Although less prevalent today, a cover charge was added to better class night clubs of the 1930s and 1940s to discourage patronage by people of questionable social graces. The general idea was that the lower strata of society (meaning the "average Joe" or "hoi polloi") would balk at paying an extra fee just for entrance to a place of good entertainment and fine dining.

Poster Plain JNL and its oblique counterpart offer the simple, hand-lettered look of home-made poster board projects with a bold, friendly typeface.

Tallahassee Chassis JNL was modeled from a toy alphabet rubber stamp set made in Japan and imported to the U.S. during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The lettering style somewhat resembled that found on the side of old railroad cars, buses or trolleys.

First Responder JNL is a back slanted version of Catalog JNL, and is intended to be used for graphics on police and fire vehicles to emulate "forward" movement, which is a popular theme on such vehicles. It is also useful in conveying the same image in print applications and web design.

From the titles and credits of the 1952 British comedy “Song of Paris” comes this whimsical, hand lettered type design that’s casual, playful and charming. The digital version is called French Song JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions. This font release is the 1800th type design Jeff Levine Fonts has issued since its inception in January, 2006.

During the years of physically doing camera-ready paste-up work before the advent of the digital age, clip art books dominated the way stock art was added to a print project. Clip art books were eventually replaced by clip art CDs, DVDs and online download sites, just as the books themselves had replaced the stock photo engravings of the letterpress era. With the kind permission of Graphic Products Corporation, Jeff Levine Fonts offers up a sampling of images found within the pages of Graphic Source clip art books; aptly entitled Classic Clips JNL.

Chive Turkey JNL is a solid version of Jeff Levine's inline font, Toucan Tango JNL. This bold and sassy sans serif has the great retro look of hand lettering and can really add some punch to ad copy.

Based on text used as sub-headings within a reproduction of a sales catalog for stencil punch dies manufactured by S.M. Spencer & Co. (originally of Brattleboro, VT), circa 1868. Catalog Serif JNL is available in regular, oblique, condensed, condensed oblique, extra condensed, extra condensed oblique, ultra condensed, ultra condensed oblique, compressed and compressed oblique versions.

The July 26, 1934 of the movie industry trade paper The Film Daily contained an ad for Paramount promoting its most recent releases. Hand lettered in an ultra bold Art Deco sans serif style, it was the working model for Self Promotion JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

There is no doubt that the 1941 version of “The Maltese Falcon” was superior to the prior two attempts by Warner Brothers at filming Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel. Sam Spade was perfectly portrayed by Humphrey Bogart, and the supporting cast of Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook, Jr. rounded out the main players in a great suspense film that is considered to be the first (if not one of the first) of the film noir genre. The title cards for the production and cast credits were hand-lettered in a spurred serif type style strongly reminiscent of the Art Nouveau period, so instead of naming the digital version with some “tough guy detective” moniker, it was decided that Detective Client JNL was more appropriate. After all, this is a reasonably attractive font, and in this kind of film it’s usually the “attractive damsel in distress” [be she the victim or the actual perpetrator] that gets the story rolling… Detective Client JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Page Printer JNL was inspired by “Skeleton”, from the William H. Page Wood Type Foundry circa 1848. Its name is a play on both Page’s surname as well as contemporary desktop printers. Page Printer JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The wealth of vintage hand-lettering styles found in a 1941 edition of the Speedball® Lettering Pen instruction book has allowed Jeff Levine to re-draw a number of them in digital format for today's designers. As with other fonts in the Eckhardt Series of sign painter-inspired styles, this font is named in honor of Jeff's good friend Albert Eckhardt, Jr. Al was quite the talented sign writer, and ran Allied Signs in Miami, Florida from 1959 until his passing.

Titling Stencil JNL is an extra bold stencil treatment of R. Hunter Middleton’s ‘Karnak’ (produced in 1936 for Ludlow) and is a companion font to both Bookkeeping JNL and Bookkeeper JNL (a lightweight version of the type design). Middleton based his ‘Karnak’ family of typefaces on the geometric slab-serif ‘Memphis’, which was designed in 1929 by Dr. Rudolf Wolf and released originally by the Stempel Type Foundry of Germany. According to Wikipedia, ‘Karnak’ was named after the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt, in reference to the fact that early slab serifs were often called “Egyptians” as an exoticism by nineteenth-century type founders.” Titling Stencil JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A precursor to Art Deco headline/display sans serif typefaces with thick and thin strokes is the Matthews Series (circa 1902). It was manufactured and sold through the Inland Type Foundry of St. Louis, MO. Digitally redrawn as Merchant Trade JNL, it’s now available in both regular and oblique versions.

A long-set aside Art Deco typeface design begun (but not completed) may or not have been from a vintage source, but its roots go well back into Art Deco lettering. Taking the existing letters and thickening their weights, removing the counters and ending up with a completely new, solid alphabet design resulted in Deco Redux JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Vintage sheet music for the 1920s song "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go with Friday on Saturday Night?" yielded the hand lettered Art Nouveau alphabet for Nouveau Display JNL. Because the Art Nouveau movement was so influential in the graphic designs of the 1960s "Love Generation" counter culture, this typeface blends itself well with projects crossing many decades and varying styles.

