Hello,
I was wondering if anyone here know whether two recent takes on Fleischman might be available anywhere/for sale. One is the face Gilly Roman, by Mr Porter Gillespie:
http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-81824.htmlThe other is Slagerij, a revival by Mr
Hrvoje Zivcic:
http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-68060.html
(To see either of them, pls scroll all the way down).
Your advice is much appreciated -- thank you!
Comments
I guess this is all to be expected when the deepest work of another genius (and I never use that word lightly) is reduced to a freak show for the easily-distracted to gawk at:
https://www.futurefonts.xyz/hex/marionette
I swear I can hear WAD turning in his grave...
I actually agree with you, Mr Papazian. I did not expect these two digitizations I asked about to come anywhere close to the magic of the original. I was just curious about them. But yes, I don't think we don't yet have a revival that does justice to Fleischman.
Thankfully, for every kid who takes Dwiggins' name in vain, there is a master who pays him proper respect:
https://shop.letterformarchive.org/collections/fonts
So, I guess, a semblance of balance in the world is still maintained... And, maybe that speaks against the limitations of the digital medium, Mr Savard. Maybe what they all need is a better source to work from (cf. Jim Parkinson's story of how he went about designing Aluminia).
And small text size:
One thing I don't get about switching to digital, though, is: why hasn't it kept up with how printing has evolved? Maybe our current versions of Bembo, New Caledonia, Century Expanded and Corona looked really good back when all printers were inkjet or below (I for one remember them). But now, when most paper is semi-coated and laser printers get better and better, all these faces look washed out and spindly. It wouldn't be too much work to develop "grades" of these classic faces, of the kind that Mercury, Chronicle, or Poynter come with. Then we'd have options.
Of course, I'm not talking about small/individual artisans. God knows they work themselves ragged to make a single font. I'm talking about the behemoths who have the money, time, and manpower to evolve. You know who you are.
One thing I'm not happy about, in the Fleischmanns we have, is the x-height: it's too large. It's for historical reasons, of course. But, still. It wasn't the only cut that Fleischmann did. So, to come closer to what I really wish I had, I played a little bit with the digital versions you mentioned.
Still, I'm looking for something with more presence on the page. Something like this -- very compact and yet unmistakably readable.
The commercial digitizations are a far cry from this.
Same goes for Bembo, even the newer Bembo Book. Still too rickety and unsteady on its feet. Not as sturdy as this one, for all its faults:
https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/indian-summer-studio/aldo-new-roman/