Around 1931, the Los Angeles Times (in partnership with the Richfield Oil Company) installed on its building a moving message board similar to the one at the New York Times in New York City which they dubbed an “electric newspaper”. The style of characters used on this electronic sign were the basis for the namesake font Electric Newspaper JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. A blank space to place between words is available on both the solid bar and broken bar keystrokes.

The renowned American illustrator and graphic designer Milton Glaser designed Glaser Stencil in 1970. Glaser Stencil is a perfect summation of both Modernist proportion and New York-style solidity and self-assurance. An all capitals font, the shapes of the letters are reminiscent of popular sans serif faces of the time, such as Futura and ITC Avant Garde Gothic. Like everything New York-related, Glaser Stencil should be used big, in headlines and display applications, where it can play a bold, proud, and confident role.

A vintage matchbook advertising the New York Liquor Mart – oddly enough, located in Chicago, Illinois – featured a pen and ink line drawing of the store’s exterior. The Art Deco lettering on the mansard was portrayed with a straight left shadow (as opposed to drop cast or extruded), making for an interesting multi-line typeface design. This is now digitally available as Packaged Goods JNL.

A poster circa 1930s-40s designed for the WPA Federal Art Project promoted free band concerts at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York. Its headline (“Free Band Concerts”) was hand lettered in a dual line Art Deco sans serif design. Now recreated digitally, the font takes its name after the poster’s topic. Band Concert JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Picture yourself on a New York subway station platform with the location name set into the tiles on the wall. Borough Hall JNL evokes the feeling of urban industrialism at its best.

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.

Narrow Nouveau JNL come from the hand lettered title on a 1907 song folio for George M. Cohan's "The Talk of New York", and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Strak is a font that was born out of admiration for the work of E. Vermeulen, a Belgian artist known for his tight, precise line and an unseen masterpiece that is spread around the world. He has published and exhibited his work in London, Liverpool, Angoulême, New York, Geneva, Amsterdam, Lyon and Turku (in Finland) and he even signed for the New York Times. Based on a few characters, a complete font was composed by Kustomtype. After a few sketches, Strak came to life. The name Strak, in this case, refers to the slender, beautiful woman with the correct waistlines and proportions. The font is designed this way; it is completely hand-drawn, digitized and can be used in all modern and graphic media. Strak is available in 8 different styles, has class and will make many people's mouth water when they see it on your designs. Do you want quality and style? Then Strak is the font-perfect solution!

The free-form geometric shapes of the lettering on a vintage piece of sheet music entitled "Four Pictures" is the basis for Park Slope JNL, named for a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

Belgian is a revival of an old type font from the Bruce Type Foundry of New York, Belgian was first designed as a caps-only font in the 1860s with the lowercase added in 1867. New to this classic font are the Black, Open, Inline and Distressed versions. Also new to Belgian is the addition of a Greek character set.

In the last decade of the 19th century, Bruce Type Founders, New York - among others - released this shaded typeface which they named Bowery. Carefully redrawn and digitized, RMU Bowery breathes fresh life into this great design.

The thin and stylish Art Deco lettering of a neon sign above the Greyhound bus terminal entrance in a 1930s New York City photo inspired Transit Station JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

This stencil font, inspired by a fleeting glimpse of a Bronx plumber’s van seen through the rain-spattered window of a New York taxi, is evocative of urban grit, knock-down warehouse bargains and military supplies labeling.

Letters in circles are certainly nothing new typographically, but nonetheless they were a favorite tool for sign makers in past decades for emphasizing names or key words in a message. Inspired by an image of an old-time hardware store sign in New York City with Franklinesque lettering, it has been reproduced as Circuletter JNL.

The Bruce Foundry in New York gave this Italian Clarendon the catchy name of Ornamented No. 1529. The original had a top right white shadow which we eliminated. Additionally we improved the color of several of the characters.

Redrawn from a strange type originally made about 1850, and sold by the Connors Foundry, New York. We cannot guarantee that Connors originated it, since they were among the first to have facilities for pirating other foundries' types.

