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1919 style lettering? Help!
HI,
My community club is celebrating its 90th anniversary. I said I would make banquet table cards in a 1919 style of lettering. I volunteered cause I knew if someone else did it, we'd end up with Comic Sans and it would irritate me all evening.
What would a suitable 1919 font be? I thought of Belwe, Bolton, Bernhard Modern, or Windsor. Am I right?
I also thought of a Rennie MacIntosh style, but the members might not recognize that at all.
It has to be very legible cause the lights may be dimmed, and some of the old-timers are past 80, so their eyes aren't what they used to be.
THANKS in advance!
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5 Nov 2009 — 8:24pm
Here is a link to 132 typefaces that came up after searching MyFonts for 1910s.
http://new.myfonts.com/search/1910s/fonts/
5 Nov 2009 — 8:39pm
NRG, That's helpful, but it's so many. Could anyone narrow it down for me with an educated opinion? What would you use?
6 Nov 2009 — 1:40am
I also thought of a Rennie MacIntosh stylez
What about Hill House?
http://www.hicksdesign.co.uk/goodies/
6 Nov 2009 — 7:27am
Try Bembo, its historically accurate (a revival designed in 1929) but I think it will have a nice period feel and will be closer to 1919 than comic sans...
6 Nov 2009 — 6:14am
Thanks, I love the Hill House. But most of the people at this event would likely have no idea it's a famous early 20th century style - they might see it as a bizarre science fiction sort of thing.
I'd like to use something anyone would recognize as quaint American type. Maybe Saturday Morning Toast by Nick, which he says is based on the old Saturday Evening Post logo. But that is more 20s.
6 Nov 2009 — 9:07am
sorry, i meant inaccurate of course
6 Nov 2009 — 11:13am
Here are some fonts popular c. 1919:
Cheltenham (NOT the ITC version, though)
Caslon Old Face
Packard
Bookman (NOT the ITC version or the Bookman Old Style that Microsoft bundles)
Pabst Oldstyle
Powell
Post Oldstyle
DeVinne ( Romana Bold is similar)
Della Robbia
Hadrianno
Artcraft
Kennerley
Goudy Oldstyle
6 Nov 2009 — 1:19pm
Geeza and Mark S,
Oh thank you! I already have Artcraft and I never get to use it. That would look very nice.
6 Nov 2009 — 5:40pm
Mark is on I think.
Is ITC other than Franklin Gothic ever an option? Not like I could do a whole lot better, but damn they ugly. :)
6 Nov 2009 — 6:02pm
It depends on the look you are after. But if you want to be true to the period (unless it's '70s or '80s), steer clear of the ITC revivals.
6 Nov 2009 — 6:25pm
Thanks to all.
I do want to suggest the period, but it's ephemera - I'm not too worried about authenticity. The guests (who are not designers) will notice "It looks quaint" or reminds them of materials they've seen from the WWI era - they'll like it.
Now if we were doing the 1940s, yeah, they might actually be familiar with that era.