Light sans serif used as the text face of "Queer London", a 2020 book that centers on the LGBTQ history of London.

Question

Hello everyone,

I doubt if this is a Nimbus, Helvetica or Arial. Could anyone please help me with this issue?

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Answer 1

But it does look like Helvetica. What makes you think it is not … ?

Comments

Agreed, specifically Helvetica Neue Light. A generic choice, to be sure.

 

The title on the cover and the display type inside is Albertus, which makes a bit more sense for the subject matter. The designer of Albertus, Berthold Wolpe, was a German Jew who escaped to England in 1935. He used Albertus on books published by his long-time employer, Faber and Faber, for decades, and Albertus has also been used on London street signage.

---

Thank you very much, kthomps5. I knew about the story of Berrthold Wolpe and Faber, which is a beautiful story indeed.

Maybe it is a personal problem, but I have to say that I hate the way the Helvetica (Neue Light, as has been identified by kthomps5) is used throughout the book. Maybe it is the tracking and kerning. Anyway, and I don't really use to get angry at poor composition, it is a complete eyesore. 

I invite you to check some of the actual scanned pages of the books. I can't wait to see your comments on the use of Helvetica in this series of books of London.

You can find them here: https://issuu.com/accpublishinggroup/docs/queer_london_blad_4c3b9c71fb0318/1?ff

---

Yeah, that's not good. I always feel for the writers in these situations.

---

Hello Schwalbenkoenig,

It's not that I don't think it is not Helevetica. I just had the impression that it was a very concrete variety of it. My point is that the way the type is set on the inner pages of the book is not, at least to me, very aesthetically pleasing. You can see it for yourself using the link that I mentioned in my comment to kthomps5.

Anyway, thank you for your time and help.