Tagline is a Fun, Bold casual font that was born from the New York graffiti style. Good for all your entertainment projects. Though "Tagline" is radical in style it's still very readable and calls attention to your message.

This font is a somewhat modified version of the original issued by the Manhattan Type Foundry in the 1880s. This New York foundry was in business for less than five years, so its fonts are not too well known.

Bruce 1065 is a beautiful victorian font by Chyrllene K, with two styles, a free interpretation off the "1065 font style" of the 1882 George Bruce's New York typefoundry extra-rare catalogue, from Intellecta’s collection of rare books and catalogues.

Syracuse is a font inspired by the typefaces of the "Arts & Crafts" designers of the early 20th Century. As such, it has a distinct "hand" look. In "Syracuse" you will find hints of Dard Hunter's work at the Roycrofters in East Aurora, New York, a little of the Art Nouveau style of 1900 Vienna, even a touch of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's design ideas in Glasgow, Scotland. The font was named for the city in New York where Gustav Stickley produced his Craftsman furniture. Syracuse owes a debt to all of these sources yet is original and different from any other "Arts & Crafts" font available.

Yuge, apparently, is how New Yorkers pronounce huge. I have never been to New York, so I can’t tell if this is a fact. But I often hear a certain New Yorker pronounce it that way, so I guess it’s sort of true. Yuge is a handwritten font - made with a Sharpie pen. Believe me, it is a good font. It is fantastic. It is the best font ever. It is YUGE! ;-)

Here's another collection of ornate border elements gleaned from the 1888 specimen books of James Conner's Sons United States Type Foundry in New York City. Refer to the PDF guide for detailed, yet simple, instructions for constructing nine delightfully different border patterns.

George Bruce's New York foundry had a remarkable number of decorative types, most of which were lost or destroyed when the firm was taken over by the American Type Founders Co. and closed down in 1906. Bruce catalogs are prized among collectors.

The place for a family to be entertained by comedians, dancers, acrobats, animal acts, singers and just about any other acts that fit the bill at the time was the vaudeville theater. Prior to radio becoming the major source of entertainment for the American public, popular songs were introduced on the stages of these entertainment venues. One such song from 1916 with a World War I patriotic sentiment was "A Yankee Doodle Boy Is Good Enough for Me". The sheet music featured the title hand lettered in Art Nouveau style. This became the design source for Vaudevillian JNL, available in both regular and oblique versions.

NewJune is a very strong unique character. It is already used in many magazines all over the world. Like Harvey Nichols magazine in London and later W magazine in New York. NewJune is the corporate typeface of the Academy of the Arts in Munich.

Originally issued as Palm from the A. D. Farmer Foundry in New York, about 1887. This is a good early example of the transition from the ruffles and fluorishes of Victorian fonts to the more restrained decoration that came to be called Art Nouveau.

Subway Ticker is based on a 5×7 grid, electronic display observed on a New York subway train in February 2005. Also included is a ‘Grid’ variation of the font that is slightly more spaced out and based upon a more precise grid structure.

Perfume Counter JNL was based on the hand lettered song title found on the 1938 sheet music for "At A Perfume Counter (On the Rue de la Paix)" from Billy Rose's New York revue "Casa Mañana", and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Shortly after the preparation of the original Century, the two Bentons (father Linn Boyd and son Morris Fuller) prepared a wider version for De Vinne’s press and called it Century Broadface. In 1900 ATF released the design for general use as Century Expanded, one of the most popular and effective of typefaces, to this day the text face of the New York Daily News.

Using examples of antique street signs from New York City, Stickball JNL recreates the iconic lettering in a digital typeface and is available in both regular and oblique versions. For a nostalgic touch, a blank street sign is located on either the solid or broken bar keystrokes.

Solid Deco JNL was modeled after a small sign with the word "restaurant" in an unusual Art Deco solid lettering style. It was spotted within the same image of the Lenox Lounge in New York which gave forth the neon letters that became Sign Sans JNL.

