Some kind of Elongated/Condensed Roman, metal type?

Question

Hi all, I have a font of metal type (24pt, no pinmark) with a condensed roman typeface that I cannot identify — proof attached. This type is from a college print shop that operated from the 1890s until the 1930s or so. Most of the other fonts we've found there are late 19th or early 20th century foundry type. There is a ditigal version of this typeface available here under the name "Elongated Roman Light," but I can't seem to find the name of the typeface this was originally based on. There is a Stephenson Blake typeface from the 1930s called "Elongated Roman" but that doesn't seem to be this either.

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Answer 1

Hi Noam, I can’t tell you where exactly this design originated – the £ and $ included in your font suggest an Anglo-American origin. What I can tell you is that it went in Germany under names including Renaissance schlank and Skelett-Antiqua, with lowercase. Schelter & Giesecke showed it in a 1886 specimen as Schmale Renaissance.

Comments

Thank you @Florian!!! This tip led me to identifying the Anglo-American version of this typeface: it was marketed as "Lightface Celtic Condensed" by a number of American foundries in the 1880s, and then by ATF in the 1890s (who probably cast the font that we have). Thank you!

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Top notch, thank YOU! I made an entry for Lightface Celtic Condensed. Please let me know if you come across showings that predate the 1887 specimen by Palmer & Rey, or such that include a lowercase.

If you ever print something nice from that type, feel invited to post pictures to Fonts In Use.