Collective entry for a phototype style of unclear origin.
Original designer and foundry unknown.
Epic is listed in a 1968 Lettergraphics catalog in
4 all-caps styles; Epic, E. Solid, E. Outline, E. Shaded. Allan Haley claims to
be the designer of Epic Shaded. A 1976 catalog
additionally shows a lowercase.
Hollywood by FotoStar/Facsimile Fonts is a very similar
design without lowercase. It is listed in Berthold’s
E1 (1974) in 3 styles — Hollywood (solid
w/ outlined shade), H. Outline (outlined letter & shade),
H. Shaded (solid
shade). Also shown in Affolter & Gschwind’s catalog (1981)
[Devroye]).
The same series is shown
in Homage to the Alphabet (Phil’s Photo, 1980) as
Cinema (One = Shaded, Two = Outline, Three = regular).
Film Cinema Shaded is credited for a 1977 use.
[AIGA]
Castcraft has a digital version of a shadowless style as
OPTICinema More…
Collective entry for a phototype style of unclear origin. Original designer and foundry unknown.
Epic is listed in a 1968 Lettergraphics catalog in 4 all-caps styles; Epic, E. Solid, E. Outline, E. Shaded. Allan Haley claims to be the designer of Epic Shaded. A 1976 catalog additionally shows a lowercase.
Hollywood by FotoStar/Facsimile Fonts is a very similar design without lowercase. It is listed in Berthold’s E1 (1974) in 3 styles — Hollywood (solid w/ outlined shade), H. Outline (outlined letter & shade), H. Shaded (solid shade). Also shown in Affolter & Gschwind’s catalog (1981) [Devroye]). The same series is shown in Homage to the Alphabet (Phil’s Photo, 1980) as Cinema (One = Shaded, Two = Outline, Three = regular). Film Cinema Shaded is credited for a 1977 use. [AIGA] Castcraft has a digital version of a shadowless style as OPTICinema Solid.
To add confusion, Castcraft’s Encyclopedia of Phototype Styles (1978) shows both Epic and Hollywood/Cinema as “Cinema”. Both series have wide round alternates for ‘CEGOQ’, Hollywood/Cinema additionally for ‘S’. In Epic’s ‘E’, the bar is higher and the inner shadow meets the lower curve. Other differences in Epic include the ‘Q’ (shorter interior bar), the ‘U’ (asymmetrical), and the ampersand.
