1

I have tried online font matching in the usual places without success. Nothing comes even close, really (the G is rather peculiar). Is there anything else I can do? The text (cf. image) is taken from a handbook published in 1939.enter image description here

Any help much appreciated.

Improve this question
3
  • It's a very nice font! Sadly I think it's very unlikely that this particular font has been digitized. Your best bet might be to manually look through font sites and settle with something that's as close as it gets.
    – Wolff
    Apr 11 at 21:51
  • Thanks for chiming in. I would've settled for a font name for now, but no such luck it seems. Looking for a colophon, I found that the publishing house / printer still exists. I am considering to contact them directly.
    – Ingmar
    Apr 12 at 4:45
  • Yeah, it's a long shot but why not? Too bad the font wasn't mentioned in the colophon. Perhaps you would be able to find it in some old type specimen book. There are a few on archive.org like this or this, but a quick search didn't yield any Austrian/German results from the time. Not sure what to search for. Could exist in libraries.
    – Wolff
    Apr 12 at 10:29
2

The typography of pre-WWII German printing is well documented by the Handbuch der Schriftarten and its supplements which has kindly been placed on the internet by the Klingspor. It's in the 1931-1932 supplement: it's Achtung by Ludwig & Mayer. There was a very similar question a few years back.

Improve this answer
5
  • 1
    Thanks, I'll check this out tonight.
    – Ingmar
    Apr 14 at 17:12
  • 1
    Nice find! And thanks for the link. One can only dream about having access to these fonts. 😋
    – Wolff
    Apr 14 at 18:04
  • No worries! For the post-war period when foundries consolidated to a minimum inventory Das Buch des Setzers by Fritz Genzmer is the main resource, and it's online too. Sadly it appears that this cheery typeface hasn't made it into the digital world.
    – Copilot
    Apr 14 at 18:56
  • 1
    No I think you are right. I only find a few examples of its use like this.
    – Wolff
    Apr 14 at 19:23
  • 1
    Thank you for pointing out this excellent resource. According to Wikipedia, Ludwig & Mayer’s fonts were transferred to Neufville (now: Neufville Digital) when they went out of business in 1984. Their homepage lists the font but makes no mention of a digital version: neufville.visigroupe.net/fontdata/fonts_az.htm#A At least I have a name now, and quite a few more interesting examples to look at, thanks to Klingspor.
    – Ingmar
    Apr 15 at 5:29

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.