Sometimes lettering without any frills or formality gets a message across better than the use of fancier typefaces. The simple charm of the hand-lettered phrase "Safety Comes First" found on a vintage WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster served as the model for Basic Lettering JNL.

The WPA (Works Progress Administration) posters on file at the Library of Congress have been a treasure trove of classic hand-lettered type designs. Summer Program JNL is based on one such poster offering free arts and crafts classes in New York City sponsored by the Federal Art Project.

Sea Gate JNL is a hybrid font creation based in part on a 1930s-era WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster and the addition of slab serifs as well as a few modifications to some of the characters in the original design. The typeface is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Art Week JNL is a wider variant of the lettering style used on many WPA (Works Progress Administration) posters for the arts in the Depression-era 1930s. Wider than the version used for Concert Series JNL, it also features an ‘A’ with a rounded top rather than the flat, square version.

ITC Cheltenham font in its present form is the work of designer Tony Stan. Originally designed by architect Bertram Goodhue, it was expanded by Morris Fuller Benton and completed by Stan in 1975 with a larger x-height and improved italic details. ITC Cheltenham font is an example of an up-to-date yet classic typeface. In 1993 Ed Benguiat added the Handtooled weights to this family. ITC Cheltenham® font field guide including best practices, font pairings and alternatives.

Based on one of the many hand lettered typefaces found with in the 1960 edition of Sam Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers”, Poster Slabserif JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Khazar, member of a confederation of Turkic-speaking tribes that in the late 6th century CE established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia. Although the origin of the term Khazar and the early history of the Khazar people are obscure, it is fairly certain that the Khazars were originally located in the northern Caucasus region and were part of the western Turkic empire (in Turkistan). The Khazars were in contact with the Persians in the mid-6th century CE, and they aided the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (reigned 610–641) in his campaign against the Persians. Although the Khazar Empire had a secular administrative structure, the administrative staff chose the Jewish religion. The Khazars are the only Turkish state that converted to Judaism.

This font was inspired by Spencer’s patterns, particularly the elegant varieties called “Ladies' Hand” in some handbooks. Intelligent OTF ligatures and alternates (about 160) are included in the font, giving a closer appearance to realistic handwriting.

The Federal Music Project was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's WPA (Works Progress Administration), putting many people back to work in the Depression years of the 1930s. A hand-lettered poster advertising an "American Music Festival" featuring the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra offered up the extra bold Art Deco inspiration which became Music Festival JNL

A 1930s WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster advertising an exhibit of New Jersey area posters had its main lettering rendered in a very condensed hand lettered interpretation of the ever-popular Futura Black Art Deco style. This has now been re-drawn and digitized as Art Event JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

In the 1930s the WPA (Works Progress Administration) was involved with getting a number of Americans back to work during the Great Depression. One faction of the WPA's efforts was the Federal Art Project. Thin, condensed hand lettering on a poster for an Art Exhibition at the New Bedford Free Public Library is the inspiration for Art Exhibit JNL.

Visual Arts JNL is a classic Art Deco typeface based on the hand lettering found on a 1930s-era WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster for Women Artists. The exhibit took place in the Federal Art Gallery in Boston, and was part of the arts project underwritten by the WPA to keep many creative people working during the Depression years.

The Greek-influenced hand lettering on a 1930s WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster for the Federal Theater presentation of "Trojan Incident" inspired Euripedes JNL. The play was based on Homer and Euripedes, and was presented at the off-Broadway St. James Theatre (which opened in 1927 at 246 W. 44th Street on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant).

In the 1930s the WPA (Works Progress Administration) sponsored a Federal art project. Many posters were produced that featured government-sponsored cultural events, health and safety tips and various other topics. One such poster from Pennsylvania has the words “Work with Care” in a hand-lettered inline sans design. This became the basis for Asbury Park JNL.

One in the series of fonts celebrating the Halcyon Days of Handlettering. Whoopee Cushion is a slightly wacky headline font, based on a work by lettering artist Samuel Welo from the 1931 version of his "Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers."

