That only changed when they cut (I'm talking foundry type, with some sizes and weights also available on Intertype slug casters) Series 57, and then Series 58, named for the years of release. It was mainly a marketing and naming success. The original series remained quite diverse, individual weights showing not much resemblance but name. Every foundry had a version of that type of face, more often than not available in a few sizes only. The original weight was quite light, and Berthold kept adding weights, some of them from other typefaces, acquired from other foundries. That was 1896 or 1898, depending whether one takes the date of the sale or the release of AG. They gave Akzidenz-Grotesk the ultimate accolade a typeface can have: a functional, formal rightness, transcending the whims of fashion.Įrik Spiekermann on the origins: Accidenz (sic) Grotesk was acquired by Berthold in Berlin when they bought another foundry, Pöpplbaum in Vienna. Karl Gerstner said of Akzidenz-Grotesk, It is the work of anonymous typecutters: craftsmen, specialists, whose professional background and experience meant they were familiar with the finest subtleties and principles, and not just those of Grotesque. In Berthold's specimen booklet (Schriftprobe) number 444 released in December of 1957, Akzidenz-Grotesk mager (light) was referenced as Royal-Grotesk in parenthesis. Quoting a Berthold press release: The design originates from Royal Grotesk light by Ferdinand Theinhardt who also supplied the regular, medium and bold weights. The original sans typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk, the most influential grotesque, was first released by the Berthold type foundry in 1896 (as Accidenz-Grotesk). The Bitstream clone is Gothic 725 (1990). These include the many versions of it at Berthold (Akzidenz Grotesk, AG Book, AG Book Old Face, Akzidenz Grotesk Next, and so forth), typefaces like the Linotype clone, Basic Commercial, and some fonts that are further afield. Īkzidenz Grotesk and is digital descendants. The list:Ĭredit for some images below: Danielle West. PDF file compiled by the jury: Stephen Coles, Jan Middendorp, Veronika Elsner, Roger Black, Ralf Herrmann, Claudia Guminski (FontShop) and Bernard Schmidt-Friderichs. There is a lot of good information about each of the fonts mentioned. German FontShop-sponsored site listing the hundred best fonts of all times, compiled by a jury in 2007. TYPE DESIGN INFORMATION PAGE last updated on

Akzidenz grotesk be bold