Author Topic: Five Centuries of German Fraktur  (Read 4962 times)

Offline AndyT

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Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« on: May 14, 2015, 05:20:17 PM »
This 20-page pdf by Walden Fonts gives a potted history of Fraktur in many of its forms, from the days of Dürer to the 20th century.  This is typography rather than calligraphy if you're being picky, but it's still an interesting read - and for those who will have no truck with the printed word there's a bit about Kurrent and Sütterlin.  There's a section on typesetting conventions which answered a few questions which had been nagging me, such as how do you emphasise a word within a body of Black Letter text, and when should you use a round "s" instead of a ʃ.  Come to think of it, it's entirely possible that I'm the only one who finds such things interesting.   ;)

The link goes direct to the pdf, so it'll either open or download depending on your browser and how it's set up.

Five Centuries of German Fraktur

Alternatively you can visit this page which has a few downloadables; the Fraktur book is "The Gutenberg Press - Manual".

Offline prasad

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2015, 12:56:24 AM »
Again,  a wonderful link Andy.

Just curious to know how much of your computer's hard drive(s) is filled with books on calligraphy.  Most of the posts in the Library are courtesy AndyT  :)

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Offline AndyT

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2015, 03:13:39 AM »
Now, that's a good question: the answer is not much as it happens.  The backup drive is another matter entirely!  :)

Offline chiarag

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2015, 10:49:43 AM »
thanks for sharing

Offline Roseann

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2015, 09:47:16 PM »
Yes, thank you Andy!
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Offline tintenfuchs

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2015, 08:27:19 AM »
Very cool, thanks, Andy!
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Offline ericp

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2015, 10:01:52 PM »
Ha ha this is so funny...  Allow me a slight digression...
In the PDF near the end, that diagram of the Rhinocerus... it is the *same* as the leader of the old weirdo political party in Québec called the Rhinoceros Party, Cornelius the 1st (I swear I am not making this up...)   :P
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros_Party_of_Canada_%281963%E2%80%9393%29

Having said this, the Sütterlin handwriting is really superb.  Thanks for the share.

I find it fascinating how long the Germans clung to Fraktur & co. before moving on to roman type.  I remember Fraktur from my days as a youth collecting stamps from pre-WW II Germany.  To me it's just so hard to read.


Offline AndyT

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2015, 10:21:58 AM »
That's Dürer's Rhinoceros.  If you do a google image search you'll find some amusing reinterpretations.  :)

At this point I really ought to give a shout out for the ultimate coffee table book for German Gothic typography enthusiasts, Fraktur Mon Amour.  Despite the title it covers Bastarda, Rotunda, Textura and any number of variants ancient and modern - it's quite overwhelming actually.  My thanks to Scarlet Blue for putting me onto that one.

Offline ericp

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2015, 10:45:20 AM »
At this point I really ought to give a shout out for the ultimate coffee table book for German Gothic typography enthusiasts, Fraktur Mon Amour.  Despite the title it covers Bastarda, Rotunda, Textura and any number of variants ancient and modern - it's quite overwhelming actually.  My thanks to Scarlet Blue for putting me onto that one.
Wow... "Porn Bible style"...  :o  :D   Amazing!

Offline idrawletters

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2015, 02:20:44 AM »
Thank you so much for sharing Andy! You're definitely not the only one who finds those nuggets of typographic information handy! :)
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Offline Estefa

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #10 on: February 25, 2016, 03:05:43 AM »
A late thank you, Andy, for posting that :)! I just found now the time to browse through the link!
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Offline Faeleia

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Re: Five Centuries of German Fraktur
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2017, 10:14:38 PM »
Thanks Andy! :D It looks interesting! I downloaded it to read later. :)