Alf R. Becker was a noted sign painter, designer and the creator of hundreds of unique alphabets which were published in the trade magazine Signs of the Times during the 1930s through the 1950s. Thanks to Tod Swormstedt of ST Media [and who is also the curator of the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati], Jeff Levine received some reference material on Becker's work. Becker displayed many of his type styles within decorative panels—a popular trend in the days when signs were hand-lettered. Using the reference material as a guide, Jeff has re-drawn twenty-six sign panels for adaptation to digital print work. While the designs in themselves are not thoroughly unique to Alf Becker, he has left behind some tangible examples of how sign painters embellished their lettering work. With the use of complementary colors and tones, these panels—joined with vintage lettering - classically recreate the warm and attractive advertising of years ago.

The original source of design for Sign Sans JNL was an image online of an old New York drinking establishment called the Lenox Lounge. The metal channels encasing the neon had an unusual "feel" to some of the letters. While the original E,G and U of the sign looked "interesting", they didn't quite fit the font's layout. Those letters were scrapped for more traditional versions of them.

For decades, the soft glow of a neon sign beckoned weary travelers to roadside rest courts, told the hungry individual where to eat; let enthusiastic revelers know where the night life was happening. There is something special about a neon sign, yet changing times, city ordinances and even technology itself is turning this staple of urban life for over a hundred years into a museum piece. Night Sign JNL emulates the craft of hand-formed neon signage and it (along with a few added special effects) can really add some good-old-fashioned pizzazz to a print or web project.

Sign Engraver JNL and Sign Engraver Oblique JNL reproduce the classic rounded letters and numbers engraved into plastic signs, desk nameplates and employee name tags.

Fun Signs JNL comprises twenty-six humorous signs from a 1930s-era sales list of products manufactured by the Koehler Sign Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Koehler manufactured a large line of stock cardboard "Blue Signs" (presumably blue backgrounds with white lettering) and alongside the many standard phrases used by various businesses was a list of funny sayings. Such placards were bought by merchants to either evoke interest in their services (such as in a bar or restaurant, or jokingly comment on their business policies (as in credit billing). These novelty signs are a fun addition to a flier, ad, web page or announcement and will leave your readers smiling.

In the early 1960s, the Duro Decal Company of Chicago, Illinois added to its line of water-applied decal lettering a retail sign cabinet of die-cut, pressure sensitive vinyl letters and numbers. Four of the six sizes offered for sale were cut from white plastic with a black outline and a secondary gold inline for a tri-color effect. Sign Stickers JNL emulates as closely as possible the look of these nostalgic pieces, complete with the slight shifts in line weight due to hand-cut silk screens and the printing process. For those of you who prefer to make your own multi-colored letters, a three piece fill font set is available for the low price of a single font purchase. Combine the backfill, midfill and frontfill layers for a truly retro look!

PI Signs + Symbols is part of the Scangraphic Collection and designed 1985 by Schriftatelier Scangraphic Dr. Böger GmbH.

This set reproduces over 350 of the signs contained in German typographer Rudolf Koch's "The Book of Signs," the symbols include Astrological, Christian, Medieval and Runic iconography.

This font can be used as a play'n learn tool to teach the meaning of these modern day communication symbols. Each alphabetical character can be printed with or without the corresponding roman symbols. NOTE: comes with an interpretation guide in pdf format.

Sign Artist JNL is a casual typeface, emulating the hand-lettered look of show card and sign lettering. Created by Jeff Levine from lettering seen on some 1940's packaging, the slightly irregular letter stroke widths and shapes more closely resemble printing made with brush or ink.

Sign Letterer JNL is the serif version of the Art Deco hand-lettering of Sign Painter JNL—and inspired by original pen lettering found on an old decal catalog sheet from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.

Sign Designer JNL was inspired by a set of 1960s-era gold foil embossed self-adhesive letters.

Retro Signs JNL collects nearly 50 designs modeled from old water transfer sign decals once manufactured by the Duro Decal Company of Chicago, Illinois and adds in a generous amount of additional phrases newly-drawn in the same hand lettered style. These vintage sign panels are perfect for creating nostalgic signage to fit projects centered around the 1950s and early 1960s.

