Peter Behrens’ renowned art nouveau type from 1902 – with ornaments. Newly revised and neatly digitalized by Ingo Zimmermann In 1902, Peter Behrens (1869–1940), architect, designer and typographer, created a new ”German“ type which became very successful very quickly for the Rudhard’sche Gießerei (foundry which later became Gebr. Klingspor AG) in Offenbach am Main. It served, for example, as the official German type for the world expositions in 1904 and 1910. Behrens himself writes about the development of this type ”...For the actual form of my type, I took the technical principle of the Gothic script, the stroke of the quill feather. The proportions of height and width and the boldness of the strokes of the Gothic letters were also decisive for me in producing a German character. A cohesive character could be hoped for by avoiding all non-necessities and by strictly carrying out the design principle of holding the quill at an angle…“ By the way, when “long s” is activated, the typographically correct “round s” is automatically placed at the end of the word so that you need only pay attention to the correct s on syllable endings within words. When using “long s,” you must ensure the correct use of the rules for the Fraktur font: “round s” is always at the end of the word, also in compound words. For those of you who want to be even more correct, read the corresponding article in >> Wikipedia. Peter Behrens also drew matching ornaments for his typeface – we have likewise carefully revised these decorative touches and arranged them into a font. The "Behrens-Schrift" fits best on all topics that have something to do with art history or the time around 1900.

Monoline Deco JNL is a thin, elegant typeface that is reminiscent of the Art Deco Streamline influence of the 1930s and 1940s, complete with angular and truncated characters.

Fancy Antique Display is a uppercase display font inspired by French decorative alphabets from the 1940's and 1950's. Perfect for headlines, logos and everything above the body.

German Designer Klaus Sutter digitized Mustang, a brush script typeface from the 1950s originally drawn by Imre Reiner (1900-1987) and published in 1956 by D. Stempel AG. Mustang is a right slanted brush type drawn with simple and strong strokes. It has a dynamic character, and could be perfectly applied for emphasis in headlines. Mustang has the character of Imre Reiner's handriting. Imre Reiner was a prominent book illustrator, painter, and typographer during the 1950s.

Record Jacket JNL gives an outline treatment to the popular typeface used on record album covers in the 1960s and 1970s, and is based on Jeff Levine's Album Cover JNL.

Oakland is a Streamline era design inspired by some hand-drawn lettering on a 1930's French poster advertising a certain brand of Car (Automobile for our American cousins). It's ideal for giving poster and design work that late 1930s to mid 1950s feel. Make a bold statement with this all capitals typeface!

Latin music was all the rage in the United States from the 1930s through the 1950s and songs with a “South of the Border” or “Old Mexico” theme were plentiful. The 1940 sheet music for “Make Love with a Guitar” evoked the idea of serenading one’s lovely lady on horseback while strumming the guitar. ..at least if you went by the by the illustration under the song’s name. As the hand lettered title was rendered in an Art Deco design, it became the basis for Jazz Guitar JNL [which seemed a more befitting name], and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Ritz Slab Serif JNL is a bold display face which shares a lot of similar design traits to Stymie and other similar metal type of the 1930s and 1940s, but in actuality was modeled from only four letters. On the sheet music for the 1937 song "Sweet Varsity Sue" [from the 20th Century Fox Film "Life Begins in College"], there is a picture of the Ritz Brothers - a popular comedy team from 1925 through the late 1960s. The hand lettered name "Ritz" became the basis for Ritz Slab Serif JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Mocombo JNL is a slightly modified version of one of the numerous alphabets created by the late Alf R. Becker for Signs of the Times Magazine during the period of the 1930s through the 1950s. Tod Swormstedt of ST Media—who is also the curator of the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio—supplied Jeff Levine a wealth of source material from which this font is derived. The angular style of this typeface was originally referred to as “German Poster Lettering” by Becker, but it can represent many styles from 1940s night clubs to African safaris and just about anything in-between.

A handsome German art deco design that fits in well with other types of the 1920s and 1930s. Originally without a lowercase, so we drew one for it, extending its usefulness.

Moving Van JNL is a classic sign painter's block Roman with angled [instead of rounded] corners and slab serifs. This style of lettering was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s.

Roundpoint Pen JNL is based on instructional lettering found in an old Speedball® Pen textbook. The effect of a round nib pen letter evokes the charm of the 1920s or 1930s.

From a vintage textbook on "modern" lettering circa the 1930s or 1940s comes a simple chamfered sans with oddly irregular shapes. Amateur Lettering JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The lettering for Fine Dining JNL was inspired by the opening titles for the 1940 Barbara Stanwyck-Fred MacMurray film "Remember the Night". A stylized Art Deco sans, the typeface conjures up images of elegant dining, being out on the town and all we warmly associate with the night life of the 1930s and 1940s.

Rock-steady and friendly, yet animated and exciting, Adventuring evolved from the hand drawn, uppercase title lettering used for the 1950s and 1960s dust jackets of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series of books.

Stencil Work JNL was re-drawn from a vintage paper stencil with one inch high Roman letters and numbers, often found in stationery, drug and variety stores in the 1950s through the 1980s.

