Monthly Archive for October, 2008

Fraktur Mon Amour (Princeton Archetectural Press) showcases 333 Blackletter fonts collected by Judith Schalansky, accompanied by a CD of 150 fonts compatible with both PC or Mac. Four of the fonts were created just for this book! It’s beautiful black and hot pink, has won awards and looks like a prayerbook. Rock horns, everybody!

People tend to think of Blackletter font (also known as Fraktur or Gothic type) as something associated with hip hop or heavy metal album covers, gangs, street culture, tattoos, goth culture and even advertising. You know you’ve seen it! It’s the font usually used just for titles, ’cause a whole document with it can be harder to read. But this font pops up in lots o’ places, like these, for example:

But it wasn’t always like this. Blackletter font was popular in Europe during the Middle Ages though the Renaissance replaced most of it with Latin Antiqua. It was incorrectly associated with the Nazis, who actually banned its use in 1941 because it was falsely believed to be a Jewish invention. These days this font is embraced in many parts of both subculture and popular culture.

Each Blackletter font in Fraktur Mon Amour is presented on a full page along with its complete alphabet, date of origin, the name of its designer, and its original foundry. Like this:

Isn’t this hot? How could you not want this? It even has a black and pink ribbon bookmarker to keep your place in case you are deciding whether to use Duerers Minuskeln or Fette Deutsche Schrift to decorate your goth greeting card for your goth holiday party invitation. Come into the store today and take a look at this beauty.