9 replies to this topic

[Nicholas_C]

Hello all -

I've been asked to match the general styling that was used on the first Ordnance Survey maps from ~ 1862.

Obviously the hachuring isn't going to happen (I wish) and the client is aware of that. My question concerns the fonts -

Anyone know the name(s) of the fonts used in this series see below. I've been able to come pretty close but not an exact match. Just curious..... Thanks!

 OrdnanceSurveySample.jpg   185.46K   147 downloads

[Charles Syrett]

Your OS map dates from a time when lettering was done by hand. Look closely, and you'll see that different instances of the same letter are, well, different. In other words, there are no fonts per se on this map. You're not likely to get any better than whatever close matches you've already come up with.

Charles Syrett
Map Graphics
http://www.mapgraphics.com

[Pete]

It looks as though you could get away with Times New Roman (how original !) in various subsets (bold, italic ...). Also if you increase the character spacing it looks a little more hand-done. in any case a serif font would be best - maybe don't even bother looking for a hand-made font? There are plently of options for serif fonts on Dafont:

http://www.dafont.co...eme.php?cat=502

What software are you using? If you use Illustrator you can reduce your text to outlines when you're done you can add a thin pencil outline to the characters that will make things look a little more uneven.

[Dennis McClendon]

Times New Roman??? Only if you have no other serif fonts.

The letterer is more-or-less emulating a Caslon, I think. There are various "distressed" Caslons out there in the online and free-font world, and also various hand-lettering fonts (other than Tekton and Comic Sans). But one problem is that even those won't have the proper amount of variation and imperfection unless you do a lot of post-processing in Photoshop. Have you given any thought to simply having someone do the lettering by hand, with a stub or calligraphy nib? Set the type in Caslon, then trace over that with a calligraphy pen, then scan the tracing paper.

[Nicholas_C]

Thanks very much for the suggestions guys.

Understood that the letters were done by hand. I guess they didn't have Microsoft Word back then . Just trying to find a modern font that was derived from something similar.

Right now I'm using Palatino Linotype, Perpetua, and Olde English. The client is fine with it but I feel it could be improved. I will add some filters/effects for the hand-drawn look later but the characters themselves seem to lack some of the addtional serifs and descenders of the original maps. I will look into the Caslon family.

Hand-lettering would be nice but not in the budget.

As for software I'm in Arc right now but will finish in Illy/photoshop.

Cheers - N

[Charles Syrett]

Have you looked at the Bodoni fonts? Very thick-and-thin, with big serifs -- often works well for an antique look.

Charles Syrett
Map Graphics
http://www.mapgraphics.com

[Nicholas_C]

I forgot about about Bodoni. I've used Bodoni MT in the past quite a bit for water features. In this case it might work quite well.

Thanks!

[Pete]

I just had a look at some Olde Mappes I had done a while ago and the font I had used was CasablancaAntique - serif-y and a bit distressed:

 highlands.gif   596.37K   99 downloads

[Dennis McClendon]

This face traditionally was known as Caslon Antique. Casablanca Antique may be a free or derivative version.

Somehow the whole exercise of having perfectly letterspaced and aligned olde-timey type reminds me of plastic "woodgrain" panels on 1970s station wagons.

[Charles Syrett]

Somehow the whole exercise of having perfectly letterspaced and aligned olde-timey type reminds me of plastic "woodgrain" panels on 1970s station wagons.

Yup, that's what it is. Or how about distressed jeans, the ones you buy new, with holes already in them? It's a style, an effect, that some people want, for whatever reason. I've certainly done my share of faux-antique maps, complete with water lining and even faked fold shadows. And yet it's always obvious that it was done on a computer!

Charles Syrett
Map Graphics
http://www.mapgraphics.com