The first prime minister of the state of Israel was uique in his looks, his voice and his hand writing.

The design of Concert Series JNL is based on hand-lettering for a 1930s-era WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster for the Federal Music Project of New York City’s symphony concerts. Held every Sunday at the Theater of Music [located at 254 West 54th Street], the admission in those Depression-era days was 25 cents and 60 cents, with all seats reserved.

Prop-a-ganda offers retro-flavored fonts inspired by lettering on retro propaganda posters, retro advertising posters, retro packages all the world over. This is perfect font for your retrospective project. PAG Minister reminds us of old cinema posters or old magazine advertisements. Its vertical line is extremely bold, some of the stroke are curled and winding. With PAG Minister, usual typed text is changed into impressive design.

The 1960 revised edition of Sam Welo’s “Studio Handbook – Letter and Design for Artists and Advertisers” showcased a beautiful, semi-condensed Art Deco alphabet called “Modern Gothic”. It has been digitally redrawn and is available as Restauranteur JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

Hayfork JNL is based on a vintage wood type sanserif typeface from the 1880's. A font of similar design is Eckhardt Poster Display, which was modeled from a 1920's sign painter's handbook; no doubt getting its inspiration from this wood type's design.

The Speedball Handbook strikes again, with this charming and playful offering from the pen of Ross George. Use it whenever you're tempted to use Comic Sans. Both versions of this font support the Latin 1262, Central European 1250, Turkish 1254 and Baltic 1257 codepages.

In the 1960 edition of Sam Welo’s “Studio Handbook – Letter and Design for Artists and Advertisers” is a stylized, condensed slab serif alphabet he referred to as “Poster Slab”. This has been digitally redrawn as Poster Moderne JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Loosely based on a hand lettered title found on vintage sheet music for the song "Hong Kong", the design for Kwun Tong JNL emulates the letters and numbers formed from pieces of bamboo stalk. Kwun Tong JNL is named for a locality in Hong Kong although (according to Wikipedia) "the Hong Kong Government is unitary and does not define cities and towns as subsidiary administrative units."

Art Museum JNL is yet another take on the classic Art Deco "solid letter" fonts that emulate the style of Futura Black. This version comes to you through the courtesy of a vintage WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster promoting national parks and Winter sports. Take note of the unusual inverted middle crossbar on the 'E' and 'F' as inspired by the poster's hand lettering.

The Federal Art Project of the WPA (Works Progress Administration) employed artists to create posters for various subjects including health, tourism, safety, patriotism, theater and the arts during the Great Depression years of the 1930s on through the early 1940s. One health-related poster had the word “against” in a thin Art Deco monoline which served as the basis for Wellness JNL, which is available in regular and oblique versions.

The model for Bensonhurst JNL was a 1930s-era hand-lettered WPA (Works Project Administration) poster for the play "Hell Bent For Heaven". Although the basic style is a classic Art Deco "thick and thin" format, the design (in certain characters) starts to take on the feel of a 1970s revival style. With this in mind, Bensonhurst JNL is a bit of a hybrid between the 1930s and the 1970s.

Aside from his 1920s and 1960 editions of Sam Welo’s “Studio Handbook – Letter and Design for Artists and Advertisers”, Welo also published “Lettering - Practical and Foreign” in 1930. A monoline Art Deco Alphabet from that book is now available digitally as Ladies Wear JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

In the 1960 edition of Sam Welo’s “Studio Handbook – Letter and Design for Artists and Advertisers” you’ll find a bold, hand lettered Art Deco sans serif typeface designed by Welo with a decidedly 1930s-1940s look. This is now available as Pastry Shop JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

In the 1960 edition of Samuel Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers” is an example of poster lettering with the accompanying blurb “call this Chrysler”. This casual brushstroke design was slightly modified and then reworked into what is now Show Poster JNL and is now available in both regular and oblique versions.

A 1930s WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster promoting national parks depicts Native Americans overlooking the land with the tag line "his hunting ground of yesterday". The hand lettering of that text is reminiscent of Futura Black and similar Art Deco stencil-influenced type designs, but is rendered in an oblique lower case with no capitals. Re-drawn as Sandwich Shop JNL, the typeface is now available in both regular (vertical) and oblique versions.

