Name this font!

November 5, 2012 2:54 PM

What font is this?

This is the sample I'm working with. I thought it was Futura, but it's not. Nor is it Univers. Even whatfontis.com can't figure it out.

Thanks for any suggestions.

posted by Gusaroo to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

Interstate? Found it by going through the options on identifont.com
posted by defenestrated at 3:03 PM on November 5, 2012

Scratch that, the lower case t is all wrong.
posted by defenestrated at 3:08 PM on November 5, 2012

Interstate is close (at least for the caps in the bottom row), and certainly has that period feel, but I think what you have here is just good old-fashioned hand lettering. Look at the top versus bottom row: not only are all the letterforms broader in the second row, but the relative height of the loop in the capital R is very different.

I don't see a match here (PDF) or in this Google books excerpt, but if you like the look of that lettering, you might find these sources interesting. (I wouldn't quite call this casual lettering -- it's a little too careful even in its idiosyncrasy -- but it has that mid-century feel.)
posted by maudlin at 3:19 PM on November 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

I agree with maudlin: there's sufficient variation there to look like something a signwriter or stencil-maker would produce, rather than a commercial font. It's a matchbook, right? How old?
posted by holgate at 3:24 PM on November 5, 2012

Response by poster: Yep, it's a matchbook. Not sure of the era, but I think you guys are right, and that it's hand-lettered. Interstate is pretty darned close though. Love that Google books find!
posted by Gusaroo at 3:34 PM on November 5, 2012

I agree that this looks like hand lettering. Gotham would be a good approximation for the second row. I can't think of a typeface off the top of my head that matches all the distinctive features of the top row.
posted by stopgap at 3:38 PM on November 5, 2012

Response by poster: Now it's reminding me of old school lettering templates...and ruling pens.
posted by Gusaroo at 4:43 PM on November 5, 2012

Which is now reminding me of a conversation I had recently about the new-to-me Leroy Lettering. Not casual at all!
posted by maudlin at 4:53 PM on November 5, 2012

Best answer: Older repro methods distorted type over time in just this way. Your sample very well may have started out as Futura or Avenir.

Now, of course there are lots of typefaces that replicate that good old fashioned look for you. Some options:
- Metallophile
- Tempo
- Neuzon
- Modernista
- Graham
- Faxfont
- Educational
posted by mon-ma-tron at 8:26 PM on November 5, 2012 [4 favorites]