Napoli Segreta vol. 1: Hidden Gems from the bowels of Vesuvius
Contributed by Matthijs Sluiter on May 30th, 2019. Artwork published in
June 2018
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7 Comments on “Napoli Segreta vol. 1: Hidden Gems from the bowels of Vesuvius”
I’m curious about how people use these vintage fonts that are not available digitally, like Domino in this example. Do they find a glyph set for visual reference and trace / build each letter individually in Illustrator? Is there any other method?
I love this design—really fun and cool.
Chances are there is some freebie digitization floating around under a different name, without crediting the original. At least that’s the case for many other pre-digital typefaces that were forgotten or ignored by the commercial type companies. Also, dry-transfer sheets are still available second-hand and offered on Etsy, eBay, and other places, often at ridiculous prices.
It’s indeed very much possible that this is custom drawn, based on a visual sample, like you described. You don’t really have to get (or make) a font for this kind of use. All you need is 11 letterforms, some of which are as basic as rectangles (I, L, T) and a circle with a dot in the middle (O). The others are likewise quick to draw, and within reach even for occasional letter drawers. The S used here is different from the one in the original Domino, which suggests that it’s indeed lettering – based on a showing with a limited character set (cf. Lucky/BD Fontabello, for example). The letter D on the can is different from the original, too. Judging from its counter, it was made by mirroring and squeezing the G.
It could also be married couple, or father and son, etc. Judging from the (one) photo included in a Mecanorma leaflet, at least one of them is male. Since they are from France, I assume we’re looking for a Jean-Claude Demarchi. J.C. & M., if you read this, please speak up! We’d love to hear from you.
I haven’t found evidence that Mecanorma issued a solid version. I’m aware of the showing on Daylight Fonts. Keep in mind that Shin Oka doesn’t show specimens from Mecanorma’s dry-transfer release, but a phototype adaptation of the design, shown in two styles as Biscuit Black (solid) and Biscuit (outline) in Typony Core 1 and 4 (c. 1980).
Thanks for your detective work, Florian! I think I was so happy finally finding the ID for the headline typeface on this album cover (which I intended to post since over a year ago), that I no longer searched for answers on the last loose ends. I’ve asked Dopolavoro about the (customized/lettered) version of Domino.
Antonello Colaps from Dopolavoro answered, and confirmed Florian’s assumption: “Ricardo Corda drew all the letters needed on the cover, then I continued the design for the goodies, as mentioned in one of the comments. Another goodie we have done is a chocolate tablet. On the can and bar, we used Busorama because I found it more readable than Blippo. The drink, as well as the chocolate, were gifts for our friends and fans.”
Antonello: “The moustached guy is the face on the Three of sticks/clubs (Neapolitan playing cards). Some people connect it with Ubu Roi – a character from a play by Alfred Jarry.”