Grotesque Type Specimen

3

MONOTYPE

GRo E ESQut

Grotesque

1926

specimen design by

Giselle Hogg

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When you search up grotesque, some synonyms stand out. Odd, weird, freakish,

ridiculous and surrealistic are some just to name a few. When thinking of these words, one story comes to mind. A story about a girl who falls down a hole and awakens in a world she’d never seen before or thought to imagine before. She is introduced to a world that can only exist in dreams and as the story progresses, nightmares.

She wonders through a gardan alone at first, but as the story progesses she gains both friends and enemies. The story, Alice In Wonderland, immediately reminded me of the typeface. Like in the mythical world of Wonderland, Monotype Grotesque is not an ordinary typeface. It has little quirks and oddities that make it in it’s own right, unique.

d Alice, catchle kiss to makace. ‘Really, Dter manners! Y

ht!’ she added, and speaking

ge— and then hair, taking thebegan windingon very fast, a

etimes to the tty sat very de

watch the progn putting out onas if it would know what to’d have guessith me— only uldn’t. I was wahe bon�re— anly it got so cave off. Never mre to-morrow.’ of the worsted

he bboonn��rree— anlyy it got soo avee off. Neveer re to-morrow.’of tthhee wwoorrste

d Alice, catchle kkiiss to mmakace. ‘Really, Dterr mannerrs! t!’ she addeedand speakiinge—— and thhen

air, taking thegan winddinn very faastimmes to tthy ssat verry tchh the prputtting oou

if iitt wwouow what

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Created by Frank Pierpont

Monotype Grotesque has been known as Grotesque 215 during its early release. Unlike Helvetica and other Grotesque sans serif fonts, Monotype Grotesque capitals do not contain some bookish features such as spurs. But it is light in color, making it suitable for set ting as book text. Many of it heavier weights, such as bold and black, read well in display set tings.

The Digital version of Monotype Grotesque was called MT Grotesque. The Monotype Grotesque design was originally based upon sans-serif design by the H Ber thold AG found-ry and William Thorogoods original Grotesque typeface. The name grotesque has a slightly hazy origin, some believed that typeset ters who came across the original sans serif typeface of William Thorogood nicknamed it Grotesque because they considered it an ugly typeface. In those days, printers had only used sans serif fonts in upper case and as headlines/large print. The introduction of the lower case grotesque character set was a new direction in typeface design.

MONOTYPE Grotesque

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Regular

600pt

a

Bold Extended

400pt

LExtra Condensed

550pti

Black

750pt

eLight

800pt

c

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Short Tail Extension

Angular Filet

Variation in Line Weight

Flat Apex

Why is a raven like a

writing

Sharp Angled Terminals

Large Counter with feeling of closure

desk?Note the lower case “g” set in Bold Extended takes on a completely different form, adding a double storey, a link and a loop.

Note that the lower case “k” set in black takes on a stencil type appearance.

*

*

*

*

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WE’RE A

LL MAD

HERE

WE’RE A

LL MAD

HERE

72pt L

ight Condensed

WE’R

E ALL M

AD HERE

74pt L

ight

WE’RE ALL

MAD H

ERE WE’R

E ALL M

AD HERE

76pt L

ight Ita

lic

WE’R

E ALL M

AD HERE W

E’RE A

LL MAD H

ERE

78pt R

egular

WE’R

E ALL

MAD H

ERE WE’R

E ALL

MAD H

ERE

80pt I

talic

WE’RE ALL

MAD HER

E WE’RE

ALL MAD

HERE W

E’RE ALL

MAD HER

E WE’RE

ALL MAD

HERE

80pt E

xtra

Condensed

WE’R

E ALL M

AD H

ERE WE’R

E ALL M

AD H

ERE

82pt B

old

WE’R

E ALL M

AD HERE W

E’RE A

LL MAD H

ERE

84 pt B

lack

WE’R

E ALL M

AD H

ERE WE’R

E ALL M

AD H

ERE

88pt B

old Ext

ended

14 15

drink me

150pt Regular

There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went back to the table, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she found a little bottle on it, (‘which certainly was not here before,’ said Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words ‘DRINK ME’ beautifully printed on it in large letters. It was all very well to say ‘Drink me,’ but the wise little Alice was not going to do THAT in a hurry. ‘No, I’ll look first,’ she said, ‘and see whether it’s marked “poison” or not’; for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they WOULD not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger VERY deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison,’ it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. However, this bottle was NOT marked ‘poison,’ so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off. ‘What a curious feeling!’ said Alice; ‘I must be shutting up like a telescope.’

