Daniel Berkeley Updike seems to have stimulated the architect Bertram G. Goodhue to design the prototype in 1896 for Ingalls Kimball at the Cheltenham Press. Six years later Morris Fuller Benton at ATF developed it into the design and then the series that we know today. “Owing to certain eccentricities of form,” writes Updike, “it cannot be read comfortably for any length of time.” But he concludes: “It is, however, an exceedingly handsome letter for ephemeral printing.” Mergenthaler bought composing machine rights to the original design c. 1896, but bought the Benton design in 1904.

Hand lettering isn’t a perfect art form, and this is why it often has an appeal over formal typesetting. Individual interpretation can lead to variations in style, character shape and overall design concept. Case in point: The hand-drawn title for the1933 sheet music “Why Can’t This Night Go on Forever” is a simple Art Deco sans, however it mixes character widths and even angles the letter ‘C’ in a nonconventional way. Deco Design JNL is the digital version of this alphabet, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Ah, so you've noticed a typo! Mayonnaise - the sauce, is written with double 'n'! I know. This font was named after a Smashing Pumpkins song that I like very much. Mayonaise is a bit of an ugly duckling. It is strange, open and messy, and might not be love at first sight. BUT, when you spend some time with Mayonaise and get to know her, you might actually fall in love. Just like that song I mentioned earlier. Go on then, give it a try! At this price, you can't go wrong!