The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (Signet, 1985)
Contributed by Florian Hardwig on May 8th, 2022. Artwork published in
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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.
11 Comments on “The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (Signet, 1985)”
I also founded a book from 1987, where it used the Moulin Rouge font also
Thanks, Javi. That’s by the same publisher, Signet Books. Chances are it’s even by the same in-house typographer, who knows.
Signet used Davison Moulin Rouge quite a bit in the 1980s. I’m aware of three more examples: Kingdom of Summer (1982) and In Winter’s Shadow (1983) by Gillian Bradshaw, and A Personal Demon by David Bischoff, Rich Brown, and Linda Richardson (1985).
In all examples, ITC Korinna is the secondary typeface.
Signet used Moulin Rouge for a whole series of romance novels by Elizabeth Hewitt. In addition to An Innocent Deception (1987), this includes A Sporting Proposition (1983), The Fortune Hunter (1983), Captain Black (1984), Marriage by Consent (1985), The Worth Inheritance (1986), A Lasting Attachment (1987), Broken Vows (1987), The Ice Maiden (1988), A Lasting Attachment (1989), A Private Understanding (1990), Airs and Graces (1990), and possibly more.
Do you want to prepare a contribution about this series?
Yes
I don’t know if there’s a full specimen of the Davison Moulin Rouge. I’m assuming it’s a lost one
It’s probably not lost: House Industries acquired the Photo-Lettering assets. I would assume that this includes the original plates for Davison Moulin Rouge.
Like is there a glyph?
You mean a showing of a full glyph set, yes? No, I’m not aware of such an image being available online at the moment.
Wish there was a full glyph for it
In 1969, Davison Moulin Rouge was used on a book called The Last Magicians.
Davison Moulin Rouge was also used for the 1979 book Blood on the Sun by Neil Langholm and for the 1988 book The Ice Maiden by Elizabeth Hewitt.