Signal was designed by Walter Wege for Berthold in
1931. Two forms of ‘r’ were offered, in roman and cursive forms,
along with other
alternates. A lighter Script-Signal and heavier
Block-Signal were added in 1932 [Schriftenkartei],
and a Deutsch-Signal with German
Kurrentschrift letterforms in 1934.
Typefoundry Amsterdam had the design as
Sirene (three weights), Jeżyńskiego as Faksymile (two weights,
before 1940), Reggiani as
Stilo, Grimoldi as Serie
Velox (two weights) [Lane & Lommen 1998] [Reichardt 2011]. Typefounders of Chicago
had the heavy weight as Punch. American Wood Type Mfg.
Co. had a wood type version as Flash
Script.
VGC had a phototype adaptation of the regular weight, with a
rounder ‘h’ and a ‘7’ without crossbar [VGC 1973].
Berthold had a digital version of the original style only. As of
2023, it appears to be taken off the market. Signature
(1992, discontinued?) by Doug Olena is a digitization of
Block-Signal. BN
Grizzly (2023) by Brandon Nickerson is based on the regular.
In fall 2023, More…
Signal was designed by Walter Wege for Berthold in 1931. Two forms of ‘r’ were offered, in roman and cursive forms, along with other alternates. A lighter Script-Signal and heavier Block-Signal were added in 1932 [Schriftenkartei], and a Deutsch-Signal with German Kurrentschrift letterforms in 1934.
Typefoundry Amsterdam had the design as Sirene (three weights), Jeżyńskiego as Faksymile (two weights, before 1940), Reggiani as Stilo, Grimoldi as Serie Velox (two weights) [Lane & Lommen 1998] [Reichardt 2011]. Typefounders of Chicago had the heavy weight as Punch. American Wood Type Mfg. Co. had a wood type version as Flash Script.
VGC had a phototype adaptation of the regular weight, with a rounder ‘h’ and a ‘7’ without crossbar [VGC 1973].
Berthold had a digital version of the original style only. As of 2023, it appears to be taken off the market. Signature (1992, discontinued?) by Doug Olena is a digitization of Block-Signal. BN Grizzly (2023) by Brandon Nickerson is based on the regular.
In fall 2023, Ralf Herrmann ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for creating a faithful digitization of all three weights, plus a variable version, see FDI Lettograph.
