Originated at Wagner & Schmidt around 1898. [Müller] Includes various alternates. Some of the many foundries that carried the design offered separate sets with the plain forms and the fancier ones, differentiated either by numbers (I and II) or by different names. The sample combines the latter for “Freie” with the former for “Grotesk”.

Sold as Freie Grotesque and/or Freie Grotesk by Ludwig Wagner, Gundelach, Numrich (and later Bauer), Böttger, and Stempel (before 1905), as Fri Grotesk by Berling, as Magere Grotesk by Hoffmeister (and later Stempel), as Moderne Grotesk by Rühl, as Amerikanische Grotesque by John (before 1900), as Elegant by Typefoundry Amsterdam, and as Ferrara by Augusta (before 1914). ¶ The fancy set was sold as Boston Grotesque by Trennert (and later Bauer), as Chicago-Grotesk by Numrich (and later as Groteske Chicago by Bauer), as Juno by Hoffmeister (and later Stempel), as Mantova by Augusta, as as Zier-Grotesque by John. [Reichardt 2011] [Wetzig 1926–40] Reform-Grotesk by Scholz is a variant in which the Art Nouveau flavor was toned down by eliminating the diagonals. [Müller] On the Spanish market, Bauer offered the pair as Apolo and Diana. [Chan]

There is also variant in which the upper halves are outlined and which can be combined with the solid version for bicolor printing. Rühl had the partly open style as Lichte moderne Grotesk, Numrich/ Böttger and later Bauer named it Lichte Groteske Brooklyn, and the pair Zweifarbenschrift New-York. At Typefoundry Amsterdam, the open style with plain forms was called Zebra, and with fancy ones Kameleon. [Reichardt/Hoefer] Bauer called it Caracter de Adorno on the Spanish market. [Chan]