Fonts In Use Bibliography
- D. Stempel AG / Haas'sche Schriftgiesserei AG
- Universal Schriftprobe / Spècimen des caractères / Specimen book of typefaces
Frankfurt am Main: D. Stempel AG / Münchenstein: Haas'sche Schriftgiesserei AG, [1974].
- Lettergieterij Amsterdam
- Alfabetische lijst van L.A.-letters, bevattende de soorten opgenomen in de proeven van 1932 en later, benevens de vootnaamste soorten uit de oudere proeven tot 1898
Amsterdam: Lettergieterij Amsterdam, 1968. [Transcription]
“Alphabetical list of L.A. design, containing the types included in the specimens of 1932 and later, as well as the most important types from older specimens up to 1898.” A photocopy of this document dated September 1968 is included in the Tetterode Archive at the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam. Drukwerk in de Marge provided a transcription.
- Annenberg, Maurice
- Type Foundries of America and Their Catalogs
Baltimore: Maran Printing Services, 1975. [Scan]
- Bastien, Alfred and Freshwater, G. J.
- Printing Types of the World
London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., 1931
- Bauer, Friedrich and Hans Reichardt
- Chronik der Schriftgießereien in Deutschland und den deutschsprachigen Nachbarländern. Bearbeitet von Friedrich Bauer, Offenbach am Main 1928. Mit Ergänzungen und Nachträgen von Hans Reichardt
Frankfurt am Main: Hans Reichardt, 2011. [PDF]
- Bertheau, Philipp
- Buchdruckschriften im 20. Jahrhundert. Atlas zur Geschichte der Schrift ausgewählt und kommentiert von Philipp Bertheau unter Mitarbeit von Eva Hanebutt-Benz und Hans Reichardt
Darmstadt: Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, 1995.
- Gorissen, Götz Gunnar (editor)
- Berthold Fototypes E1
München: Callwey, June 1974.
- Gorissen, Götz Gunnar (editor)
- Berthold Fototypes E2. Vol. 1. Body Types: Synopsis, Katalog, Layouts; (577 Type Faces)
Berlin: Berthold; München: Callwey, 1980.
- Gorissen, Götz Gunnar (editor)
- Berthold Headlines E3: 1400 Headline faces arranged according to similarity
Berlin: Berthold; München: Callwey, 1982.
- Lange, Günter Gerhard and Bernd Möllenstädt (editors)
- Berthold Types
Berlin: H. Berthold AG, 1988.
Four volumes (A–B, C–F, G–N, O–Z).
- Brendel Informatik GmbH
- Faces
Cologne: Brendel Informatik GmbH, n.d.
Based on the information in the preface (mention of conversion from Ikarus format to vector fonts for the Apple Macintosh, but no mention of PostScript Type 1; mention of more than 20 years in business), this catalog can be dated to c. 1989 [Pool].
- Castcraft Industries Inc.
- The Encyclopedia of Phototype Styles
Chicago: Castcraft Industries Inc., 1978.
Contains about 5,000 typefaces for phototypesetting, shown with full glyph sets. Started by the company’s founder David L. Kreiter (1915–1975) and completed by his brothers.
- Compugraphic
- A Portfolio of Display Typefaces
Third Edition. Wilmington, Massachusetts: Compugraphic Corporation, September 1976.
- Compugraphic
- A Portfolio of Text Typefaces
Fourth Edition. Wilmington, Massachusetts: Compugraphic Corporation, June 1977.
- Daines, Mike
- Faces from Letraset: The story of the display typeface collection
London: eLexicons Limited, 2016.
- Branczyk, Alexander; Jutta Nachtwey; Heike Nehl; Sibylle Schlaich and Jürgen Siebert (editors)
- Emotional Digital: A Sourcebook of Contemporary Typographics
Mainz: Verlag Hermann Schmidt, 1999.
- Face Photosetting
- Face Typebook
London: Face Photosetting, n.d.
Index mentions “New Additions 1970”. Three ring binders in landscape format (Index and A–C, C–M, M–Z).
- Face Photosetting France
- Caracteres de Photocompostion / Caracteres de Phototitrage
Paris: Face Photosetting France, 1987.
Oversized, two-volume, softcover set with black wrappers in black slipcase.
- Face Photosetting
- unknown
London: Face Photosetting, n.d.
350+ pages, ring binding. Dated c. 1981 based on the inclusion of Javelin, Shakespeare, Stars ’n Bars, V&A, and Zip as “Fresh Faces”. These are also shown in Modern Publicity 1982.
