“Gönn Dir was Gutes”, Fleischer-Fachgeschäft Raab, Limburg

I am happy to believe that this butcher’s from Limburg an der Lahn delivers ‘something good’ (was Gutes) and ‘quality and freshness’ (Qualität und Frische) when it comes to meat. But do their signs meet equally high standards when it comes to quote marks? Judge for yourself.

On the sign that tries to incite readers to ‘Treat yourself to something good’ (Gönn Dir was Gutes), the closing quote marks are placed near the baseline of the letters, just like the opening marks – unusual for German that typically uses „this style“. The closing quotation marks may well have been flipped, then placed near the baseline during the making of the sign. The typeface used for the orange part is Sayer Script by German designer Manfred Sayer (whose name is presumably pronounced more like SIGH-er than SAY-er), complemented by Helvetica Black Oblique and a script wordmark that seems custom.

On the sign that advertises ‘Quality and freshness’ (Qualität und Frische), both opening and closing quote marks are peculiar, judging by contemporary German standards. The opening marks are shaped in the traditional way, but placed at cap height rather than near the baseline of the letters. The opening marks are placed in the traditional way, but were rotated by 180 degrees, compared to typical quote marks. The typeface used for the red text is Flash (whose Bold cut goes by the name of Okay when bought from URW or Linotype). The white text that says ‘specialities’ (Spezialitäten) is set in Avant Garde.