Agnes Fomina

While Student Council JNL was not influenced by any school activities, the design is based on a lithographed cardboard sign (circa 1930s) for Spizz Sparkling Water, a bottled seltzer from the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company of Lexington, Kentucky. 

A squared letterform with angled semi-serifs, this Art Deco typeface grabs attention.

Student Council JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

One of the lettering examples in the 1913 book “Instructions on Modern Show Writing” is a delightful calligraphic alphabet that’s perfect for everything from show cards to invitational notes to names on certificates.

It has been digitally redrawn as Personal Invitation JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A piece of sheet music for “Broken Blossoms” circa the 1920s or early 1930s has its cover title hand lettered in a wide thick-and-thin Art Deco design.

This is now available as Flower Shop JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered title found on the cover of the 1932 sheet music for “Dancing Marathon” inspired the digital revival of this unusual lettering as well as the font’s name.

This eccentric Art Deco design (with a slight bit of Art Nouveau mixed in) is a thin, monoline typeface.

Dancing Marathon JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Dance marathons got their start during the Great Depression as people desperate to earn a few dollars would enter into contests that went on for hours until the last couple remained standing on the dance floor.

The free form hand lettering from the titles and credits of the 1964 French film comedy “Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez” [“The Policeman from Saint-Tropez”] was the basis for Off Duty JNL – which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A 1942 menu cover for the restaurant at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles features its name in a stylized Art Deco serif design.

This is has been turned into the digital typeface Bill of Fare JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered title for the 1954 film “Power of the Press” was done in a condensed sans serif type style that is now available digitally in both regular and oblique versions as Local News JNL.

The hand lettered title for the 1954 film “Power of the Press” was done in a condensed sans serif type style that is now available digitally in both regular and oblique versions as Local News JNL.

Inside the pages of an untitled sign painting textbook (circa 1902) was an example of the classic chamfered sans serif alphabets used by tradesmen of the time.

This version was wider than most, and perfect for a digital version called Wide Chamfer JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Inside the pages of an untitled sign painting textbook (circa 1902) was an example of the classic chamfered sans serif alphabets used by tradesmen of the time.

This version was wider than most, and perfect for a digital version called Wide Chamfer JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A condensed, light face spurred serif alphabet was shown on an antique catalog page from Spon & Chamberlain Publishers as “French”. The catalog likely sold tools and dies to stonecutters for making inscriptions in marble, granite and so forth.

This elegant design is available digitally as Nouveau Thin JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

Easy Stencil JNL is a simple sans serif stencil design [based on a hand lettered example] from the 1922 publication “Modern Show Card Writing” and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

An elegant, yet informal Roman alphabet with Art Nouveau influences was found amidst the pages of the 1922 edition of “The Expert Sign Painter”.

It is now available digitally as Sign Expert JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

In most cases, motion pictures with a Western theme have their titles and credits lettered in type styles that reflect the period of the Old West.

In 1966, the titles and credits for “Texas Across the River” used casual sans serif lettering more suited to the 1960s than a Western taking place in the 1800s.

Nonetheless, the lettering inspired a digital font entitled Adventure Film JNL and it is available in both regular and oblique versions.

There is no doubt that the 1941 version of “The Maltese Falcon” was superior to the prior two attempts by Warner Brothers at filming Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel.

Sam Spade was perfectly portrayed by Humphrey Bogart, and the supporting cast of Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook, Jr. rounded out the main players in a great suspense film that is considered to be the first (if not one of the first) of the film noir genre.

The title cards for the production and cast credits were hand-lettered in a spurred serif type style strongly reminiscent of the Art Nouveau period, so instead of naming the digital version with some “tough guy detective” moniker, it was decided that Detective Client JNL was more appropriate.

After all, this is a reasonably attractive font, and in this kind of film it’s usually the “attractive damsel in distress” [be she the victim or the actual perpetrator] that gets the story rolling…

Detective Client JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

While this bold, chamfered typeface may look like a sports font, it actually came from the opening credits for the 1955 Western film “The Man from Bitter Ridge”.

Game Rules JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The gently spurred serif hand lettering found on an advertisement for Berkshire Stockings (circa the 1920s) was the inspiration for Nouveau Elegance JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand painted signage from a 1950s era photo of the Miami Diner Restaurant in Miami, Florida inspired the digital version of its 1940s-influenced lettering.

Roadside Diner JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered credits from the 1942 British film comedy “The Goose Steps Out” became the model for Goose Creek JNL, a simple sans serif design available in both regular and oblique versions.

According to the Internet Movie Database (imdb), “A bumbling teacher turns out to be the double of a German general. He is flown into Germany to impersonate the general and cause chaos and hilarity in a Hitler Youth college.”  

The title is a parody of the “goosestep” style of marching by German soldiers during World War II.

As a variant on the movie’s title, the font was named for Goose Creek, South Carolina – a charming community just northeast of historic Charleston.