- Filmotype
- Filmomaster Type and Lettering Styles
Skokie, Illinois: Alphatype Corporation Filmotype Divison, n.d.
38 pages. Dated c. 1974 based on the inclusion of ITC American Typewriter (1974) under “New additions”.
- Filmotype
- Lettering Styles Display Types
New York: Filmotype Sales Company, 1955. [Scan of selected pages]
264 typefaces listed.
- Southern New England Typographic Service
- Type Specimen
Hamden, Connecticut: Southern New England Typographic Service, n.d. [Scan, photos]
Includes a section titled “Filmotype Lettering” with 364 styles from the Filmotype library. Dated c. 1958 based on text samples that mention “1958” (p. 10) and “Ford ’58” (p. 26).
- FSI FontShop International
- FontBook: Digital Typeface Compendium
Fourth edition. Edited by Mai-Linh Thu Truong, Jürgen Siebert, and Erik Spiekermann. Programming by Andi Pieper and Ulf Wrede. Cross-references by Stephen Coles and Yves Peters. Berlin: FSI FontShop International, 2006.
- Graphic Products Corporation
- Formatt Cut-Out Acetate Graphic Art Aids: Catalog No. 5
Rolling Meadows, Illinois: Graphic Products Corporation, 1974.
- Graphic Products Corporation
- Formatt Cut-Out Acetate Graphic Art Aids & Formaline Charting Graphic Art Tapes: Catalog No. 6
Rolling Meadows, Illinois: Graphic Products Corporation, 1978.
- Fürst
- Die Schriften des Fotosatzes
Gesamtschriftmuster der Fürst Spezialbetriebe für Satzherstellung in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/M. Fürst, n.d.
Title page: “Alle Fotosatz Schriften 1/75”.
- Fürst
- Der Welt schönste Schriften. Gesamtschriftmuster des Fotosatzes der Fürst Spezialbetriebe für Satzherstellung
Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/Main: Fürst, n.d.
Dated c. 1976 based on the inclusion of AG Buch Rounded fett (p. 2.004, marked as new), which is dated 1976 in Gorissen 1982. Text samples mention “1976” twice (p. 3.010, 3.036), and quote the lyrics of “Aber bitte mit Sahne” from June 1976.
- Gill, Nick
- Monotype series numbers
North Yorkshire, UK: Effra Press & Typefoundry, 2020–Present.
https://www.effrapress.co.uk/monotype-series-numbers/List of Monotype typefaces with series number, year of manufacture, and notes about the origin.
- Gray, Nicolete
- Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces
London: Faber & Faber, 1976. Originally published as XIXth Century Ornamented Types & Title Pages in 1938 and reprinted in 1951.
- Headliners International
- The Headliners Reproduces in Process Lettering Wood & Foundry Type from the Comprehensive and Unique Morgan Press Collection
New York: Headliners International, 1964. [Photos] [Scans of selected pages]
“The 129 basic alphabets to be found in this volume are the cream of the famous Morgan Press collection of 19th century type designs. For the first time, and through an exclusive arrangement, these faces are available in photoprocess letering – from Headliners.”
- Headliners International
- The Headliners Present in Process Lettering More Morgan: A New Collection of Oldstyle Faces
New York: Headliners International, 1968. [Scans of selected pages]
Vol. 2 adds another 129 faces from the Morgan Press collection. Some designs aren’t based on vintage wood or metal type, but were sourced from lettering shown in Petzendorfers Schriftenatlas, Neue Folge, c. 1903–1905.
- Hollenstein Phototypo
- Hollenstein 74
Plaine-St-Denis: Hollenstein Phototypo, n.d. [1974]
Catalog in poster format
- Jaspert, W. Pincus; W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson
- Encyclopedia of Typefaces
First Edition. Poole, UK: Blandford Press, 1953.
Second Edition (Revised & Enlarged), 1958.
Third Edition (Further Restyled & Enlarged), 1962.
Fourth Edition (Entirely Restyled & Greatly Enlarged), 1970. Reprinted 1983 [Scan] and 1986. First Paperback Edition 1990.
Fifth Edition. London: Cassell Illustrated, 2008. - Kapr, Albert
- Fraktur: Forum und Geschichte der gebrochenen Schriften
Mainz: Verlag Hermann Schmidt, 1993.
- Kelly, Rob Roy
- American Wood Type, 1828–1900: Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1969.
