fake this telegram
June 19, 2010 4:29 PM   Subscribe

Typeface junkies: what might approximate this old telegram header?

I'm looking to mock up something with a font as similar as possible to the white lettering on that telegram header.
Two other examples.
Any designers out there ever run across something like this, or know where I might look?
Thanks!
posted by chaff to Media & Arts (9 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
What The Font? says TELEGRAM is either banque gothique bold or bank gothic medium. (I had to crop the image way down just to that word before the site would work properly.)
posted by carsonb at 4:41 PM on June 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


I hope this link works: a comparison
posted by carsonb at 4:43 PM on June 19, 2010


Banque Gothique/Bank Gothic is a great match, but expensive. If you need something cheaper that's not quite as identical, look for square fonts... Something like Square721 would look the same unless you're sitting there comparing letter by letter.
posted by anaelith at 6:12 PM on June 19, 2010


I would have said Bank Gothic, too.
posted by musofire at 7:54 PM on June 19, 2010


While banque gothique matches the shape, the telegram has rather strong serifs. Since most people only know "serif" and "sans-serif" you'd probably be better off just using something from the standard old Times Roman family. The best match seems to be "Times Semi-bold Roman" off linotype's site
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 8:23 PM on June 19, 2010


HPLHS Vintage Fonts has a few with a similar feel from typography books of that era, but some are a bit rough around the edges.
posted by squeak at 8:39 PM on June 19, 2010


@TeatimeGrommit: the OP was asking about the header type, not the text of the message; the header is definitely a sans typeface.

As for what it is, Banque Gothique is pretty close, though the spur on the G in the original is smaller, the waist of the A is lower, and B letterform is a bit different, and there are some other minor differences... still, probably good enough. As for cost, it seems like there are a bunch of different knock-offs by different houses that vary in price. This one is only $55 for the whole family, which isn't half bad.
posted by andrewpendleton at 11:49 PM on June 19, 2010


The proportions are similar to bank gothic, but it's not bank gothic. Look at the Cs - bank gothic has very distinctive angled terminals, but the telegram's Cs are straight. The Rs are also not a match. It's very possible that particular face was never digitized.

Bank Gothic is in a similar wide gothic tradition, but it was not designed until 1930. The Lusitania sank in 1915. I don't know how much you care about this anachronism.
posted by zjacreman at 11:51 PM on June 19, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks for all your help folks, this info will really help me get there!
posted by chaff at 4:03 PM on June 20, 2010


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