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submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

Marcin Wichary presents history of the ubiquitous font used on signage, machinery, and military equipment with its roots in the 19th century.

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[-] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago

That was a wonderful ride.

TL;DR: In the late 1800's, a need for machine-assisted engraving developed. A font was created in tandem with an engraving machine. Over the next hundred years, a huge portion of engraving machines came with something related to this font by default.

It's the ancestor of many technical drawing fonts because early lettering guides were made using these engravers. It's the basis for many classic keyboard caps and typewriter keys. It's on every nametag from the 1930s to 1990s. But most of all, if you wanted a durable sign and weren't a graphic designer, it's what you got for most of the last century.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

This was a beautiful article I feel I won't be able to unsee the font now and the photos were great

[-] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I had never even considered fonts being something to geek out over but this article has absolutely opened my eyes and now I'm so on board

[-] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago
[-] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I'm sure there's a lot of good jokes in there going right over my head

[-] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

The jokes really aren't that subtle.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Alright yeah I got that one!

[-] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Congrats on your new love!

[-] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

That was an extremely thorough article. Consider me a newly minted Gorton aficionado. Great content!

[-] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

This was better than the documentary Helvetica!

this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2025
78 points (96.4% liked)

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