First released in 1939 [McGrew], Spartan was
Mergenthaler Linotype and ATF’s knockoff of the extremely popular
Futura
(Bauer). Subsequent Book and Medium Condensed styles were designed
by John L. Renshaw [ATF catalog, ca. 1966].
Spartan offered some things Futura did
not: such as a double-story alternate ‘a’ and unique Classified
cuts (released later) for very small type. It also
differs from Futura in that its ‘1’ has a flat
(rather than angled) terminal in all weights. Also, the
ATF version had mirrored “signpainters” quotes (a form more
common in the US).
If you see Futura in a magazine or newspaper
published in mid-century America, there’s a good chance it’s
actually Spartan (or the other followers:
Twentieth
Century, Tempo, More…
First released in 1939 [McGrew], Spartan was Mergenthaler Linotype and ATF’s knockoff of the extremely popular Futura (Bauer). Subsequent Book and Medium Condensed styles were designed by John L. Renshaw [ATF catalog, ca. 1966].
Spartan offered some things Futura did not: such as a double-story alternate ‘a’ and unique Classified cuts (released later) for very small type. It also differs from Futura in that its ‘1’ has a flat (rather than angled) terminal in all weights. Also, the ATF version had mirrored “signpainters” quotes (a form more common in the US).
If you see Futura in a magazine or newspaper published in mid-century America, there’s a good chance it’s actually Spartan (or the other followers: Twentieth Century, Tempo, or Vogue).
