Zuerich/Zürich, Alex Stocker and Hans Gruber, 1954
Lettera (Vol. 1, 1954).
This alphabet reminds me somewhat of Walter Käch’s Örtli & Co., seen in his influential book, Schriften / Lettering / Ecritures. Kâch’s design shares the horizontal-spine ‘S’, but has curved (rather than flat) sides, and appears to be the model for lettering commonly found in Swiss and German design in the 1950s and ’60s, particularly in architectural signage.
Like many of the alphabets shown in the Lettera series, Zürich was used in commercial work, and turned into fonts for both photo and digital composition. From our description on Fonts In Use:
“An (unauthorized) phototype adaptation appears in a Lettergraphics 1968 catalog as Astrid, with added numerals, punctuation glyphs, and wide alternates for ‘f’ and ‘t’. Shown in Castcraft’s Encyclopedia of Phototype Styles (1978) as “Aggie (similar to Astrid Solid)”.
Digital versions include OPTI Aggie Solid (Castcraft, 1990) and URW Aggie (URW++, 1999). The former includes the original narrow forms for ‘f’ and ‘t’ as alternates.”
Zuerich/Zürich, Alex Stocker and Hans Gruber, 1954
Lettera (Vol. 1, 1954).
This alphabet reminds me somewhat of Walter Käch’s Örtli & Co., seen in his influential book, Schriften / Lettering / Ecritures. Kâch’s design shares the horizontal-spine ‘S’, but has curved (rather than flat) sides, and appears to be the model for lettering commonly found in Swiss and German design in the 1950s and ’60s, particularly in architectural signage.
Like many of the alphabets shown in the Lettera series, Zürich was used in commercial work, and turned into fonts for both photo and digital composition. From our description on Fonts In Use:
“An (unauthorized) phototype adaptation appears in a Lettergraphics 1968 catalog as Astrid, with added numerals, punctuation glyphs, and wide alternates for ‘f’ and ‘t’. Shown in Castcraft’s Encyclopedia of Phototype Styles (1978) as “Aggie (similar to Astrid Solid)”.
Digital versions include OPTI Aggie Solid (Castcraft, 1990) and URW Aggie (URW++, 1999). The former includes the original narrow forms for ‘f’ and ‘t’ as alternates.”