Samuel Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers” was a popular book of inspiration for sign painters, graphic artists and designers from the 1920s through the 1960s. Many digital revivals of Welo’s hand lettered typography have been made available. Formal Notice JNL is one such revival, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The 1960 revised edition of Sam Welo’s “Studio Handbook – Letter and Design for Artists and Advertisers” showcases the many interesting lettering designs Welo hand lettered for his book. One such example is an extra-bold serif typeface which is now available as Law Office JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. --------------

Here's another gem from Samuel Welo's perennial classic, The Studio Handbook, originally called Goddard Classic. Welo's inimitable penwork manages to be both worldly and whimsical, and remains as fresh today as when it was first introduced in the 1920s. Both versions of this font include the complete Unicode Latin 1252, Central European 1250 and Turkish 1254 character sets.

The prolific hand lettering of Samuel Welo is showcased in his “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers” (published in both 1927 and 1960). A thick and thin Art Deco design in the 1960 edition – somewhat reminiscent of Futura Black (but with significant differences) is now available as Sign Work Deco JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

For decades, Samuel Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers” was a source of inspiration for sign painters, graphic artists and designers. In later years, many digital revivals of Welo’s hand lettered typography have been made available. Western Trail JNL is the latest member of such digital fonts, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The Eagle series realizes the ideas behind Morris Fuller Benton’s famous titling face, Eagle Bold, which was drawn in 1933 for the National Recovery Administration and became the symbol of American recovery. Font Bureau’s Eagle was started in 1989 for Publish magazine. David Berlow designed a lowercase, finished the character set, and in 1990 added Eagle Book for setting text. In 1994, Jonathan Corum added Eagle Light and Eagle Black to form a full series; FB 1989–94

Bellucci is the redesign of Ramiro Espinoza's first typeface, Mabella. Being not happy with the original design, he decided to redraw it completely and add 3 new weights. Bellucci is a constructivist, modular, compressed family intended for headlines and posters. The name is an homage to Mabel Bellucci, an Argentinian feminist activist.

A revival and major expansion of a 1926 Ludwig Wagner Schriftgiesserei typeface called Titanic, Lexington is the ultimate art deco expression of the high times of signage and theater during the first half of the twentieth century. Big feminine caps and cozy direct minuscules make for a unique combination rarely found in other deco faces. Topped off with the humorous and quite suave tall and pointy ascenders and descenders of the alternates, Lexington makes for a versatile and uniquely eye-catching display face beneficial to poster art, book covers, classy menus, product packaging and music paraphernalia. The original specimen Hans van Maanen worked from showed the majuscules, minuscules, figures, and 4 alternates of some ascending minuscules. This new digital version includes all of the above, plus many more additions: - Plenty more alternates, for some caps as well as for all the ascending and descending lowercase. - Three different size variations for the comma and the period. - Oldstyle figures. - A full complement of accented characters to support more Latin-based languages than ever, including Baltic, Celtic, Turkish, and Central/Eastern European languages. - A Handtooled style variation that covers both the main character set and the alternates. Lexington was named after Manhattan's Lexington Avenue, home of the some of the most famous and polished art deco architecture of the 1920s and 1930s. Lexington and Lexington Handtooled come in all popular font formats. The OpenType versions combine their respective alternates with the main character sets, for ease of use within OpenType-savvy applications.

One in the series of fonts celebrating the Halcyon Days of Handlettering. Magic Lantern is a caps and small caps font based on an untitled design by Samuel Welo, whose Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers appeared in six editions between 1927 and 1960. Both versions of the font include 1252 Latin, 1250 CE (with localization for Romanian and Moldovan).

Samuel Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers” (published in both 1927 and 1960) showcased this talented man’s hand-lettered alphabets; used as inspiration for the sign trade and for graphic designers. A particularly interesting slab serif from the 1960 edition has many unusual character shapes, and served as the model for Casual Slab Serif JNL – available in both regular and oblique versions.