Byte magazine, issue #4, December 1975

Bill Godbout was something of a pioneer in the early microcomputer movement of the 1970s, and his firm Bill Godbout Electronics was a commercial vehicle selling discount and surplus electronics and microcomputer components. Bill Godbout Electronics was a regular advertiser in the early issues of the seminal BYTE magazine. Issue #4 is the first Christmas issue and features a 2-pager from Bill Godbout Electronics that mixes a large number of fonts in a style typical of both this era and this advertiser.

“Bill Godbout Electronics” is in Wexford. I think the “CAVE grafix” is lettering, but the first word may be based on Koloss (see further below). “Wish you a joyous holiday season” and so in is in Davida. “If you are into toyful tinkering” and so on is in outlined Cooper Black.

“Son-of-a Cheap Clock” is in Tonight, and above it “We have a successor to our very popular ‘Cheap Clock Kit’!” is in Script (for the IBM Selectric; see also the body fonts, glossed below). The price, $14.50, is in Umbra. Both Script and Umbra are used on the following page.

Windsor is used for “they also make great gifts” (on the curve) and the following text. “Electronic Projects for Musicians” is Reklameschrift Herold. Below the decorative band, “EROM board special offer” is in Helvetica, outlined and with a South shadow.

“4K x 8 pre-programmed for 8080” is in an outline style of a somewhat Microgramma-like font that I couldn’t identify that is also used on the second page.

On the second page, “Bigger & Better” is in Skin & Bones (using two alternates for G, but not for E). “Pace 16 bit chip set” is in Koloss. “1 Pace 16 bit CPU” and other text on and under the curve is the previously mentioned and unidentified outline Microgramma-lookalike.

“Pace Data Packet” is Advertisers Gothic (using the A without a top flag). “4K x 8 RAM kit” is in Umbra. “EROM board kit” is in Rock Opera. The “8K x 8” and so on again is in Wexford. “There’s more ... We have” is in Monogram.

The body text (and some secondary and subtitle text) is typewritten in a variety of fonts, and I did a much better job of identifying those, all available on the IBM Selectric:

On the first page the text for the clock, starting “BIGGER DIGITS” is in Artisan. “By Craig Anderton” (the author of “Electronic Projects for Musicians”) is in Orator (probably, in any case Orator is used on the next page).

The text for the Craig Anderton blurb is Adjutant, I think. Delegate and Adjutant are very similar with only slight differences in weight and thick/thin contrast, but they have different pitches: Adjutant is 12 characters per inch, and is tighter than Delegate at 10. The text block at the bottom of the first page, starting “By special arrangement”, is in Bookface Academic.

On the second page, below “Pace 16 bit”, the text starting “This chip set gets you into PACE” is in Manifold. The word “PACE” itself is in another font (the Selectric had a feature where you could switch type-balls and still retain the cursor position), possibly Pica. Manifold is again used for the bottom paragraph starting “READOUTS, LEDS, TRANSISTORS”. Below “Pace Data Packet”, “Since we started advertising” is Orator. Below “4K x 8 RAM”, “Note the lower price” looks like Prestige Elite.

Below “EROM BOARD”, the text starting “Now you can stuff up to 8K” initially had me stumped, but I think I have tracked it down. The small caps in place of little letters, made me think of Orator, which it isn’t; the o is distinctly squaroid and reminded me of the output of the IBM lineprinters, such as the 1403. It turns out that the IBM Selectric has a typeball called AN3/360 which the 1972 brochure specifically says matches the AN3 style available on IBM’s lineprinters.

At the bottom of the second page, to the right of the wordmark, the payment and terms text starting “YOU MAY PLACE MASTERCHARGE® OR BANKAMERICARD® ORDERS” is in Script.

Richard A. Schlatter’s Wexford (VGC, 1972) in its lightest, unnamed weight, for an album with music by Antonín Dvořák, recorded by the Guarneri Quartet with Arthur Rubinstein and released on RCA Red Seal in 1973.

The Czech composer’s name is rendered in caps from the same typeface, squeezed and filled with pictures of sheet music in different pastel colors. The diacritics probably are custom additions.

[More info on Discogs]

From Wikipedia:

Tigers are Better-Looking is a collection of short stories written by Dominican author Jean Rhys, published in 1968 by André Deutsch and reissued by Penguin ten years later.

Shown here is is the cover of a paperback edition published as Popular Library 03107 in 1976, with cover art by Ann Meisel. The title typeface is Wexford Bold, designed by Richard A. Schlatter and released as a VGC original in 1973. Wexford came with alternates (for M and W), but the descending t isn’t one of them: it’s the font’s default form.

British one sheet poster. Illustration by Mike Vaughan.

