The Richard Gans Foundry is a defunct Spanish foundry which existed from 1888-1975. Richard Gans was the son of a medic from Karlsbad, Austria. He emigrated to Spain in 1874, and died in 1925. Until 1936 the foundry was led by Mauricio Wiesenthal, but in 1936, his children, Ricardo, Manuel and Amalia Gans Gimeno, now adults, took over. Ricardo and Manuel were assassinated during the Civil War. The foundry was used to make ammunition, and after the war, Amalia Gans and then Reinaldo Leger Tittel started anew in run-down buildings. The foundry operated roughly from 1881-1975. Throughout its existence, types were designed by a number of people from within and outside the foundry. Designers included José Ausejo Matute (d. 1998), Antonio Bilbao (who created Escorial in 1960), the son Ricardo Gans, and Carl Winkow. In the post-war era, Reinaldo Leger and Amalia Garcia Gans made typographic decisions on which types to produce, and acted as typographic directors. Richard Gans' grandson, José Antonio Gans García, is still alive today.

Six specimen books were published with titles like Fundicion Richard Gans Muestrario Edicion V. The first and second editions, rare books indeed, were published between 1883 and 1903. Editions 3 through 6 appeared in the period 1903-1922. The 1922 edition is here in its entirety (thanks to J.R. Penela). See also here. In 1965, a small catalog was published under the name Tipos Gans. The National Library in Madrid has Muestrario de Richard Gans (Madrid, Richard Gans, 1903, 410 pages) and Catalogo provisional (Madrid, 1950).

On the web, the most complete discussion of Richard Gans is in the PDF file Fundicion Tipografica Richard Gans Historia y Actividad 1888-1975 (2004) by Dimas García Moreno and José Ramón Penela.

Catalog of font names.

Fonts: Until 1925, there were basically no original types. Almost everything in the specimen books of that era is due to German foundries, principally those of Wilhelm Woellmer in Berlin and Edmund Koch in Magdeburg. Some of those typefaces in common with Koch include Grotesca Chupada Redonda, Ronda Universal. Early types in this category also include Escritura Selecta, Escritura Favorita, Escritura Luis XV, Gótico Globo (blackletter), Gótico Uncial (blackletter), Nueva Titular Adornada, Tipos de Adorno, Latina Moderna, Grotesca Ancha, Grotesca and Grotesca Chupada. Many, if not most of these, saw the light at the end of the 19th century and survived until 1965. It is fashionable now to revive all the faces. Nick Curtis created a few (see below), and Paul W (Intellecta Design, Brazil) did many more. The original Gans types can be categorized as follows:

• Aldine.
• Anchas Americanas.
• Antigua El Greco (+Adornada, Cursiva, Negro, Negro Cursiva, Seminegro, Seminegro Cursiva, Titular), aka El Greco Antique. Weights include Antigua El Greco (1924), El Greco Adornado Titular (with Mexican-style sawteeth). Greco was the inspiration for Melina BT (Nick Curtis, 2003). Curtis' Melina Fancy is based on Greco Adornado. For a free version of Adornado, see GrekoDeco (1992, Dave Fabik). Revived as Kifisia Antigua NF in 2005 by Nick Curtis.
• Antigua. See the digital family Gans Antigua (2006, Paulo W). The Antigua series includes weights like Esbelta, Estrecha, Heraldo, Heraldo Cursiva, I, I Cursiva, I Titular, Mercantil, Negra, Prolongada, Universal, Universal Cursiva, Universal Negra, Universal Negra Cursiva, Universal Negra Estrecha, Universal Seminegra, Veneciana, Veneciana Cursiva, Veneciana Cursiva Fantasia.
• Antigua Manuscrito: a semiscript face designed by Hermann Delitsch at the Royal Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig. Delitsch was Tschichold's teacher. Digitized as a family by Paulo W as Gans Antigua Manuscrito (2006).
• Antigua Progreso (1923) (+Cursiva, Negra): an interesting serif face. A digital version called Bellini was made by A. Pat Hickson, 1992. Linotype sells Greco (DsgnHaus, 1996) which according to some typophiles really is Progreso.
• Arabe.
• Atlántida.
• Azures.
• Bodoni and Bodoni Redonda.
• Carmen, Carmen Adornada, Velázquez, Españolas Adornadas, Antigua Adornada, Utopian, Tipos de Adorno, Americanas (Tuscan style), Americanas-Titular, Elzevirianas Adornadas: Late 19-th century style display faces. Paulo W (Intellecta Design) created the beautiful digital family Gans Tipo Adorno (2006). He also made the family Gans Titular Adornada (2006).
• Cartel.
• Cursiva Comercial.
• Dalia (or Ibarra Vaciada): a two-line display face. Similar to Delphian Open Titling (Middleton, Ludlow, 1928).
• Egipcia in weights called Estrecha, Negra and Nueva. Egipcia Progreso (1923, short ascenders): slab serif styles.
• Elzeviriano: Anchas, Adornado, B, B Cursiva, Chupado, Ibarra, Ibarra Cursiva, Ibarra Titular, Negro.
• Escorial: a display face with Koch Antiqua influences, designed ca. 1960 by Antonio Bilbao. Additional weights include Cursiva, Seminegra and Titular.
• Escritura Juventud (1950, Joan Trochut Blanchard): a great script with lots of identity and swing. Other Escritura styles: Decorativa, Gloria reformada, Isabel, Luis XV, Selecta.
• Espanolas.
• Etienne Ancha.
• Filetes de Bronce, Filetes de Metal.
• Fulgor (1930): a connected script face.
• Gacela.
• Gaviota.
• Gloria (already listed above under Escritura), Gloria Reformada (1930): a connected script family. Gloria was revived by Nick Curtis in 2005 as Pismo Clambake NF.
• Gótico Cervantes (1928): blackletter with regular and ornamental caps.
• Gótico Globo: art nouveau style with blackletter influences.
• Gótico Uncial (blackletter).
• Graciosa (+Gris).
• Griego.
• Grotesca Ancha (+Fina, Negra, Nueva, Vaciada).
• Grotesca Antigua.
• Grotesca Chupada and Grotesca Chupada Redonda: a rounded sans.
• Grotesca Colón.
• Grotesca Compacta.
• Grotesca Cursiva (+Seminegra).
• Grotesca Estrecha Hercules.
• Grotesca Mercantil, Grotesca Mercurio, Grotesca Negra Cursiva.
• Grotesca Ideal (Negra, Fina, Entrelina), Grotesca Favorita, Grotesca Reformada.
• Grotesca Radio: a geometric no-contrast sans. Styles: Editorial, Estrecha Fina, Estrecha Negra, Fina, Fina Cursiva, Negra, Negra Cursiva, Seminegra, Seminegra Cursiva.
• Helenica (+Ancha, Ancha Negra, Ancha Seminegra, Cursiva, Seminegra).
• Ibarra (1931) and Ibarra Cursiva: a tall ascender garalde family. Ibarra Negra, Ibarra Negra estrecha, Ibarra Vaciada, Ibarra Redonda. See also under Elzeviriano above. Iniciales Ibarra.
• Imán: a shadow headline all-caps face.
• Inglesa Excelsior.
• Italiana (Cursiva, Titular), 1951, a black caps face. Italienne (Chupada, Moderna).
• Luxor (+Cursiva, Negro, Negro Estrecho).
• Manos (manicules, fists).
• Maquina de Escrebir.
• Maruxa.
• Normanda (Ancha Negra, estrecha Negra).
• Nueva Antigua No. 1 and No. 2. Nuevas Titulares Adornadas.
• Orlas de Linea.
• Preciosa: Showboat-style Western look.
• Primavera: a condensed sans. Paulo W digitized a condensed family called Gans Lath Modern (2006).
• Radio Bicolor: a headline sans family.
• Radio Gris. Scans of the Radio catalog of 1930.
• Radio Lumina: a display sans. Digitized as Gans Radio Lumina (2006) by Paulo W at Intellecta Design.
• Regina (+Estrecha), Helios, Vulcano (1920s): art nouveau style. Ludlow's Vulcan Bold is based on Vulcano.
• Renacimiento Ancha.
• Romana I (+Cursiva, Egipcia, Estrecha, Negra).
• Royalty.
• Senefelder: engraved look all caps.
• Talla Dulce (+Cursiva).
• Tipo Sombreado, Tipos Adornados, Tipos de Texto.
• Titania (1933): an elegant two-line poster face. See the revival Faerie Queen NF (2006, Nick Curtis).
• Veneziana Negra.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Fundicion Tipografica Richard Gans
Google search page

INTERNAL LINKS
The Spanish type scene ⦿ Extinct 20th century foundries ⦿ Art Nouveau typefaces ⦿ Fists, pointing hands ⦿ Nick Curtis ⦿ Typefaces related to radio ⦿ Modern style [Bodoni, Didot, Walbaum, Thorowgood, Computer Modern, etc.] ⦿ Uncial typefaces ⦿

Luc Devroye ⦿ School of Computer Science ⦿ McGill University Montreal, Canada H3A 2K6 ⦿ lucdevroye@gmail.com ⦿ http://luc.devroye.org ⦿ http://luc.devroye.org/fonts.html