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Alter Littera [José Alberto Mauricio]

Spanish foundry, est. ca. 2009, and on the web since 2012. It is located in Madrid. Alter Littera's fonts and web site are designed and managed by José Alberto Mauricio, who holds a doctorate degree in Economics and Business Administration, and is Associate Professor of Econometrics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Alter Littera produces and markets opentype fonts reviving some of the most beautiful bookhands from medieval Western manuscripts, as well as some of the finest European and North-American typefaces from the mid-fifteenth through the early-twentieth centuries. The "Bookhand", "Oldtype" and "Initials" font collections cover gothic and/or blackletter letter forms.

The typefaces:

• Gutenberg (B42-type) A (Johann Gutenberg, Mainz, ca. 1455). Includes the full set of special characters, alternates and ligatures from The 42-line Bible. Under development.
• Gutenberg (B42-type) B (Johann Gutenberg, Mainz, ca. 1455). Includes the full set of special characters, alternates and ligatures from The 42-line Bible. Published as Gutenberg B in 2012, this is a clean, smooth rendition of the B42-type used by Johann Gutenberg in his famous 42-line Bible. The font includes a comprehensive set of special characters, alternates and ligatures, plus Opentype features, that can be used for typesetting (almost) exactly as in Gutenberg's Bible and later incunabula. He says: The main historical sources used during the font design process were high-resolution scans from several printings of Gutenberg's Bible. Other sources were as follows: Kapr, A. (1996), Johann Gutenberg - The Man and his Invention, Aldershot: Scolar Press (ch. 7); De Hamel, C. (2001), The Book - A History of The Bible, London: Phaidon Press (ch. 8); Füssel, S. (2005), Gutenberg and the impact of printing, Burlington: Ashgate (ch. 1); and Man, J. (2009), The Gutenberg Revolution, London: Bantam (ch. 7).
• Gutenberg (B42-type) C (Johann Gutenberg, Mainz, ca. 1455). Includes the full set of special characters, alternates and ligatures from The 42-line Bible. Published in 2012 as Gutenberg C, this is a slightly roughened version of the Oldtype "Gutenberg B" Font, simulating irregularities and ink spreads associated with old metal types, papers and parchments.
• Psalterium (Psalter-type) (Peter Schoeffer, Mainz, 1457). Includes the full set of special characters, alternates and ligatures from The Mainz Psalter (Psalterium Moguntinum). He writes: A clean, smooth adaptation of the magnificent gothic types used by Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer in their famous Mainz Psalter (Psalterium Moguntinum) of 1457, also used in their Canon of the Mass (Canon Missae) of 1458, and in their Benedictine Psalter (Psalterium Benedictinum) of 1459. [Although these works were published after Gutenberg's break with Fust, it is generally agreed that Gutenberg was working along with Fust and Schöffer on the Mainz Psalter while the 42-line Bible was still being printed.] In addition to the usual standard characters for typesetting modern texts, the font includes a comprehensive set of special characters, uncial initials (adapted from both the Mainz Psalter and early sixteenth-century Dutch types by Henric Pieterszoon), alternates and ligatures, plus Opentype features, that can be used for typesetting (almost) exactly as in the Mainz Psalter and later incunabula.
• Oude Hollandse (Henric Pieterszoon "Lettersnijder", Antwerp, 1492). Under development.
• French Textura (Joos Lambrecht, Ghent, 1541). Under development.
• Flamand A (Hendrik van den Keere, Antwerp, 1571). Under development.
• Flamand B (Hendrik van den Keere, Antwerp, 1571). Under development.
• Nederduits (Johann M. Fleischmann, Haarlem, 1733). Under development.
• Psalter Gotisch (Benjamin Krebs Nachfolger, Frankfurt am Main, 1890). Under development.
• Manuskript Gotisch (Bauersche Giesserei, Frankfurt am Main, 1899). Under development.
• Munthe Schrift (Gerhard Munthe, Offenbach am Main, 1904), Under development.
• Deutsche Schrift (Rudolf Koch, Offenbach am Main, 1910). Includes both normal and large, ornamental capitals (two sets), plus several finial characters and ornaments from Koch's original designs. He writes:A comprehensive and faithful rendition of Rudolf Koch's first release, usually referred to as "Fette Deutsche Schrift" or "Koch-Schrift". In addition to the regular character set, the font includes a large number of alternates and ligatures, plus two sets of ornamental initials (Initialen mit Zierstrichen und Punkten zur Koch-Schrift, and Initialen zur halbfetten deutschen Schrift). The main sources used during the font design process were a sample page from Hendlmeier, W. (1994), Kunstwerke der Schrift, Hannover: Bund für Deutsche Schrift und Sprache (p. 164), and several specimen sheets from the Gebrüder Klingspor Type Foundry for Koch's Deutsche Schrift type family.