- Lane, John A. and Mathieu Lommen
- Letterproeven van Nederlandse gieterijen / Dutch typefounders’ specimens
From the Library of the KVB and other collections in the Amsterdam University Library with histories of the firms represented. Amsterdam: De Buitenkant / Nieuwkoop: De Graaf Publishers, 1998. [PDF]
- Letraset Deutschland GmbH
- Letraset
Frankfurt am Main: Letraset Deutschland GmbH, 1976.
- Letraset Deutschland GmbH
- Letraset Handbuch Graphik Design
Frankfurt am Main: Letraset Deutschland GmbH, 1980.
“1981/82” on cover, “©1980” on title page.
- Letraset Deutschland GmbH
- Letraset Handbuch Graphik Design
Frankfurt am Main: Letraset Deutschland GmbH, 1983.
- Letraset Deutschland GmbH
- Letraset Handbuch 87/88
Frankfurt am Main: Letraset Deutschland GmbH, 1987.
- Letraset USA
- The World of Letraset Products
Paramus, NJ: Esselte Letraset, 1994.
- Haab, Armin and Alex Stocker (editors)
- Lettera. A standard book of fine lettering
Teufen, AR: Arthur Niggli Ltd., 1954.
- Haab, Armin and Walter Haettenschweiler (editors)
- Lettera 2. A standard book of fine lettering
Teufen, AR: Arthur Niggli Ltd., 1961.
First published in 1961 with a purple jacket. The 5th edition from 1976 with a light blue cover is completely revised: “Of the original 38 alphabets 19 have survived the test of time, 7 have had to be revised, and 11 were eliminated. To the existing stock 38 alphabets have been added [for] a total of 64 alphabets.”
- Haab, Armin and Walter Haettenschweiler (editors)
- Lettera 3. A standard book of fine lettering
Teufen, AR: Arthur Niggli Ltd., 1968.
- Haab, Armin and Walter Haettenschweiler (editors)
- Lettera 4. A standard book of fine lettering
Teufen, AR: Arthur Niggli Ltd., 1972.
- Lettergraphics International Inc.
- “Do a Comp” 1 Custom
Culver City, California: Lettergraphics International Inc., 1968.
- Lettergraphics International Inc.
- The Complete Lettergraphics Library
Culver City, California: Lettergraphics International Inc., 1976.
- Loy, William E.
- Nineteenth-Century American Designers and Engravers of Type
Edited by Alastair M. Johnston and Stephen O. Saxe. New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press, 2009.
- MacMillan, David M.
- Circuitous Root
Mineral Point, WI, 2008–Present. https://circuitousroot.com/artifice/letters/index.html
- Macmillan, Neil
- An A–Z of Type Designers
London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2006.
- McGrew, Mac
- American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century
Second, Revised Edition. New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Books, 1993. [Scan]
- Mecanorma
- Mecanorma
Le Perray-en-Yvelines: Mecanorma, 1970.
Includes 131 styles.
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- Mecanorma Graphic Products
Morristown, New Jersey: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1973, 1974.
- Mecanorma
- Mecanorma 7
Versailles: Mecanorma, n.d.
Page 17 mentions “1975”. Includes 248 styles.
- Mecanorma
- Mecanorma Graphic Book 9
Versailles: Mecanorma, 1980.
Includes 283 styles.
- Mecanorma
- Mecanorma Graphic Book 12
Versailles: Mecanorma, 1986.
Includes 510 styles.
- Mecanorma
- Mecanorma Graphic Book 14
Versailles: Mecanorma, 1988.
Apparently the last comprehensive catalog by the French manufacturer of dry transfer lettering. Includes 605 styles.
- Mecanorma
- Mecanorma Graphic Book
Le Perray-en-Yvelines: Mecanorma, n.d.
Purple halftone cover. Code on last page reads “91.79.7 Anglais”, indicating a 1979 date. Mentions “introduction of latest car models” and shows cars released in mid-1970s. Includes 244 styles.
- Merriman, Frank
- A.T.A. Type Comparison Book
Advertising Typographers Association of America, 1965.
- Middendorp, Jan
- Dutch Type
Rotterdam: 010 Publishers, 2004.
- Millington, Roy
- Stephenson Blake: The last of the old English typefounders
New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press; London: The British Library, 2002.
- Osterer, Heidrun and Philipp Stamm (editors)
- Adrian Frutiger – Typefaces. Complete Works
Basel: Birkhäuser, 2008
English, French (Caractères. L’œuvre complète), and German (Schriften. Das Gesamtwerk) editions. A second edition followed in 2014, a third in 2021.
- Pankow, David (editor)
- American Proprietary Typefaces
New York: American Printing History Association, 1998.