From Wikipedia:

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jones franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, featuring Harrison Ford who reprises his role as the title character. Kate Capshaw, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone and Ke Huy Quan, in his film debut, star in supporting roles.

The British one sheet poster features a tagline and the second half of the film's title set in Wexford. The British quad and one-third posters feature a giant tagline, "The Hero is Back," set in the Extrabold weight of Largo. Pull quotes and additional text are set in ITC Newtext. The credit blocks are set in News Gothic Condensed. The British quad poster promoting the "Royal European Première" features text set in Continental and Helvetica.

Illustrations featured on posters are credited to Mike Vaughan. Poster designer/s currently unknown.

The film's title sequence features credits set in a faux italic Bauer Topic (see Steile Futura). The Club Obi Wan signage is based on Zig Zag, an art deco alphabet design by Marcia Loeb that is shown in New Art Deco Alphabets (Dover, New York, 1975). The end credits are set in Eurostile. Titles are by Modern Film Effects.

The Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom logo is hand-lettered, likely by Mike Salisbury, who also designed the logo for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Furthermore, the look of the original Raiders logo was likely inspired by the very similar cover lettering (see comments here) seen on 1940s issues of the American science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. A more elaborate comparison can also be found here.

British quad poster (trimmed). Illustration credited to Mike Vaughan.

British one-third poster. Illustration credited to Mike Vaughan.

British quad poster promoting the “Royal European Première” featuring text set in Continental and Helvetica

Titles by Modern Film Effects featuring Bauer Topic (see Steile Futura) in a faux italic.

Establishing title for “Shanghai, 1935,” also set in a faux italic Bauer Topic (see Steile Futura). Club Obi Wan signage based on Zig Zag. End credits set in Eurostile.

All-caps Wexford (VGC, 1972) for the debut album of the Elite Jewels, a soul/gospel group from Cleveland, Ohio. The record was released in 1974 on ABC Songbird. Photography by Chris Callis.

[More info on Discogs]

Originally titled Six contes moraux, this is the first American edition of Éric Rohmer’s novel Six Moral Tales, a literary version of the French director’s film cycle of the same name. Translated from the French by Sabine d’Estree, it was published as Seaver book, an imprint of the Viking Press, New York, in 1980.

For the jacket typography, designer Roy Kuhlman used two weights of Wexford, stacked and justified. Originally designed by Richard A. Schlatter for VGC in 1972, this typeface was copied by Castcraft as Eton (and later digitized as OPTI Eton).

The title page as well as the initials marking chapter openings (not pictured) use Caslon Openface. The text typeface is a photo version of Janson/Kis that’s credited as “Video Janson” in the imprint.

“Omar Rayo en la Segunda Bienal Americana de Artes Graficas / Museo La Terulia / Cali Colombia, Octubre 1973.” Stripes (1973) is paired with Pump Bold (1970), which is used without i dots.

Omar Rayo (1928–2010) was an abstract art painter from Colombia whose geometric Op Art works have been exhibited multiple times at Museo La Tertulia and at Museo Rayo in Cali. The two museums collaborated on a retrospective exhibition with paintings from both collections. Each time a catalogue was printed it featured a different typeface arrangement, mostly with geometric display typefaces. Both museums even made an special exhibition in 1977 called Los Rayos del Museo Rayo y los Rayos del Museo La Tertulia.

Some exhibition catalogues like the one for La constante geometría from 1972 had original lettering, but most of the covers and posters are early examples of instant lettering typefaces in use, with very original typesettings. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any information about the designer of these printed materials.

Another exhibition from 1985 called Rayo Serie Raya Blanca Raya Negra shows Stripes in use. In Spanish, Omar’s family name Rayo could be translated to “ray”, but when used in feminine form, Raya means “stripe”. In this case, it transtales to: Rayo White Stripe and Black Stripe Series.

Joc Line (1973).

Stop (1971) and caps from an unidentified wide grotesk (similar to Akzidenz-Grotesk or Venus breit) for Omar Rayo at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo.

Sans-serif caps from what appears to be a predigital cut of Helvetica, cropped and repeated.

Traffic (1973).

This piece of lettering appears to be modeled after Pacella Graphic Biform or Bailey.

Deutsch Black (1966).

These letterforms that look like folded paper strips are either custom drawn or from an unidentified typeface.

Compacta Bold Outline (1965) on an angle, with a circle punched out and rotated.

Eurostile neretto largo (1962), caught in a grid.

ITC Ronda Bold (1970), with a crop-and-repeat treatment and a custom interlinear ligature.

Good Vibrations (1973).

Yagi Link Double (1968).

Baby Teeth (c. 1966).

Hot Dog (1975). While most of the other typefaces were carried by Letraset, Hot Dog was exclusive to their competitor Mecanorma.