Letterpress Leftovers JNL gathers twenty-six vintage letterpress cuts on a variety of themes as well as an attractive wood type border in various positions on the 0-9 keys.

Rustic Inn JNL comes from hand lettering on a vintage piece of sheet music entitled "My Cabin of Dreams".

Comic books are filled with pages full of the daring adventures of crime fighters with colorful costumes, amazing abilities and wondrous powers. They have enthralled kids of all ages since the 1930s. Costumed Hero JNL emulates both the hand lettered cover titles of those vintage comics as well as the title credits from a 1960s television show based on one of these characters. With its non-conforming letter shapes and varying widths, the lighthearted look of classic comic title art can be yours. The font is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Serve up a generous portion of nostalgia with this retro font inspired by lettering in old diners, drive-ins and eateries of the 40s and 50s.

Normandy Isle JNL is a condensed sanserif typeface built off of the basic design of an old wood type, but augmented with thick and thin lines to create a whole different look. The font itself is named after a community in the North end of Miami Beach.

Roman-style stencil fonts have been around for much longer than most people realize - from the interlocking brass stencils of the 1880s to the laser-cut plastic stencils of today. A 1 inch Roman lettering guide [die-cut from oil board with spacing holes for correct alignment] made by the now-defunct Zipatone Corporation in the 1970s was a clone of an existing design of another company; but with variations in certain character shapes. This then became the working model for Classroom Stencil JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered titles and credits from the 1945 British film “The Way to the Stars” were the working model for the aptly-titled British Cinema JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The opening credits to the original (1937) version of “A Star is Born” starring Janet Gaynor and Frederic March was hand lettered in an Art Deco style with rounded terminals that emulated the look of neon signage – alluding to the glitz and glamour of 1930s Hollywood. Screen Star JNL is the digital revival of that lettering, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Modeled after some antique stencil cutting tools spotted in an online auction, Stencil Cutter JNL portrays the look of hand tooled lettering. The rounded-end characters have their own personality and this eccentricity provides a warmth and charm from times past. Stencil Cutter JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The title card for the 1940 film "Too Many Husbands" served as the inspiration for Uptown Residence JNL.

A 1935 piece of sheet music entitled “(There’s A) Little Picture Playhouse in My Heart” had its movie-themed title hand lettered in a condensed Art Deco style with a few interesting character variations. The resulting digital type design is Stage Production JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Printers Assistants JNL is a collection of vintage letterpress stock cuts and embellishments features monthly title blocks (for newsletters or calendars of events) in an Art Deco style, a cartoon character counting [with fingers] one through five to emphasize selling points and assorted cartoons and decorations sure to please any lover of nostalgic art.

Here's a simple little retro font that got its inspiration from a food vending truck pictured in a local newspaper's online article. Fun and retro, Food Vendor JNL evokes simpler times. The font is a basic character set, with a blank diamond on the equal sign keystroke for spacing or embellishment.

Desk Job JNL is an Art Deco-influenced typeface based on hand lettering found on the packaging of a vintage Hotchkiss No. 52 stapling pliers. The typeface is available in both regular and oblique versions.

An ad spotted in a 1960 issue of Billboard magazine promoting a 45 rpm release by Randy Lee doing the old song "Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?" featured the song title in a casual, brush lettered style. While the ad made a perfect model for a digital font design, the record itself tanked. Quick Titling JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Banners, arrows with numbers, cartoon cuts, decorative elements and ad helpers make up the assortment of classic images found in Printers Choice JNL. Each were carefully re-drawn from vintage sources to offer a wide variety of topics and uses.

A unique and stylized type design with Art Deco influence was found within the French publication “Modèles de lettres modernes par Georges Léculier” (“Models of Modern Letters by Léculier”). This lettering is now digitally available as Deco Wide JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

Vintage packaging [circa 1940s] for a sewing machine attachment used for making lattice-type stitching had its information hand lettered in a casual Art Deco sans serif design. This became the basis of Home Economics JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Supporting Cast JNL is a hybrid of similar designs for hand lettering found on title cards from two morality photoplays from 1936 dealing with drug abuse, "Cocaine Fiends" and "Marihuana" respectively. The films were produced with the hope of educating the public against the dangers of illicit drugs, but they have taken on a cult status because of the dated approach to the problem. Despite all this, it is the Deco-influenced hand lettering which is being celebrated in this font release, not the subject matter of the films.

Sign Artist JNL is a casual typeface, emulating the hand-lettered look of show card and sign lettering. Created by Jeff Levine from lettering seen on some 1940's packaging, the slightly irregular letter stroke widths and shapes more closely resemble printing made with brush or ink.

Rah! Rah! Sis-Boom-Bah! Sporting Life JNL scores when you need lettering for sports themes.

Case Closed JNL is a bold, slab serif stencil font inspired by a set of brass stencils spotted for sale in an internet auction.

Sheet music for a selection from the 1928 musical “New Moon” had the show’s title hand lettered in a bold sans serif that reflected the upcoming Art Deco movement, along with a contoured outline around the letters. This served as the model for Poster Contoured JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

What started as a small project for Mike Humphrey of Chiltern Image Service in the UK ended up as Air Corps JNL, a typeface featuring retro letters and numbers from military aircraft. Expanded to a full character set with punctuation, foreign accents, monetary figures and the like, Air Corps JNL is also available in an oblique version.