Original Source for Dan X. Solo's "Potsdam Initials"

Posted by Alter Littera in

Type ID Board

18 Nov 2012 — 12:15am

Hello,

I would be very grateful if someone could tell me about the original (historical) source for the so-called "Potsdam Initials" as appearing in one of Dan X. Solo's books for Dover Publications ("Celtic and Medieval Alphabets", 1998). I am finishing an OpenType adaptation of such initials and would like to credit them appropriately (or ask for the corresponding permissions in case they are somehow copyrighted).

Thanks in advance for your help.

Alter Littera
18 Nov 2012 — 1:46am

Hints:

1. The letters FS can be seen somewhat hidden in the frame ornaments for some initials (D, E, G, I and N).

2. There exists one "Potsdam" typeface family designed in 1934 by R. Golpon for J.D. Trennert und Sohn. However, they do not seem to have designed/released the "Potsdam Initials".

Thanks again.

Alter Littera
19 Nov 2012 — 10:48am

Any clue out there? Perhaps another forum/site?

Thanks again.

Renko
20 Nov 2012 — 2:29pm

Try the (german) forum typografie.info, some blackletter experts are attending there.

Or try to contact Peter Reichardt. He is one of the best in having knowledge of extinct (german) typefaces.

Another one could be Martin Z. Schröder from druckerey.de. He works, publishes and writes about old typefaces.

I had a look at the site of Dipl.-Ing. Gerhard Helzel, but have only found some lookalikes.

That's what I can recommend.

Alter Littera
20 Nov 2012 — 1:46pm

Thank you very much. I will post back if I get any positive answer from your recommendations.

Kind regards.

Renko
20 Nov 2012 — 2:32pm

One thing, too: Peter Reichardt published something interesting at the Klingspor Museum. You could stroll through the metal typeface collection PDFs and maybe find something.

Alter Littera
22 Nov 2012 — 12:07pm

Thanks again for your replies. I haven't dared to try the first three suggestions from your first post because I can hardly read/write German. I also checked G. Helzel's and the Klingspor Museum's sites to no effect. However, from the first hint in my second post and from information digged from Luc Devroy's site and from F. Bauer's "Chronik der Schriftgießereien in Deutschland und den deutschsprachigen Nachbarländern" (set into PDF by H. Reichardt in 2011), I discovered that one Friedrich Schoch (FS) designed around 1840 a typeface ("Schochisch") on which the 1900's "Neudeutschen Schriften" seem to have been based. Solo's "Potsam Initials" fit perfectly with those typefaces, so joining everything together it is my (possibly wild) guess that those initials were originally designed by the "Schriftschneiderei und -gießerei Friedrich Schoch" ca. 1840. I'm afraid I can't go further, so any evidence or oppinion supporting/rejecting this guess will be mostly appreciated.

Original Source for Dan X. Solo's "Potsdam Initials"

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