And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches high, and her face brightened up at the thought that she was now the right size for going through the little door into that lovely garden. First, however, she waited for a few minutes to see if she was going to shrink any further: she felt a little nervous about this; ‘for it might end, you know,’ said Alice to herself, ‘in my going out altogether, like a candle. I wonder what I should be like then?’ And she tried to fancy what the flame of a

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16 17279pt Bold

EAT ME

Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very

small cake, on which the words ‘EAT ME’ were beautifully marked in currants. ‘Well, I’ll eat it,’ said Alice,

‘and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the

door; so either way I’ll get into the garden, and I don’t care which happens!’ She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, ‘Which way? Which way?’,

holding her hand on the top of her head to feel which way it was growing, and she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size: to be sure, this generally happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way. So she set to work, and very soon finished off the cake. ‘Curiouser and curiouser!’ cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the

moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); ‘now I’m opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet!’ (for when she looked down at her feet, they seemed to be almost out of sight, they were getting so far off). ‘Oh, my poor little feet, I wonder who will put on your shoes and stockings for you now, dears? I’m sure I shan’t be able! I shall be a great deal too far off to trouble myself about you: you must manage the best way you can;—but I must be kind to them,’ thought Alice, ‘or perhaps they won’t walk the way I want to go! Let me see: I’ll give them a new pair of boots every Christmas.’ And she went on planning to herself how she would manage it. ‘They must go by the carrier,’ she thought; ‘and how funny it’ll seem, sending presents to one’s own feet! And how odd the directions will look! A L I C E ’ S R I G H T F O O T , E S Q . HEARTHRUG, NEAR THE FENDER, (WITH ALICE’S LOVE). Oh dear, what nonsense I’m talking!’ Just then her head struck against the roof of the hall: in fact she was now more than nine feet high, and she at once took up the little golden key and hurried off to the

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18 19

@CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER!

$

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#

+.

&

!

;

%

Each glyph has been modified to fit each of Grotesque MT’s weights. Whether it be light or bold, subtle line weight changes are made, allowing the glyphs to blend in sdeamlessly with whatever weight is used.

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Dow

n, do

wn, down. Would the fall never come to an en

d?

ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE IN WONDERLAND ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE ALICE

hat ahe thi

never do to have an argument atthe veryof their conversation, so she smiled ands

Majesty will only tell me the right way tobeas well as I can.’‘But I don’t want it done at

d the poor Queen. ‘I’ve been a-dressing myast two hours.’ It would have been all the beemed to Alice, if she had got some one elser, she was so dreadfully untidy. ‘Every sicrooked,’ Alice thought to herself, ‘and she’s!— may I put your shawlstraight for you?’

aloud. ‘I don’t know what’s the matter witheen said, in a melancholy voice. ‘It’s ouI think. I’ve pinned it here, and I’ve pinne

ut there’s no pleasing it!’ ‘It can’t go straw, if you pin it all on one side,’ Alice said

ntly put it right for her; ‘and, dear me, whour hair is in!’ ‘The brush has got entangleQueen said witha sigh. ‘And I lost the comb

Alice carefully released the brush, and didget the hair into order. ‘Come, you look ra

now!’ she said, after altering most of the plly you should have a lady’s maid!’‘I’m sur

u with pleasure!’ the Queen said. ‘Twopen

at at

n on, s

tell me t’‘But I don’t

een. ‘I’ve been s.’ It would have be

ice, if she had got sowas so dreadfully untidy.

d,’ Alice thought to herself, ‘anmay I put your shawlstraight for y

d. ‘I don’t know what’s the matter en said, in a melancholy voice. ‘It’s oI think. I’ve pinned it here, and I’ve pinne

ut there’s no pleasing it!’ ‘It can’t go straif you pin it all on one side,’ Alice sput it right for her; ‘and, dear me

r is in!’ ‘The brush has got enaid witha sigh. ‘And I lost th

efully released the brushr into order. ‘Come,

d, after altering have a lady’s

the Quee

1926

Grotesque

Grotesque Type Specimen

Art & Photos

Transcript of Grotesque Type Specimen