Ferdinand Theinhardt Schriftgiesserei Berlin

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Ferdinand Theinhardt Schriftgiesserei Berlin [Ferdinand Theinhardt] Berlin-based foundry from the 19th century, whose typefaces included Aldeutsch (aka Psalterium, or as Mainzer Gotisch, 1851) and Monumental (1863: roman caps). Ferdinand Theinhardt (b. Halle, 1820, d. Berlin, 1909) ran it. Around 1880, he published four weights of a Royal Grotesk (in 4 styles) for the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin (Königlich-Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin; see, e.g., here or here; here is a sample of his 1895 Breite Grotesk). In 1885 he sold his own type foundry---Ferd. Theinhardt Schriftgiesserei Berlin---to Brothers Mosig and Oskar Mommen. In 1908, Berthold AG bought that foundry, and published the Royal fonts under the new name Akzidenz Grotesk. Theinhardt's Royal Grotesk became internationally known as Berthold's Akzidenz Grotesk, which some call the godmother of all modern grotesque typefaces. [Note: Akzidenz Grotesk is often given the 1898 date.] Theinhardt was also known as a specialist in cutting hieroglyphs. Author with R. Lepsius of Liste de Hieroglyphischen Typen aus der Schriftgiesserei F. Theinhardt (1875, G. Vogt, Buchdrückerei der Königl. Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin). It lists hieroglyphic symbols available from Theinhardt's foundry. Royal Grotesk was digitally released by Berthold Types (an American company with no legal connection with the original H. Berthold) in 2009. Typedia link from which I quote: Akzidenz (sic) Grotesk was released by Berthold in Berlin in 1898, according to their own literature. It was obviously based on typefaces already offered by other foundries, some of which were later taken over by Berthold. One of the contemporaries of AG was Royal Grotesk from Theinhardt. In Berthold's specimen booklet no. 429, which was most likely released in 1954, Akzidenz Grotesk Mager (light) was still referred to as Royal Grotesk, in brackets. Berthold acquired a typeface in 1908, (when they bought Ferd.Theinhardt) which they released as Akzidenz Grotesk Halbfett (medium). They kept adding weights, some of them from other typefaces, acquired from other foundries. Every foundry had a version of that type of face, more often than not available in a few sizes only. The original series remained quite divers, individual weights showing not much resemblance but in name. It was mainly a marketing and naming success. That only changed when they cut Series 57, and then Series 58, named for the years of release. These had some sizes (but not all) recut under the direction of Günter Gerhard Lange, who was their (freelance) artistic director at the time. GG Lange always claimed that Berthold had taken some AG weights and sizes from Popplbaum in Vienna, and that is supposed to account for the release date of 1896 or 1898. Popplbaum was not bought by Berthold until 1926. Berthold did take different fonts from all the foundries they bought (and obviously also made deal without buying a foundry) and rename them until they got a family together which still showed the original influences, sometimes even from size to size. The deals between foundries (by 1924 Berthold had bought 17 foundries, in Prague, Riga, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Moscow and St. Petersburg) have never been fully researched, and neither has the complete history of Akzidenz Grotesk been written yet. Digitizations include AltDeutsch by Gerhard Helzel. The Theinhardt family (2010, Francois Rappo, Optimo) is named after Theinhardt. Klingspor link. Credit for some images below: Danielle West.	EXTERNAL LINKS Ferdinand Theinhardt Schriftgiesserei Berlin [Buy fonts] Klingspor Museum page MyFonts search Monotype search Fontspring search Google search INTERNAL LINKS Foundries of the 19th century ⦿ Type designers ⦿ Type designers ⦿ Hieroglyphic fonts ⦿ Blackletter fonts ⦿ German type scene ⦿ Akzidenz Grotesk ⦿