In Youth is Pleasure by Denton Welch (Oxford University Press)
Thanks for introducing me to Denton Welch, Sonja!
The cover of this Oxford University Press edition of In Youth is Pleasure from 1982 combines a portrait (after Egon Schiele?) with a rarely seen typeface. It is Jowa-Schreibschrift, or Jowa Script, a solid version of Carlos Winkow’s chalk script Gong (1945). Issued in 1966 by the Johannes Wagner foundry in Ingolstadt, it was named to commemorate the foundry owner who had died the year before. The typeface was sold abroad as Wagner Penscript or Gong Solid—kudos to Michael for sharing a specimen—but it wasn’t a big hit. Some of its letterforms are rooted in the German script tradition of the early 20th century, like the Kurrent-like D or d, the descending P (which has been shifted up in this use), or the barred forms for X x Z z 7. With foundry type already in demise, Jowa Script came too late to make a mark. Unlike other—older—script typefaces, it wasn’t picked up by Letraset or any other manufacturer from the post-metal era, and fell into oblivion. It has been digitized by now, but the interpretation is neither faithful to the original nor very good.
Frontispiece and title page. The interior is set in Monotype Imprint with oldstyle numerals.
First published 1945 by Routledge & Kegan Paul. First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback in 1982, with an introduction by John Lehmann. Printed by Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk.
1 Comment on “In Youth is Pleasure by Denton Welch (Oxford University Press)”
I have a copy of this book signed by John Lehmann who wrote the introduction. Also there is a personal letter between the pages from John L. to his friend as the book was a personal gift. I also have In Youth is Pleasure intro by William Burroughs and signed. Special.