The 1951 sheet music of "I Like the Wide Open Spaces" has the cover title set in a casual type design that emulates the "one stroke" or "speed letter" style so popular with sign painters in that decade. Taking the lettering on the sheet music and expanding the character set with a new interpretation, the result is Sign Work JNL which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The above-the-store signage for many newspaper stands, soda shops, candy stores, luncheonettes and pharmacies of the 1950s and early 1960s were what was referred to as “privilege signs” provided by one of the major cola brands. Consisting of the brand’s emblems on the left and right, the remainder of the sign would carry the desired message of the storekeeper (such as “Candy – Soda – Newspapers”) in prismatic, embossed metal letters. Inspired by these vintage signs, Privilege Sign JNL recreates the condensed sans serif lettering style in both regular and oblique versions. The typefaces are solid black, but adding a selected color and a prismatic effect from your favorite graphics program can reproduce the look and feel of those old businesses.

Sign Trade JNL is a reworking of Sign Crafter JNL. With a traditional M,N and W replacing the stylized versions of these letters in the previous font, Sign Trade JNL also offers an oblique version.

A few scant examples of some condensed Roman style water-applied decals inspired Sign Letters JNL. The decals were once part of the gold and black "Signmaker" letters and numbers once manufactured by the Duro Decal Company of Chicago and were sold through hardware and variety stores across the country. The condensed letters (which were eight inches in height) did not sell as well as Duro's mainstay sizes of 1/2 inch to 3-1/2 inches and were discontinued long before the rest of the line was supplanted by self-adhesive lettering.

Sign Helpers JNL is a collection of silhouette images carefully redrawn from two distinct sources. Prior to their bankruptcy in 1984, the Holes-Webway Company of St. Cloud, MN produced thousands of their "Webway" sign kits that were utilized by merchants, libraries and schools throughout the country. At one point they included in their sales catalog a selection of die-cut images for embellishing sign work. In the late 50s and throughout the 60s, the Joseph Struhl Company (now known as Magic Master Industries) produced cling vinyl sign kits for business, and a home movie titling set for do-it-yourself film makers. This set also featured die-cut embellishments. A generous selection of designs from both kits have been faithfully re-drawn in digital form to pay tribute to two innovative companies. Other fonts based on products from these companies are Sign Kit JNL (Webway® Sign Kit), Cling Vinyl JNL, and Sign Maker JNL (Magic Master® Sign Kits). Trademarked names are used purely for reference purposes.

Signs and Symbols is a collection of general purpose images for a variety of applications like climate and weather, nature, leisure, sports etc. Handy when you need some signs and symbols for your layout. Signs and Symbols was designed for the URW++ FontForum.

Signs of Faith maturity font for artworks. Make cash with it.

Sign Vendor JNL is a simple sans modeled from hand-lettering with a touch of Art Deco influence. The design is from a 1930s poster promoting winter activities in New York State.

Sign Project JNL is based on vintage water-applied decals once made by the Meyercord Decal Company of Chicago (and later Carol Stream), Illinois. These decals were popular during the 1950s and 1960s for window signage, boat identification, mailbox names and numbers and hundreds of other projects.

Wall Sign JNL is a sign painter's chamfered sanserif found in an instructional manual from 1905. A popular lettering style of the day, it features an abridged vertical on the G, a flattened right side on the Q and a truncated horizontal on the 3.

Sign Man JNL is a reworking of Sign Shop JNL, with a lighter font weight and a number of changed characters (including extended horizontal crossbars on the B,E,F,H,K,P and R).

For decades - until the advent of affordable computer-generated signage - die-cut display letters were used for many applications. Stores, theaters, schools, charities and religious organizations would have their local sign shop design attractive posters and show cards utilizing these sturdy cardboard letters and numbers, giving a three-dimensional effect to the message. Sign Department JNL recreates one of the many styles of letters available at the time.