A cardboard stencil toy for children from the late 1950's or early 1960's was the inspiration for Study Hall JNL, part of a series of stencil revival fonts from Jeff Levine.

Gramercy Eight JNL is an outline and drop shadow treatment of Crestview Six JNL, inspired by some 1930s-1940s era Art Deco hand lettering spotted on a sales flier for some decorator decals.

Display Inline JNL is a companion design to Jeff Levine's Signboard JNL font - both derived from die-cut display letters and numbers popular during the 1950s and 1960s for signs and show cards.

Venecian Old Face fonts had a strong influence on typeface design in the 1930s and 1940s in England. Such influence is evident in the font Electra, designed by William A. Dwiggins for Linotype in 1935. Electra combines its classic roots with the Zeitgeist of the 1930s, also displaying characteristics of the Bauhaus and Art Deco styles.

An example from the vintage lettering book "100 Alphabets Publicitaire" ("100 Advertising Alphabets") provided the inspiration for French Lettering JNL. This stylized Victorian [or Western] type face evokes the era of fanciful lettering design from the late 1800s. Available in both regular and oblique versions.

One of the type examples found within the pages of “Lettering” by Harry B. Wright (1950) is a bold hand lettered serif typeface with a unique twist – the slab serifs had rounded corners, looking very much like show card lettering of the early 1900s. This design is now available digitally as Maybrook JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

School Desk JNL is a block-style sanserif based on die-cut cardboard letters used in classrooms during the 1940s and 1950s for making various projects and teaching children the basic shapes of letters.

Prankster JNL gets its inspiration from a casual typeface popularly used in print ads of the 1950s and 1960s. Its friendly, unstructured approach to titles made the style an all-purpose workhorse of the era.

Paying homage to the 1960s and 1970s designs of Tom Carnase and Herb Lubalin, Homage Condensed is a digital revival and recutting of LSC Condensed in two weights along with italics and numerous stylistic alternate characters.

Designed in 1976–81 by Michael Rovensky (1902–1996) as the body text companion of his Bazhanov Display typeface (1961), of Polygraphmash typefoundry. Based on the lettering by Moscow book designer Dmitry Bazhanov (1902–1945). With old-fashioned flavor, this design recreates the Soviet hand-lettering style of the 1940s. The digital version was developed at ParaType in 1996 by Lyubov Kuznetsova.

PT Bazhanov™ was designed at Polygraphmash type design bureau in 1961 by Michael Rovensky (1902-1996). Based on the lettering by Moscow book designer Dmitry Bazhanov (1902-1945). Old-fashioned flavor of this design recreates the Soviet hand-lettering style of the 1940s. For use in title and display typography. The digital version was developed for ParaType in 2001 by Lyubov Kuznetsova.

Looking for a font with that certain... umm... special mojo? Mojodelic might just be the niche font that you need to create that unique statement — one that really pops off the page. While this typeface certainly grooves with the 1960s – 1970s vintage psychedelic and pop art look, it's also a perfect fit with retro 1990s party-way-too-hard youth culture graphics. With its ultra-bold reverse-contrast design and whimsical little curlies, this one's got equal parts silliness and swagger. Try it on skateboard graphics, retro message t-shirts, apparel logos, beverage labeling, candy packaging, teen/tweener marketing, greeting cards... you name it. Enjoy.

A vintage set of die-cut letters and number by Village Toys (circa 1930s or 1940s) featured a playful, bold serif typeface. This is now available digitally as Toy Letters JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand painted signage from a 1950s era photo of the Miami Diner Restaurant in Miami, Florida inspired the digital version of its 1940s-influenced lettering. Roadside Diner JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

PM Showman is based on vintage hand-painted sign writing from the 1900s through the 1960s. Seen on everything from office signs to posters, it was a staple of business communication and entertainment advertising in the early 20th century. We meticulously hand-drew each font, modeling the spacing and quirkiness of the original letterforms to give PM Showman an authentic hand-painted look.

Bill Rigney, an old job printer in my home town, established his shop in 1896, closed it in 1900 to take a steady job, stored the equipment in a large shed, and reopened for business upon his retirement in 1950. What a find! A bonanza of old type! We became good friends and upon his death I bought the type. Bless you Bill.

A playful, casual take on round nib pen lettering was spotted amongst some online scans from an old lettering book. The free-form and stylized shapes of the letters and numbers are reminiscent of old-time show cards, movie titles and signage in vogue around the early 1900s through the 1920s. Fancy Show Card JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Grafiker means 'Graphic Designer' in German. This fat, colored, uneven font with a 1001 uses was loosely based on the work of designers Oskar Kokoschka (1886 - 1980) and Jean Carlu (1900 - 1997). The glyphs were hand-drawn with a 0.5 roller ball and colored in with Chinese ink, using a stiff brush. The result is a lively, rather unusual font.

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.

This revival of the typeface Baldur, published by Julius Klinkhardt in 1901, is a fine, harmonious and legible Art Nouveau font named after Ferdinand von Reznicek (1868-1909), one of the leading artists and illustrators of those times.

Westbrook JNL is a simple monoline all-caps font with a strong Art Deco feel. It's light, delicate appearance is great for announcements, ads and retro materials that wish to evoke the elegance of the 1930s and 1940s.