The Vtg Stencil fonts from astype are based on real world stencils from several countries. The Italian stencils that I chose as a model for this font are roughly based on classic French stencil letters. Please compare the figures (numbers) with their French counterparts. However, the Italian stencils are made with a different production technique. The design of the letters is clearly not punch-cut into the plates, maybe they are drilled, milled or etched. Details such as the serifs look bold and clumsy, and when using the stencils as they are meant, with viscous sign paint, smaller details easily fade away. So I took my freedom to design a font close to the original design but adding several typographic tweaks to let it shine, hoping to get closer to the intended design idea of these Italian stencils. Enjoy the vintage!

The Vtg Stencil series of fonts from astype are based on real world stencils. These stencils were used in the 50's and 60's by the US Army. If you are interested in the current stencil design, please have a look at Vtg Stencil US No.72 .

The Vtg Stencil series of fonts from astype are based on real world stencils. All styles offering an extended Latin character set. » pdf specimen «

The Vtg Stencil series of fonts from astype are based on real world stencils. Have a look at the Vtg Stencil Ornaments A .

Vtg Stencil Germany No.101 is modeled after historic stencil plates from Bavaria. The design is a blackletter chancery, a romantic reprise of a style that was common in German writing offices from the 14th to the 16th century. The flourishes stylistically quote the Baroque period. A talented mind, perhaps around 1890, has transformed the textura shapes into a modular stencil system. Many elements are repeated throughout the glyph set - see for example the initial swashes on the letters A, B, U etc. Overall, this decorative blackletter doesn’t look like a stencil design. Maybe it was originally used by a sign painter, and all the typical stencil bridges would have been painted over in the final work. If you’re looking for a decorative blackletter font with a unique touch and a romantic feel, you will love Germany No.101.

The Vtg Stencil series of fonts by astype are based on real world stencils. The UK No. 2 design was derived from authentic one inch A2 Roman stencil plates from Great Britain, manufactured around the 1950s.