Bennet, Richard Lipton’s spirited serif superfamily, was inspired by Moth Design’s logotype and stationery system for the North Bennet Street School in Boston. Initially modest in concept, Bennet grew to an expansive suite of 96 fonts tuned for editorial use. The three widths of Bennet’s Display and Banner sizes—Regular, Condensed, and Extra Condensed—are ideal for precise fitting of newspaper and magazine headlines. Lipton developed graded text styles for the series, offering users precise variations to help compensate for varying degrees of ink spread on different types of paper stock during the printing process. For example, because of ink absorption, the lightest grade—Bennet Text One—printed on low-quality newsprint stock will have the same gray value as the darkest grade—Bennet Text Four—on superior coated paper. (Bennet Text Two is the default grade and offered here.) Bennet also provides for a stellar reading experience in digital media, its carefully considered details vibrant yet legible on-screen.

The retail storage box for a vintage metal numbering stamp manufactured by the American Numbering Machine Company had its brand name hand lettered in an Art Nouveau style that most likely went back to the 1920s, as the company was in existence from 1908 to around 1971. Numbering machines were used in offices, schools, libraries, and anywhere a series of numbers needed to be marked onto printed items. Similar to what was called a ‘crash numberer’ used in letterpress shops, the machines could be set to do a run of digits [for example: 4000, 4001, 4002] or repeat numbers for forms used as carbon copies. As computers took over most forms of printing, the use of numbering machines dwindled, but they are still available. The American Numbering Machine Company was one of several Brooklyn, New York companies that specialized in the manufacture of these machines. Retail Packaging JNL replicates the lettering from their packaging, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.