This font looks as Zapf Elliptical 711 BT Bold Italic but I'm not convinced

Question

This font looks as Zapf Elliptical 711 BT Bold Italic but I see some differences:

1 - The serifs does not end in a "slab" form as Zapf Elliptical 711 BT Bold Italic.

2 - The ampersand looks similar but the "t" looks more "curvy" than Zapf Elliptical 711 Bold Italic.

3 - All the "thin" strokes looks thinner than in Zapf Elliptical 711 Bold Italic.

4 - As I see all the letters looks thinner.

Sorry if my english is not good.

Thanks in advance, Marcelo.

Comments

How old is the source of your sample? That can give us clues about the type or the way it was printed.

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The source is from February of this year. I only have a scan. I think is a flexographic work and maybe an improper pressure settings has caused the "eroded" or deformed borders of the letters. Maybe this caused the deformation of the Zapf Elliptical 711 Bold Italic that I see as another font. But as I mentioned in point 2 the bar of the "T" in the ampersand looks more curvy than in Zapf Elliptical 711 Bold Italic.

Thank you for your time Stewf,

Marcelo

Answer 1

As you suspect, I think the reproduction quality is affecting the serifs and weight. Otherwise, these shapes precisely match Hermann Zapf’s Melior, the basis for this particular font. There are a variety of digital versions of Melior, including foundry-specific releases like Bitstream’s Zapf Elliptical 711 and URW’s Latino. Of those, Zapf Elliptical 711 has the sharpest outstroke on the ampersand, so that seems the best bet.