These caps look like they’re from Moore Computer (1968). The Y isn’t a match, though – it might be an alternate, or a modification.

This ladder-like arrangement appears to use custom drawn letterforms.

Poster for Rayo Serie Raya Blanca Raya Negra (1985), featuring Stripes and Helvetica. The Museo Rayo logo at the bottom left is based on ITC Avant Garde Gothic, while the text at the right is set in caps from Wexford.

Poster for La Constante Geometria (1972), ft. more ITC Ronda and Univers Ultra Condensed or similar. The big “OMAR RAYO” is probaby custom. For similar extracompressed digital fonts, see Radiator or Fit Skyline.

The North American album art for Light as a Feather uses Wexford in its Bold and Medium weights.

A jazz fusion album by legendary keyboardist Chick Corea and his band Return to Forever, particularly notable for its star final track, "Spain". The album art uses two funky weights of Wexford on the US release, and hairline Avant Garde internationally.

More info about the album on Discogs.

The artwork for the international release uses centered ITC Avant Garde Gothic in its Extra-Light weight, making use of its alternates for A and e.

“Spring” (No. 291), ft. all-caps Benguiat Caslon with swash alternates, set on an angle. The small type in the arrows is in reversed Helvetica caps.

Covers for various clip books of line art issued in 1976 by Harry Volk Jr. Art Studio, Pleasantville, New Jersey. This year marked their silver anniversary, see the “Spring” booklet above, indicating that the company was established in 1951. The celebration continued in the following year, see the covers from 1977. According to Bart Solenthaler, Volk went out of business sometime in the 1980s.

See the previous post about the clip books issued in 1955 for more information on Harry Volk Jr. Art Studio.

Coinciding with the silver anniversary, Volk introduced a new logo, featuring rounded sans-serif letterforms. The right arm of V extends to a hand holding a pencil and drawing on the o, turning it into a globe. The Herb Lubalin Study Center points out that this logo was designed by Herb Lubalin – “not his greatest logo, but charming”.

“Vote” (No. 280) ft. Pacella Monitor. The new Volk logo here is framed by tightly spaced caps from Kabel Light.

“Holidays” (No. 281) ft. ITC American Typewriter.

“Homes – Buildings” (No. 282) ft. Bronstein Bold. Like Letraset’s Lazybones, this bold script by FotoStar/Facsimile Fonts is a close follower of PLINC’s West Cooper Nouveau Swash Swash Bold.

“Birthday” (No. 284) ft. Davida.

“Expressions” (No. 285). ft. Bookman Swash Bold Italic with alternates.

“Religion” (No. 286) ft. Pretorian.

“Winter” (No. 287) ft. Norton Chocolate Frosted, a snow-capped variant of S.E. Norton’s series of bold grotesque caps for Photo-Lettering.

“Holidays” (No. 289) ft. Advertisers Gothic.

“Men” (No. 290) ft. Buxom, again by FotoStar/Facsimile Fonts, a copy of Baby Fat, distinguished by less deep notches in M and N.

“Marine” (No. 652) ft. Bobo Bold.

“Summer” (No. 655) ft. Abbey Scroll.

“Old Fashioned” (No. 656) ft. Romantiques No. 5 / Bracelet.

“Crime” (No. 658), with Gill Kayo caps set on a circle.

“Transportation” (No. 659) ft. Dynamo.

“Autumn” (No. 660) ft. Hobo.

“Do-It-Yourself” (No. 661) ft. ITC Ronda.

“Insurance” (No. 662) ft. Microcircus.

“Fall & Winter Sports” (No. 663) ft. Kabel Black.

“Christmas” (No. 664) ft. Tintoretto. The hooked I reveals that this face was not intended for all-caps settings.

“Menu” (No. 665), ft. Bookman Italic in all caps, with an initial swash M.

“Homemaker” (No. 666) ft. Wexford.

“Senior Citizens” (No. 667) ft. caps from Eurostile Light Extended.

“Save!” (No. 669) ft. Mania.

“Executives” (No. 670) ft. Hess Neobold.

“Family” (No. 671) ft. more Benguiat Caslon.

“Crowds” (No. 672) ft. Banco.

“Mail” (No. 673) ft. Buster.

“Circus-Fair” (No. 674) ft. Filmotype Van Horn.

“Spring & Summer Sports” (No. 675) ft. Eurostile Bold Extended in all caps.

“The Little Patriot” (No. G62) ft. Caslon Antique. The logo of the Grafika subseries is in ITC Fat Face with ligatures for ra and fi, accompanied by Kabel Light with omitted tittles.

“Sly Sayings” (No. G63) ft. Paprika.

“Animal Clichés” (No. G64) ft. Thalia.

“Trivia” (No. G65) ft. Advertisers Gothic.

