Font or technique needed to recreate newspaper article from 1873

Question

I work for an animal shelter that traces its history back to 1873. With the help of the local library, my colleagues and I were able to find the original newspaper article that discussed the initial organizing meeting. The microfilm image is not very legible. You can view the image here:

We would like to reproduce this clipping in our marketing materials, and we may want to turn it into a plaque for display in our lobby. Rather than trying to tweak the article using digital re-touching, I am interested in the possibility of re-typing it from scratch. But I still want it to look authentic (in other words, the font should not be too "crisp" -- it should still look like an old newspaper article). Ideally, the font should closely resemble the actual font used in the original article.

There is no budget for this project, so I basically have to do it myself. I'm not a graphic artist. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful. Thanks so much.

Answer 1

This is a newspaper, not a typescript, so rather than a monospaced typewriter font you will need something like Scotch Roman. Of the list at that link, Mercantile Display or Inflex Bold may work for the heading; Century Expanded for the body text.

I suspect that a distressed font of the right period will be difficult to find, so you will need to follow Scott's advice about that effect.

Answer 2

Although the x-height is a little on the small side, I would recommend you use Leander from FontSquirrel. It has the right structure for the period, and is distressed without being gimmicky. For best results, set at 10 pt, use an inkjet printer on 20lb or lighter bond paper that is no more than 80% bright, then iron it using a high setting (no steam!) so it scorches ever so slightly. Might take some practice and experimentation, but you'll have tons of fun getting there.

Answer 3

There are some great fonts to mimic an old Remington or Smith Corona typewriter.

Here's one I recall just off the top of my head : Smith Upright

If you search for "vtypewriter" you'll find several distressed fonts like this. (the v is not a typo, it's part of the title)

And there's always the option of setting it in a standard font such as Garamond and then distressing it manually via an app like Photoshop and a couple of layer masks with the clouds filter applied to them.

Answer 4

I like Harting and Remington Noiseless.

Answer 5

Try the font "Old Newspaper Type", which is pretty close to the look you are after.