- Petzendorfer, Ludwig (editor)
- Schriften-Atlas
Eine Sammlung der wichtigsten Schreib- und Druckschriften aus alter und neuer Zeit, nebst Initialen, Monogrammen, Wappen, Landesfarben und heraldischen Motiven für die praktischen Zwecke des Kunstgewerbes. Stuttgart: Julius Hoffmann, 1889. [Scan of the first edition with 144 plates, 1889] [Scan of the second edition with 160 plates, 1894]
Printed in three editions [Kunstgewerbeblatt, Vol. 14. Leipzig: Seemann, 1903]. Not to be confused with the later Schriftenatlas. Neue Folge from 1903–1905.
- Petzendorfer, Ludwig (editor)
- Schriftenatlas. Neue Folge
Eine Sammlung von Alphabeten, Initialen & Monogrammen. Stuttgart: Julius Hoffmann, c. 1903–1905. [Photos (archived)] [Cover and selected pages]
A compendium of metal typefaces and initials, drawn alphabets, and lettering applications incl. monograms, signs, labels, etc. Published as a series of 16 installments, each with eight plates. The first two booklets were announced in 1903 [Kunstgewerbeblatt, Vol. 14. Leipzig: Seemann, 1903]. Not to be confused with the earlier Schriften-Atlas from 1889.
Treasury of Authentic Art Nouveau Alphabets, Decorative Initials, Monograms, Frames and Ornaments is a black-and-white reprint by Dover Publications, New York, 1984. [Google Books]
- Phil’s Photo Inc
- Homage to the Alphabet
Second Edition. Rockport, Massachusetts: Rockport Publishers Inc., 1985.
- Photoscript
- List of Type Faces 1968
London: Photoscript, 1968.
Tall, looseleaf booklet with blue binder clip. White cover with blue title text.
- Photoscript
- List of Typefaces 1970
London: Photoscript, 1970.
Tall booklet. Blue, leatherette cover with gold embossed title.
- Photoscript
- Photoscript Binder
London: Photoscript, n.d. [Scans]
Large, blue, loose-leaf binder, labeled on spine and cover with “Photoscript 1” (presumably of multiple volumes, this one containing Lettering Faces, Outline and Inline, and Sans Serif sections). Full glyph set samples, one font per page. Undated, contents indicate mid 1960s.
- Photo-Lettering, Inc.
- Alphabet Thesaurus, Vol. 1: A Treasury of Letter Designs
Edward Rondthaler (editor). New York: Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1960.
This comprehensive catalog includes every style in Photo-Lettering’s library up to that date.
- Photo-Lettering Inc.
- 1964 Alphabet Supplement
A collection of new designs added since publication of our Alphabet Thesaurus, supplements 1961, 1962, 1963 and the Xenotypes. New York: 1964.
- Photo-Lettering, Inc.
- Alphabet Thesaurus, Vol. 2: A Treasury of Letter Designs
Edward Rondthaler (editor). New York: Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1965.
This comprehensive catalog includes every style in Photo-Lettering’s library up to that date.
- Photo-Lettering, Inc.
- Alphabet Thesaurus, Vol. 3: A Treasury of Letter Designs
Edward Rondthaler (editor). New York: Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1971.
This comprehensive catalog includes every style in Photo-Lettering’s library up to that date.
- Photo-Lettering, Inc.
- Ah! Big Little Book
New York: Photo-Lettering. Inc.. 1982.
A pocket-sized catalog of “Texclusives”, Photo-Lettering’s headline designs redrawn for text composition.
- Photo-Lettering, Inc
- Photo-Lettering's One Line Manual of Styles: Index to Alphabet Thesaurus Vol. 3, 2, 1
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1971.
- Reichardt, Hans
- International Index of Hot-Metal Typefaces
Frankfurt am Main, 2011. https://www.klingspor-museum.de/Intl_Bleisatz_Index.html
A comprehensive catalog of metal typefaces (for manual and machine composition) known in the 20th century, including older designs. Merges info from Wetzig, Jaspert/Berry/Johnson, and McGrew, with additions from other sources.
- Reichardt, Hans and Otmar Hoefer
- Übersicht der internationalen Schriftdesigner
Oberneisen, c. 2001–Present. http://www.klingspor-museum.de/Kuenstler/Kuenstler_A.html
A list of type designers with links to background information in pdf format, researched and compiled by Hans Reichardt. Includes 12,203 designers as of April 2022.
- Stephen O. Saxe
- A Database of American Typeface Design Patents, 1842–1899
Mineral Point, WI: Circuitous Root, 2015. [Link]
Compiled by Jane W. Roberts and Stephen O. Saxe. Published Version No. 4, 2015-04-03 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)
- Solo, Dan X.
