Font from Art/Poem book from 1946 "ARP (Jean) & TAEUBER-ARP (Sophie). le siège de l'air. poèmes 1915-1945."

[Gridnik]

Hi,

I'm looking for the font from a Art/Poem book from 1946 or something similar.
The quirky double-story g makes it hard for me. When I do find something similar the decenders and ascenders seem too long.

Hope someone can help,
Thanks Heyman

[Kevin Thompson]

Sorry, not finding an exact match.

Reminds me a bit of Metro / Metro No. 2, which originally had a double-story a and g that later became alternate characters, and those distended bowls on the b and p.

[Gridnik]

Hi Kevin, Thanks for trying!

Metro does have those bowls to them, I like the cursive 'e'! What where they thinking haha.
Closest fonts I found is something like Brandon Grotesque or Arquitecta which do have some of the elements but are still very different.

Maybe someone else will find something.
Cheers Heyman

 

[Riccardo Sartori]

On 10/23/2020 at 11:44 AM, Gridnik said:

Maybe someone else will find something.

Not finding anything with such a quirky |g|. Also I’m not sure if the rounding that seems going on is a part of the original design or simply poor reproduction.

That said, alternatives may include:

• Omnes (rounded);
• Kaleko 205 Text (or non-Text if you like your ascenders and descenders especially short, in which case it also can be Round);
• Typold;
• Liber Grotesque (very quirky |g|);
• Rotunda;
• Qualion;
• Clarika or Pro (both in the Grotesque variety);
• Migrena Grotesque (although the |a| has a pretty different personality);
• Taro (if the |l| doesn’t bother you);
• Neology (cherry-picking the alternates).

Or you can always see if you can mould Universal Sans into your needs.

[Gridnik]

Hi Riccardo,

Sorry for the late response.

Thanks you for all the suggestions. There are some really nice fonts I never heard off before.
Didn't know the Universal Sans generator either, thanks.

 

[marakaza]

Is it possible it's hand-drawn? The g in 'quadrangle' seems a bit skinnier than the other g's, and there are slight differences in other letters as well, eg the two 4s

[Riccardo Sartori]

38 minutes ago, marakaza said:

the two 4s

Even more so the two |5|s.

I doubt it was hand-drawn, but there is definitely something template-y or typewriter-y about it.

[Gridnik]

Could it be a linoleum cut? 

I fount some more info, at this point I don't think we're going to find the font but maybe it will be nice to include more info:

LE SIÈGE DE L'AIR : POÈMES 1915-1945

Hans (Jean) Arp - Artist 
Sophie Taeuber-Arp  - Artist

Alain Gheerbrant - author
Éditions Pro Francia - Publisher 
Grou Radenez - Printer 

Published: 1946

[Kevin Thompson]

The book measures approximate 8.75 x 6.6 inches, yes?

That makes the type display size (30 pt or better), not text size.

And now that Marakaza mentions it, I am also seeing enough variation in the letter forms to suggest that it might be lettering, not a typeface (note the variations in the tittle/dot size and position over the i|s).

It may very well be a hand-engraved plate.

[Gridnik]

Yes those the dimensions are close to what I found: 

Dimensions: 
22,5 x 17 cm.
8,86 x 6,7 inches

So if in fact it is hand carved or had engraved, then it could be an interpretation of a certain font or maybe even made up entirely ?

[Kevin Thompson]

Quite possibly.

I would need to see an actual copy of the book in order to determine if the type was offset printed, letter-pressed, or engraved. Keep in mind that this is a limited-edition artist's book (only 900 copies), not a mass-produced trade book, so the last two printing methods are more likely than the first.

Even though the type is remarkably uniform for hand lettering, it does show variations and is of sufficient size to executed by hand.

[Kevin Thompson]

The more I look at the sample, the more it resembles the kind of mid-20th century lettering you’d see on architecture or engineering drawings:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c9/2e/f3/c92ef3cb9f8a860fea630b7e6ef1faa9.jpg

[Kevin Thompson]

It would help if I could learn to insert an image:

[Gridnik]

Thanks Kevin,

Loving the image that you uploaded.
Gothic make sense because of the double-story g. 

Thanks again to everyone posting here.

Heyman