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J.G. Schelter&Giesecke [Johann Schelter]

Leipzig-based foundry started in 1819 by punchcutter Johann Schelter and typefounder Christian Friedrich Giesecke (1793-1850). It evolved in 1946 into Typoart in Dresden, the official East German government's press. Its early history is told in Schelter & Giesecke 75 Jahre (1894, Leipzig).

The descendants of Giesecke were also involved, because we find patents filed in the USA by Georg F. Giesecke for typefaces such as Italian Renaissance (1883, blackletter), an ornamental caps typeface (1889), a boxed alphabet (1881), a Celtic caps typeface (1883), Gothic Initials (1883), Zierschrift 1328 (1889), Zierschrift 1400 (1889), Akantrea (1883, borders and ornaments), an early border typeface (1878), Silhouette Border Series 63 (1884), a Lombardic typeface (1885), some script typefaces (1887, 1892), Kartuschen Einfassung serie 72 (1887, ornaments), an ornamental caps typeface with angels (1888), Shieldface A (1881, caps), Shieldface Combinationpieces (1881, ornamental) and Toskanische Egyptienne Initialen (1889; revival by Dieter Steffmann in 2003).

Typefaces include the script typefaces Hispania Script (1890, a pirate map face), Koralle (1915), Flamme (1933, brush-like script), Fanal (1933, angular blackletterish script face), Sakia (1931, by Jan Tschichold), Shakespeare Mediäval (1930), Koralle (1929; Georg Kraus mentions the date 1915, as does Nick Curtis, who based his Koralle NF (2012) and Koralle Rounded NF (2014) on this typeface; see also the recent revival Koralle RMU (2018, Ralph M. Unger)), Belwe (1929, by Georg Belwe), Gnom (1928), breite Gnom (1928), Perkeo (1928), Tauperle (1928), Kolibri (1928), Wieland (1927, Georg Belwe), Belwe Antiqua (1927, Belwe), Alt Latein (1924, modified modern), Dolmen (1923, Max Salzmann), Titan and breite Titan (1915), Watteau-Schrift and Watteau Schmuck (1913: aka Kartenschrift Watteau; a non-connected script; ornaments by artists Erich Gruner, Professor Flinzer and Louis Oppenheim), Die Zierde (1913, ornaments by F.H. Ernst Schneidler), Salzmann Antiqua (1913, Max Salzmann), Monos (1912), Salzmann Fraktur and Kräftige Salzmann Fraktur (1911, Max Salzmann), Salzmannschrift and halbfette and schmale Salzmannschrift (1910, Max Salzmann), Roland Grotesk and Roland Kursiv (1910), Rundgotisch (1909; others say 1902-1903), Mimosenzierat (1909, Heinz Keune), Meierschrift (1904-1908, C.F. Meier), Walgunde mit Zieraten (1908, Eduard Lautenbach), Schmale Anker Romanisch (1908, a German romanesque), Leipziger Lateinschrift (1908), Liane (1908), Schmale fette Schelterantiqua (1908), Kalender Vignetten (1907, Max Salzmann), Initialen zur Rousseau (1907), Fee (1907, handwriting), Fata Morgana (1907, handwriting), Schmale fette Edelgotisch und Zierat (1907), Schmale Medieäval (1840: revived in 2020 by Ralph M. Unger as Schmale Mediaeval), Akropolis Ornamente (1907), Patriz Huber Ornamente (1906, Patriz Huber), Reklameschrift Radium (1904-1906), Schelter Kursiv (1906), Schelter Antiqua (1906---and its extensions in 1907, Leipziger Lateinschrift and Tauchnitz-Antiqua; revived in 2020 by Oliver Weiss as Schelter Antiqua WF), Fafner (1905, + Schraffierte; revived by Oliver Weiss in 2020 as WF Fafner), Biedermeierzierat (1905), Rosenzierat Serien 534 und 535 (1905, Heinz Keune), Accidenz-Zierat (1902), Edelgotisch (1901, Albert Knab), Belwe Antiqua (Georg Belwe), Belwe Kursiv (Georg Belwe), Schul-Fraktur (1886, + Fette, 1890, + Schmale fette, 1918; digitization by Delbanco as DS-Schulfraktur in 2001), Gutenberg-Gotisch (1885; the original by F.W. Bauer and Th. Friebel dates from 1880; Halbfette Gutenberg-Gotisch was done in 1890), Borghese (1904, art nouveau: revived in 2015 by Ralph M. Unger as Borghese), Münster-Gotisch (1896; revived in 2009 by Paulo W as Münster Gotische; Gerhard Helzel also did a revival), Jugend-Fraktur (ca. 1900), Breite Kanzlei (1835; other publications mention 1890...), Halbfette Kanzlei (1860), Baldur (1895; for a digital revival, see Alan Jay Prescott's New Baldur APT, 1996, and Dieter Steffmann's Baldur from 2000), Moderne enge halbfette Fraktur (1886), Schmale Steinschrift (1898, Grotesk), Schlanke Grotesk (1886, Grotesk), Breite Grotesk (1886, a typeface that influenced the Bauhaus movement and that become the forefather of Helvetica; revived by Nick Curtis as Schelter Grotesk NF in 2010, and by Arve Båtevik as Sagen Grotesk in 2015), Breite Halbfette Grotesk and Breite magere Grotesk. Ornaments found in their 1902 catalog formed the inspiration for the digital family Allerlei Zierat (2008, Intellecta Design).