- Art Nouveau Display Alphabets: 100 Complete Fonts
New York: Dover Publications, 1976.
- Solo, Dan X.
- Special Effects and Topical Alphabets: 100 Complete Fonts
New York: Dover Publications, 1978.
- Solo, Dan X.
- The Solotype Catalog of 4,417 Display Typefaces
New York: Dover Publications, 1992. [Scan]
- Fontana; Character and David Smith et al. (editors)
- Solopedia: The Solotype Catalog of 4,147 Display Typefaces
Abfonts (alt.binaries.fonts), 2012–2015. http://abfonts.freehostia.com/solopedia/
A catalog of digital equivalents of typefaces shown in the Solotype Catalog of 4,147 Display Typefaces (1992) as well as in the various alphabet books authored by Dan X. Solo, the digital fonts from the CDs that came with the alphabet books, and fonts digitized by Solo from his collection of metal types. Includes many freebies and unauthorized digitizations of mixed quality. Doesn’t include information about the original designer or foundry.
- Spencer, Herbert and Colin Forbes
- New Alphabets A to Z
London: Lund Humphries, 1973.
- Conroy, Anna
- The Type Heritage Project
Abington, PA, c. 2011–Present. https://history.typeheritage.com/
- Tracy, Walter
- Letters of Credit: A View of Type Design
Boston: David R. Godine, 1986.
- Typeshop
- Selection. Ausgabe Mai 1973
Düsseldorf: Typeshop, 1973.
Stated 5th edition, May 1973. 164 pages.
- Typeshop
- Selection
No place [Düsseldorf]: Typeshop, n.d.
Catalog for the Headlines range by phototypesetting chain Typeshop. Various printings with different covers and appendices, c. 370–390 pages. Dated c. 1977 based on the included typefaces (Poppl Residenz, Poppl Leporello, Wiegands Baroque; all 1977) as well as missing ones (Media Light, ITC Cheltenham Light, Wiegands Renaissance; all 1978 according to Gorissen 1982).
- Verein der Schriftgießereien
- VdS-Kartei
Offenbach, 1905–1961. [Scan]
Card index of the Verein der Schriftgießereien, the association of German type foundries (1903–1972). Members registered new typefaces by sending a proof of the glyph set. Comprises more than 1,300 cards.
- Devroye, Luc
- VGC Typefaces
Montreal: Luc Devroye, ?–Present. http://luc.devroye.org/vgc-typefaces.html
A list of typefaces by VGC. Started by Tim Ryan and later managed by Grant Hutchinson. With additions by Freddy Nader.
- Visual Graphics Corporation
- VGC Phototypositor Typeface Directory
New York: Visual Graphics Corporation, 1972.
Shows one-line samples for more than 1,200 film typefaces available for the Photo Typositor, including those reproduced from the T.J. Lyons Antique Type Collection and “many handlettered designs” (copied from Filmotype). [Scan]
- Visual Graphics Corporation
- The World-Famous Photo Typositor Alphabet Library
Tamarac, Florida: Visual Graphics Corporation, 1973. [Scan]
- Visual Graphics Corporation
- VGC Alphabet Library
Tamarac, Florida: Visual Graphics Corporation, 1976.
Post binding with red, third-party cover for Johnson/Kenro Inc., Freeport, New York.
- Visual Graphics Corporation
- VGC Alphabet Library One Liner
Tamarac: Visual Graphics Corporation, 1982.
- Visual Graphics Corporation
- Antique Type Samples, Vol. 3
Twenty Selected Typefaces from the distinguished T.J. Lyons Antique Type collection reproduced on film by Visual Graphics Corporation for use on the Photo Typositor, Volume III. Miami: ca. 1970.
- Wallis, Lawrence W.
- Modern Encyclopedia of Typefaces 1960–90
London: Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd., 1990. [Scan]
- Weichselbaumer, Nikolaus Julius
- Der Typograph Hermann Zapf: Eine Werkbiographie
Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2015.
- Wetzig, Emil (editor)
- Handbuch der Schriftarten: Eine Zusammenstellung der Schriften der Schriftgießereien deutscher Zunge nach Gattungen geordnet
Leipzig: Albrecht Seemann Verlag, [1926]. With seven addenda for the years 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931–32, 1933–35, 1936–37, and 1938–39. [Scan]
Compiled with the aim to index all typefaces (for manual and machine composition) that were available from manufacturers in German-speaking countries at the time.