Zavier Woodward

The hand lettering on a World War I recruitment poster for the French Air Service inspired French Nouveau JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

“One Hundred Alphabets for the Show Card Writer” was published in 1919 to afford sign artists the ability to create signs and show cards in then-contemporary lettering styles.

One such alphabet was big, bold and representative of the Art Nouveau stylings popular in the early part of the 20th Century.  Most likely it was applied to store sales and public events that were casual and informal, for its letter forms are free of any constraints.

This design is now available as Fun Time Nouveau JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

The cover of the sheet music for the 1910 song “We’ve kept the Golden Rule” features a hand lettered and slightly spurred Art Nouveau type style.

As an older couple was pictured below the song’s title, this inspired the name Golden Years JNL for the digital font, which is available in both regular and oblique version.

In the 1920 edition of “How to Paint Signs and Sho’ Cards” by E. C. Matthews is an example of what is termed “poster lettering” that is so free form and unusual it borders on the eccentric.

Resembling lettering more commonly found in 1960s “underground comics” of the Hippie generation rather than of the Art Nouveau period, it oddly enough works well in both styles.

This novelty typeface is now available as Hippie Comics JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

Who doesn’t love Fridays? For many people it is the end of the working week and the start of the weekend. What’s not to like? I tried to put all that great vibe into this font - it is charming and clumsy and ready for a party…just like my Fridays…ehh…my Fridays are actually quite simple - no parties or staying out till early morning…been there, did that…now I love my Fridays, just the way they are! :)

Ink Nouveau JNL is loosely based on the hand lettered title from a lobby card for the 1927 film “The Taxi Dancer” and is available in both regular and oblique versions. 

The design emulates a hastily or sloppily drawn Art Nouveau display font.

A set of slab serif framed capitals is displayed in the 1906 edition of the Keystone Type Foundry specimen book as “John Alden Initials”.

Digitally redrawn as Keyden Drop Caps JNL, regular and reverse versions are available in one font file.  Upper case keys contain the regular version, lower case keys have the reverse version.  Blanks frames for each are on the parenthesis keys.

The font’s name is a hybrid of both ‘Keystone’ and ‘Alden’.

These vintage letters can easily be used as drop caps, monogram initials or for short novelty titles or headlines.  Choose from either regular or oblique for your next print project.

The Butterfly Brand [from the UK] manufactured some lettering stencils (circa the 1950s) with a distinctively British look and feel.

These inspired Lancashire Stencil JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered title found on the 1924 sheet music for the tango “Sentimiento Gaucho” (“Sentimental Gaucho”) offered a different take on the thick-and-thin lettering that permeated the late 1920s through the Art Deco age.

A ‘slash’ or ‘swipe’ is cut through the characters (similar to “Directa JNL” – another take on this type of design).

Last Tango JNL is the digital recreation of this novelty lettering and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Lettering Lesson JNL is a bold serif alphabet found within the pages of the 1922 instructional booklet from the St. Louis Show Card School, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

In the opening scenes of the 1938 Three Stooges comedy “Tassels in the Air” the Stooges are working as maintenance men inside an office building.  Their immediate job requirement is to paint the tenants’ business names on the corresponding office doors with pre-cut stencils.  Of course, they get it all wrong.

Nonetheless, the stencils appear to be a hand cut sans serif design in a squared or ‘block’ style with rounded corners, and some of the applied lettering made for an interesting challenge to recreate as a typeface.

The end result is Maintenance Stencil JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The front page headline of the April 6, 1917 edition of the Bemidji Pioneer [from Bemidji, Minnesota] says in extrabold letters: “State of War is Declared”.  The subtext underneath reads: “President Signs Resolution 1:13 P.M., Passed by House 3 O’Clock this Morning”.  Thus, the United States formally entered into World War I.

However… that subtext was set in a sans serif type face which was a perfect addition to the numerous newspaper-inspired type revivals offered by Jeff Levine Fonts.

Morning Edition JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A 1926 trade ad for the silent comedy “The Nut-Cracker” starring Edward Everett Horton has the film’s title hand lettered in a decorative bold sans serif design complete with highlight lines and accent dots.

This festive type face is now available digitally as Movie Matinee JNL in both regular and oblique versions.