Ghost Sign JNL is a spurred serif type design based on the faded lettering of an antique brick wall sign for Homer Hardware [located in Homer, NY] and is available in both regular and oblique versions. From Wikipedia: “A ghost sign is an old hand-painted advertising sign that has been preserved on a building for an extended period of time. The sign may be kept for its nostalgic appeal, or simply indifference by the owner. Ghost signs are found across the world with the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Canada having many surviving examples. Ghost signs are also called fading ads or brickads. In many cases these are advertisements painted on brick that remained over time. Old painted advertisements are occasionally discovered upon demolition of later-built adjoining structures. Throughout rural areas, old barn advertisements continue to promote defunct brands and quaint roadside attractions. Many ghost signs from the 1890s to 1960s are still visible. Such signs were most commonly used in the decades before the Great Depression. Ghost signs were originally painted with oil-based house paints. The paint that has survived the test of time most likely contains lead, which keeps it strongly adhered to the masonry surface. Ghost signs were often preserved through repainting the entire sign since the colors often fade over time. When ownership changed, a new sign would be painted over the old one.”

A vintage metal sign saying "No Dogs Allowed" was the model for the ultra-bold Art Deco-influenced lettering comprising Informational Sign JNL.

Sign Crafters JNL is a solidified version of the Deco-flavored Eckhardt Dualine JNL.

During trips to the Miami Beach Public Library as a youth, Jeff Levine first caught sight of the signs made with a product called the Webway Sign Cabinet, manufactured by the Holes- Webway company of St. Cloud, MN. Having purchased an old set, Jeff has carefully re-drawn the alphabet and unique contrasting numbers from the original assortment, adding in an extended character set to his font.

A sales catalog sheet from the American Decalcomania Company circa the late 1940s-early 1950s provided some hand lettering that served as the inspiration for Sign Painter JNL. Emulating the look of characters made with a round pen nib, this Deco-style typeface conveys nostalgia and charm seldom found in advertising of today.

In the 1909 edition of the Atkinson Sign Painters’ instruction books is an extra bold sans serif alphabet and numerals called “Advertisers’ Thick and Thin Plug”. This hand lettered display face is now available digitally as Sign Lettering JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

A font with all the symbol signs used by the U.S. Department of Transportation, as provided for in the MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices). Drawn to meet the US DOT's exact specifications for highway signs.

Signage mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, plus additional accessibility signs, in both font and EPS format in the same package.

There was a time in this country when many young people studied a trade via a correspondence course through the mail. While this method still exists, it's now more common to find students taking online classes. From an early-1960s course in sign painting comes Sign Merchant JNL, a classic brush stroke type design popularized on show cards and posters.

In 1948, Joseph Struhl pioneered an innovative do-it-yourself sign kit for retail merchants. Die-cut letters and numbers made from flexible sheets of vinyl with the ability to adhere to smooth surfaces by static electricity; his "Magic Master Interchangeable Sign Kits" became a great success. Jeff Levine has paid tribute to this innovative method of in-store advertising with Sign Maker JNL. Because of their die-cut shapes, the design style of the static cling letters have unique characteristics. Companion fonts (based on other Struhl sign kits) are Cling Vinyl JNL and Cling Vinyl Clear JNL.

Sign Stencil JNL was modeled from some vintage lettering stencils spotted in an online auction that were part of a store sign making kit. A variety of styles, sizes and designs were contained within a carrying case along with paints, brushes and instructions on how to paint attractive signs.

Window Sign JNL is a solidified re-working of Sign Stencil JNL; originally modeled from some vintage lettering stencils that were part of a store sign making kit.

Stock Signs JNL is a collection of fifty-two signs resembling those made by engraving letters into plastic using a pantograph process. There is also a pair of blank signs on the parenthesis keys. To make your own signs or layouts emulating this classic look, try Sign Engraver JNL, which is the font used for these designs.

Sign Writer JNL was found within the pages of an early 1900s manual on the art of sign lettering and is a style typical of those times.

Sign Production JNL somewhat resembles Sign Kit JNL but there are some noticeable differences. The letters and numbers in Sign Production JNL are bolder, wider and have some slightly different character shapes. The common theme is that both fonts were designed from die-cut letters and numbers found in the Webway Sign Cabinet, manufactured by the Holes-Webway Company of St. Cloud, Minnesota until its demise in the 1980s.