• Maximilian (Rudolf Koch, Offenbach am Main, 1914). Includes normal, small (Klein), and roman (Antiqua) capitals, plus ornamental capitals and alternates (Zierbuchstaben). Under development.
• Wilhelm Klingspor Schrift (Rudolf Koch, Offenbach am Main, 1925). Includes both normal (wide) and narrow capitals, plus the full set of alternates, ligatures and finial characters from Koch's original designs.
• Caslon Gotisch (D. Stempel A.G., Frankfurt am Main, 1926). Produced in 2012 as Caslon Gotisch, it is a faithful adaptation of the "Caslon-Gotisch" type acquired (among several other types) by D. Stempel A.G. in 1919 from the Leipzig printer Wilhelm E. Drugulin, and further developed by Stempel in later years. Details: In addition to the usual standard characters for typesetting in modern Western languages, the font includes a comprehensive set of special characters, alternates and ligatures, plus Opentype features, that can be used for typesetting as in antique writings and printings. The main sources used during the font design process were as follows: A sample page from Typographische Mitteilungen - XXIII Jahrgang - Heft 2 (1926), and a sample page from Hendlmeier, W. (1994), Kunstwerke der Schrift, Hannover: Bund für Deutsche Schrift und Sprache (p. 37).
• Gótico Cervantes (Fundición Tipográfica Richard Gans, Madrid, 1928). Under development.
• Wallau (a rotunda by Rudolf Koch, Offenbach am Main, 1930). Includes German, Uncial, and Ornamental capitals. Under development.
• Alter Gothic (Alter Littera, Madrid, 2012), or Alter Gothisch. This is Alter Littera's first original design. They write: Two specific sources must be acknowledeged: (1) the "Black" type from William Caslon's A Specimen of Printing Types (1785), and (2) the "Caslon Gotisch" type by D. Stempel A.G. (1926).
• Gothic A. After late Carolingian and early Gothic manuscripts (12th century). Under development.
• Gothic B. After Erhard Ratdolt's Lombardic Capitals (1491). Under development.
• Gothic C. After Henric Pieterszoon's Uncials (1508). A comprehensive set of initials (usually referred to as Uncials, Lombardic Initials, or Lombards) of the Germanic variety, designed after Henric Pieterszoon's Gothise Monnikke Letteren as appearing in Enschedé, J. (1768), Proef van Letteren, Haarlem (p. 120); also mentioned as Great Primer Uncials and 2-line Brevier Uncials in Vervliet, H.D.L. (1968), Sixteenth-Century Printing Types of the Low Countries, Amsterdam: Hertzberger (pp. 54-55, and 212-213).
• ATF Cincinnati, ATF Caxton, ATF Missal. From American Type Founders Company's American Specimen Book of Type Styles (1912). Under development.
• Initials Bergling (2012, Alter Littera) is a comprehensive set of initials (usually referred to as Uncials, Lombardic Initials, or Lombards) of the French variety, adapted from Bergling's book Art Alphabets and Lettering (Second Edition) (1918, Chicago: Blakely-Oswald Printing Company).
• Bergling B. From J.M. Bergling's Art Alphabets and Lettering (1918). Under development.
• Morris. From William Morris's The Kelmscott Chaucer (1896). Under development.
• Initials ATF Cloister (2012). After F.W. Goudy's Cloister Initials (1917).
• Roman Square Capital. From 1st century B.C. onwards. Under development.
• Roman Rustic. 1st to 6th centuries. Under development.
• Uncial. 3rd to 6th centuries. Under development.
• Artificial Uncial. 6th to 10th centuries. Under development.
• Roman Half-Uncial. 3rd to 9th centuries. Under development.
• Insular Majuscule. 6th to 9th centuries. Under development.
• Insular Minuscule. From 6th century onwards. Under development.
• Luxeuil Minuscule. 7th and 8th centuries. Under development.
• Beneventan Minuscule. 8th to 13th centuries. Under development.
• Carolingian Minuscule. 8th to mid-12th centuries. Under development.
• Early Gothic. 11th and 12th centuries. Under development.
• Gothic Textura Quadrata. 13th to 15th centuries. Under development.
• Gothic Textura Prescisus. 13th to 15th centuries. Under development.
• Gothic Rotunda. 12th to 16th centuries. Under development.
• Gothic Littera Bastarda. From 13th century onwards. Under development.
• Fraktur. From 15th century onwards. Under development.
• Humanistic Book Script. From 15th century onwards. Under development.
• Humanistic Cursive. From 15th century onwards. Under development.
• ATF Missal Caxton (2012): A comprehensive set of initials, frames and borders, adapted from American Type Founders (ATF) Company's American Specimen Book of Type Styles, Jersey City, 1912 (pp. 944-5). The font contains over one hundred glyphs, including clean renditions of both Missal Initials and Caxton Initials, plus adaptations of Department Store Initials and French Cast Squares. Caxton Initials were first designed by F. Goudy in 1905. Missal Initials is originally due to Will Bradley in 1904.
• Alter Headletter (2012). An original from Alter Littera in the style of Century Bold Condensed.
• The Oldtype Gutenberg A Font (2012, free) is a free abridged edition of the full-featured Gutenberg B and Gutenberg C fonts.

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