Hand lettering of the early 20th Century has a special charm because it focused more on the message than the aesthetics.

While many of today’s digital typefaces strive for perfection, there is something unique in those old ads, posters, fliers and signs because the lettering didn’t conform 100%.  Stroke widths could change, characters could be modified to suit a purpose, and even the widths of the letters and numbers could vary greatly.  The style mattered, but the ad copy was more important.

One such example comes from the Feb. 27, 1929 issue of The Film Daily.  An ad for Douglas Fairbanks appearing in “The Iron Mask” was hand lettered in a bold Art Deco “thick and thin” sans with ‘engraving lines’ throughout.

This now available as Film Stage JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.