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Type from Ernst Roeber Cafe Photo and Poster
Posted by bfingeroth in
12 Feb 2013 — 11:33pm
12 Feb 2013 — 11:33pm
Hi,
I'm posting two images that I would great appreciate help with identifying typefaces or finding similar ones:
1.) A photo of vaudeville world wrestling champion Ernst Roeber's cafe in NYC in 1908. Can anyone recognize typefaces or know any that are very close to ANY of the type in this picture. It can be the prominent ones you see on the marquee or something from the window or smaller signage in the background.
2.) This is a poster also related to Ernst Roeber from 1898. I posted recently to see if anyone could recognize the typeface(s) in it or something very close. People were kind enough to give suggestions but nothing has really come close yet so I thought I would give it another shot.
Thanks very much!
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13 Feb 2013 — 3:19am
I thought he looks like Freddie Mercury …
Apart from that, what we have here is most likely lettering, not type.
13 Feb 2013 — 6:06am
Agree with Andreas. I can also count no more than 5 different letterings for the first one.
"ERNST ROEBER": my eyes see some sort of Engravers. More: Great Western, Western Railway
"MOERLEIN CELEBRATED CINCINNATI LAGER BEER": can't find anything similar, some sort of serif condensed tuscan...
"ROEBER'S" on window: depending if serifs or not, Engravers Gothic/Blair/Sackers Gothic or Copperplate/Modesto
Adding to my previous suggestions, Berber and King Wood
13 Feb 2013 — 7:17am
On closer inspection, I have to conclude this is hand-lettered.
At the top, the letter 'R' in 'Roeber and Crane Bros' has four 'R's. Each is just slightly different from all the others. The same is true for the letter 'O' in 'Roeber' and in 'Bros'.
Examine 'Champion Of The World', with emphasis on the lower-case 'o's. None of them are alike. Very similar, but each instance is just slightly different from all the others.
When this poster was designed, hand-lettering was a big part of the illustrator's bag o' tricks. Today, that skill is almost a 'lost art', and that's a shame. The suggestions that have already been made are excellent, and will be your best starting point if you're planning to modify them to create similar letterforms.
13 Feb 2013 — 11:52pm
Wow, that gorgeous signage beats laser cut Perspex any day doesn't it?
14 Feb 2013 — 1:41am
Sure does!
14 Feb 2013 — 10:03pm
Thanks so much for all these suggestions. I really appreciate it!
14 Feb 2013 — 10:05pm
What is laser cut Perspex?
14 Feb 2013 — 11:53pm
Exactly what it sounds like — Perspex cut out with a laser. It makes flat letters with 90° edges which are okay for what they are but they’re not in the same league as the fully dimensional ones on that gorgeous storefront.