Comments by Paul Hunt in 2005 on Schelter Antiqua (1906): Schelter & Giesecke had launched Schelter-Antiqua as their own original in-house design with very elaborate and beautiful specimens, an essay on its features, and a warning that they had protected it under German law (gesetzlich geschützt). It was intended as a very serious contender in the legibility stakes and the Schelter & Giesecke specimen contains a fascinating 4-page article on it. There is much emphasis on the care put into avoiding over-fine hairlines and achieving good spacing. Benton's 1914 ATF typeface Souvenir is a cuddly soft version of Schelter Antiqua. Ed Benguiat (Photo-Lettering) did a faithful phototypesetting revival of Benton's typeface in his Souvenir Graphic (1967) and Souvernir Balloon, and that typeface in turn evolved (and was expanded) into the digital typeface ITC Souvenir.

Books: Probensammlung Schelter&Giesecke, Zweite Folge (1894), Probensammlung (1888), Type specimen book of Schelter & Giesecke (1899), Schriften und Zierat (1909), Type specimen book of Schelter & Giesecke (1912), Type specimen book of Schelter & Giesecke (ca. 1932).

Scans of some typefaces: Altromanisch Kursiv, Cancellaresca, Dante, Edda (art nouveau), Edelgotisch-Initialen, Edelgotisch (art nouveau), Galathea, Hispania, Iris, Müstergotisch, Petrarka (1900, an art nouveau typeface revived in 2012 by Nick Curtis as Petrushka NF), Rundgotisch, Sylphide, (see Hispania Script, 2008, Tom Wallace), Thalia (art nouveau), Tintoretto (for digital versions, see Dieter Steffmann (2000) or Ralph M. Unger, 2009), Washington, Altromanische Antiqua, Halbfette Altromanisch Versalien, Romanische Antiqua, Romanische Kursive No 20, Schmale Halbfette Romanisch, Schmale Muenster Gotisch, Sylphide, Sylphide.

View some digital typefaces that are derived from the Schelter & Giesecke library.

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Foundries of the 19th century ⦿ Extinct 20th century foundries ⦿ German type scene ⦿ Art Nouveau typefaces ⦿ Blackletter fonts ⦿ Dingbats (original) ⦿ Ornamental caps typefaces ⦿ Art Nouveau typefaces ⦿ Chancery hand, cancellaresca ⦿ Rotunda / Rundgotisch ⦿ Nick Curtis ⦿ Tuscan fonts ⦿ Dieter Steffmann ⦿