actual agenda is not in blackletter, but in Akzidenz-Grotesk. The URL and the verso with the Warhol quote is in Deutsche Reichsschrift.

Photo: Florian Hardwig. License: CC BY-NC-SA.

The figures on the monthly program leaflets for August/September and October are from Tannenberg Schmalfett.

Photo: Florian Hardwig. License: CC BY-NC-SA.

Photo: Florian Hardwig. License: CC BY-NC-SA.

The assorted take-away flyers, as they are offered in the Volksbühne foyer.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Motörhead – “Leaving Here” / “White Line Fever” single cover

Florian Hardwig — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 10:19:43 +0000

A squiggly floral Fraktur from Bavaria, paired with a stiff and latticed English Textura – strictly speaking, these two blackletter styles don’t go together very well. Also, the typography sends out a different message than the photo does. While blackletter in general is often picked to represent roughness, this special selection feels rather cozy or festive, even dulcet. But who cares when the music’s loud enough?

Münchner Fraktur goes back to a typeface design by Gustav Lorenz (1850). Lorenz drew inspiration from the type made by Johann Schönsperger for the Gebetbuch for Maximilian I. in 1508–13. In 1885, Heinz König created the related Renaissance-Fraktur for Genzsch & Heyse. There are at least three digitizations, Münchner Fraktur by Manfred Klein, Alte Münchner Fraktur by Gerhard Helzel and Neue Muenchner Fraktur by Ralph M. Unger. Apparently it was also available in some form in the 1970s.

[More info on Discogs]

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use