“Villains” (No. G67), ft. a money-grabbing octopus and Bob Quinzel’s Cucumber typeface.

“Printed Forms” (No. G69) ft. Futura Black, ITC Avant Garde Gothic (with alternates), Cooper Black, and Windsor.

“Drop-Ins” (No. G68) ft. Davida complete with its ornaments.

“Time” (No. G70), ft. Optex and Cooper Black.

“Impact!” (No. G71), featuring a version of the triline face designed by Lance Wyman for the 1968 Mexico Olympics, see Mexico Olympic. This is probably Photo-Lettering’s adaptation that went under the name Olympic, or the Lettergraphics version known as Hotline. Note how the type echoes the vibration caused by the jackhammer.

“Cartouches” (No. G72) ft. Arnold Böcklin in all caps.

“Ad Animals” (No. G76) ft. more Thalia.

A rare cover in color, celebrating the United States Bicentennial. “The King-Size Clip Book of Bicentennial Art Volk Corporation” appears to use lettering, or heavily modified type. Several details like the swash caps for G and Z suggest that a version of Cloister (Bold) Italic was involved. Other glyphs don’t match a showing of the Monotype cut, and might come from different sources.

Debut novel and first book in the Diadem series by Jo Clayton (1939–1998). First published by DAW Books in 1977, this is a later edition from 1984, but with the same cover art by Michael Whelan (b. 1950). The typography features Wexford Ultra Bold (VGC, 1972) by Richard Schlatter (b. 1944), in tightly spaced caps. Wexford can easily be distinguished from other 1970s “Bauhaus-y” faces by the low-waisted E and the pointed M. Harold Lohner made a digital interpretation and expansion named Wexley.

Far out among the stars the masterminds of the spider people had placed their mightiest mysteries in the scientific device called the diadem. And when that coronet was stolen, they were prepared to pursue it throughout eternity. The thief crashed among the nomads of Jaydugar, a semi-barbarian world …and the diadem found its way into the hands – and onto the skull – of the girl Aleytys. She was herself a strange one – daughter of a sky wanderer, outcast among the people who had raised her out of fear and awe. And the diadem was to prove both her bane and her treasure. For she could not remove it once it had sunk its electronic web into her brain and her nervous system – and she did not know how to control the powers that were contained within it. Yet every moment she wore it, she would be a target for the vengeance of the spider race and the avarice of a thousand worlds.

Burglars Can’t Be Choosers, 1977

The Burglar books are a series of comic mystery novels written by Lawrence Block (b. 1938). The protagonist is Bernie Rhodenbarr,

a New York City-based thief who excels in lock picking and breaking and entering, and who is addicted to the thrill it provides. He served time in prison in his youth, and since then has resolved to avoid getting caught again.

Emanuel Schongut did the illustrations for the book jackets of the first four titles. They were published by Random House between 1977 and 1980. Schongut provided the illustration leaving space for the type. Dick Adelson, the art director, then added the typography.

For the first two books, Adelson used Plaza Ultra, center-aligned, stacked, and interlocked, in tightly spaced caps with enlarged swash forms inserted for the first and final letters (see EndcapS). Plaza was drawn by Alan Meeks and issued by Letraset in 1975 (originally under the name Playboy, until Hugh Hefner threatened to sue). The smaller lines are set in ITC Avant Garde Gothic.

This layout was revised for The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling (1979). The author’s name was moved to the top, and Plaza made way for Wexford. This face is likewise a geometric display sans with Art Deco vibes (see e.g. the round-top A) Designed by Richard A. Schlatter, Wexford was released by VGC in 1972.

The Burglar in the Closet (1978)

The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling (1979)

The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza (1980)

Front

The Space Story was a radio program aimed at educating the public about NASA’s discoveries in the field of space science as well as their technological achievements. Each track (program) in this series was to be broadcast for one week, and had specific dates for broadcasting, as shown on the label. — Discogs

The narrator is Willard Scott. The front cover shows Wexford Ultra Bold, set in all caps on a curve. “Easy Open / Lift Here” features the lighter Bold weight from Richard A. Schlatter’s typeface family.

Back

Detail

[More info on Discogs]

This double album was released in 1974 by Clifford Jordan.

The typeface featured on the cover is called Wexford. It was designed by Richard Schlatter and released as a three weight (Light, Medium, Bold) typeface family in 1972. Wexford was part of a wave of similar typeface designs released in the late 60/early 70s that were all built on a very circular, strictly-geometric structure. A few of the more popular examples include Burko, Pump, ITC Ronda, and Horatio.

Specifically, it is Wexford Light that is used here. Set in the “tight but not touching” style that was ubiquitous throughout the 1970s.

Wexford Light full alphabet.