Vintage Sign Letters and Why You Love Them

Published on March 5, 2010 :: 2 Comments

stencil

What exactly is it about letters, type, font that is so fascinating? I can’t quite put my finger on it – the pull I feel towards typography. It’s not about words, although I love words. It applies equally to characters printed on a page, painted on a sign, created out of wood or metal as another form of signage, or worked into beautiful digital design on my computer screen. It also applies to numbers, by the way.

I wrote about my relationship with vintage sign letters last year, here. But I am feeling the tug, the love, pretty strongly these days. I’m considering a series of short posts exploring this phenomenon more fully, sharing with you a wide variety of alpha and numeric expression.

nc7

LOVE LETTERS

Love letters. That’s what I’ll call them. Take it any way you want – my love for letters, or my love letters to letters, or my love letters for you. (“Love numbers” sounds weird, but we’ll include them too. No discrimination here!)

punch

YOU TELL ME

In the meantime, I want to hear your thoughts on this subject. I know at least some of you are feeling this. Why? Can you put a name to the pull in you when you see old metal sign letters, or well-designed typography, or a letterpress-printed font? Come on, leave a comment. Let’s figure this out together.

Categories: Collections, Design, Random | Tags: enamel, font, lettering, numerals, sign letters, signage, stencil, tandem antiques, typography, vintage sign letters

Phil

Hillary, you’re a typophile.

There’s even a typophile.com which is mostly populated by a whole lot of lame questions for replacing one typeface for another, but was originally intended to be the online museum and community for all things typographic.

I’ll warn you, though, it’s a slippery slope and those (type) people don’t usually have a lot of friends. To see why, you should watch the movie Helvetica. It’s a documentary but it’s hysterical (because the people in it are crazy) so you won’t fall asleep.

You know I’m kidding about all the sickness stuff. I love typographic form, especially the handmade and am, too, happy knowing that there are more like me out there.
http://www.tandemantiques.com Hilary Eklund

Hey Phil — I loved Helvetica, the movie. The people really are crazy, in the intensity of their knowledge and focus. But it was fascinating! Oh, wait, that’s probably a bad sign too, isn’t it? Oh, well… if I have to have a sickness at least it’s a cool one. We’ve all got something, right?

I’m happy you’re watching what I’m doing here, and I really welcome your comments. And if you love the typographic form with a handmade touch – wait until you see some of the Love Letters posts I have in store.

Hilary