From 1958 to 1964, one of ABC-TV’s popular shows was the detective series “77 Sunset Strip”. Based in Los Angeles, the fictional detective agency was located next door to Dino’s Lodge, (partly owned by Dean Martin and actually located at 8532 Sunset). It was originally known as the Alpine Lodge. The adjacent building where Stuart Bailey and Jeff Spencer’s private detective service was located in fact housed a popular modeling agency. The ‘77’ address did not exist outside of the realm of the series. However, a wonderful sign with Art Deco-influenced lettering graced the set (on the wall of the office foyer) saying “Bailey & Spencer Private Investigators Suites 101-102”. A screen capture of this sign served as the working model for Private Eye JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

In 1937, Morris Fuller Benton designed Empire, titling capitals that became the headline style for Vogue magazine. In 1989, David Berlow revived it for Publish magazine, adding an italic and a lowercase, both unavailable in the original. He revisited Empire in 1994 with Kelly Ehrgott Milligan, adding two heavier weights, small caps, and an elegant set of Art Deco–flavored oldstyle figures, ultimately expanding it to a seven-part series; FB 1989–94

Morris Fuller Benton’s drawings at the Smithsonian show a creative concern for effects of scale on typeface design. Tobias Frere-Jones began with 4pt ATF Franklin Gothic drawings, modifying proportions to mix with Poynter Oldstyle and Benton Gothic, and adjusting ends of the curved strokes of C G S a c e r s to suit news printing conditions. Poynter Gothic Text excels as subheads used with Poynter Oldstyle Text; FB 1997–99