A former lettering artist at Hallmark Cards, Rob Leuschke now has his own thriving design businesses, Alphabytes and the new TypeSETit. Growing up in St Charles, Missouri, where he still lives, Rob showed great artistic promise at an early age. He earned a BFA in graphic design at the University of Missouri at Columbia. After graduation, his stint at Hallmark Cards gave him the opportunity to learn from and work with some of the best lettering artists in the industry. Rob struck out on his own in 1987 and now boasts a long list of clients from all over the world. Rob has created over 250 custom typefaces, and his work has been exhibited in New York. Ambiance BT is Rob’s first typeface published by Bitstream, with more to follow.

For decades, visitors to Times Square could look up and read the up-to-the-minute news flashes that moved across a giant electric sign on the face of the old New York Times Building (now known simply as One Times Square). According to Wikipedia's article on OneTimes Square: "On November 6, 1928, an electronic news ticker known as the Motograph News Bulletin (colloquially known as the "zipper") was introduced near the base of the building. The zipper originally consisted of 14,800 light bulbs and a chain conveyor system; individual letter elements (a form of movable type) were loaded into frames to spell out news headlines. As the frames moved along the conveyor, the letters themselves triggered electrical contacts which lit the external bulbs (the zipper has since been upgraded to use modern LED technology)." An example of this was seen in the 1933 Warner Bothers film "Picture Snatcher" starring James Cagney. This example inspired Moving Headlines JNL.

Mandarin Duck is a very playful typeface where its design was inspired by the rare duck seen in New York once every year. The delicate tail of this duck creates the edges of the characters. It is bold and fun, a perfect typeface for children books and larger texts.

Teen Years JNL was inspired by the hand lettered name for the Joyce Records label (circa 1956) which first recorded the New York doo-wop group The Crests (of “16 Candles” fame). The type design is a block sans serif, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Hubbard is based on hand lettering from the Roycroft Arts and Crafts movement of turn-of-the-century New York. The Roycrofters were heavily influenced by the design concepts of William Morris and Charles Rennie MacKintosh. The font takes its name from Elbert Hubbard, leader of the Roycroft movement.

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.

New York vibes FS Irwin was born in New York while Senior Designer, Fernando Mello, was studying an intensive 5 week typeface design course at the Cooper Union. His brief was to design a perfectly clear typeface that could communicate well, without loud or overtly mannered design features. Fernando was influenced by the subway font in New York: ‘It is very in your face and clear, always in bold. It doesn’t shout much but at the same time is very present and unique. The design is completely different but it was this spirit I wanted to capture for FS Irwin.’ And the vibe of the city: ‘In a similar way to London, New York is so mixed and so cosmopolitan. I was amazed by the different styles and identities I saw there, and tried to encapsulate this essence to create something new, relevant and very now.’ Incisive quality Rather than focusing on quirks or distinctive characteristics, the key to FS Irwin is the quality of its design and spirit of simplicity. The design, proportions and details are usable and authentic and it is suitable for countless situations, without running the risk of being instantaneously noticeable. Families like this can be used on nearly anything, from more playful designs to serious corporate IDs. ‘Extensively tested and precisely drawn text-oriented typefaces are what I enjoy designing the most. There is a beauty and a different approach, a different way of making them interesting, sellable and usable rather than adding flicks or unexpected details.’ Inscriptions and calligraphy FS Irwin’s origin lies in Fernando’s studies in inscriptional lettering and writing-calligraphic exercises at the Cooper Union. Mello started the process by digitising his explorations and adapting them into a more workable sans serif structure. The traditional forms of writing which gave the basis to Latin type as we know it today were the perfect place to start. This influence can be seen in the proportion of the capitals and in slight writing-calligraphic details in the lowercase, such as the slightly angled, chiselled spurs and their open terminals.

This style mimics the flare or upward fade that comes with the use of a spray paint can, as the tops of the letters flare, and become wider. An original font style, named after the border town of Mexicali, this font style falls under the larger umbrella of what is called Cholo-graffiti style. Originally from New Jersey, MENE has made his home in, New York City. He had a brief albeit satisfying career of street bombing in the late 90s that saw its end with a brief encounter with the Vandal Squad. Now a family man, Mene has dedicated himself to the preservation and education of style in its many forms.