Ludwig & Mayer
Encyclopedia
Ludwig & Mayer was a German
type foundry
in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
. Many important designers worked for the Ludwig and Mayer type foundry, including Heinrich Jost, Karlgeorg Hoefer
, Helmut Matheis, and most notably Jakob Erbar
, whose Erbar Book
was one of the first geometric sans-serif typefaces, predating both Paul Renner's
Futura
and Rudolf Koch's
Kabel
by some five years. Starting in 1925, Ludwig & Mayer types were distributed in the United States by Continental Type Founders Association
. When the foundry ceased operations in 1984, rights to the typefaces was transmitted to the Neufville Foundry.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
type foundry
Type foundry
A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Originally, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and Monotype machines designed to be printed on letterpress printers...
in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Many important designers worked for the Ludwig and Mayer type foundry, including Heinrich Jost, Karlgeorg Hoefer
Karlgeorg Hoefer
Karlgeorg Hoefer was a German calligrapher and typographer.Hoefer was born in Schlesisch-Drehnow in Silesia. He taught typography at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach...
, Helmut Matheis, and most notably Jakob Erbar
Jakob Erbar
Jakob Erbar was a German professor of graphic design and type designer. Trained as a typesetter for the Dumont-Schauberg Printing Works, before studying under Fritz Helmut Ehmcke and Anna Simons. Erbar went on to teach in 1908 at the Städtischen Berufsschule and from 1919 to his death at the...
, whose Erbar Book
Erbar (typeface)
In typography, Erbar or Erbar-Grotesk was the first geometric sans-serif typeface ever created. Designer Jakob Erbar's aim was to design a printing type which would be free of all individual characteristics, possess thoroughly legible letter forms, and be a purely typographic creation...
was one of the first geometric sans-serif typefaces, predating both Paul Renner's
Paul Renner
Paul Renner was a typeface designer, most notably of Futura. He was born in Wernigerode, Germany and died in Hödingen....
Futura
Futura (typeface)
In typography, Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed in 1927 by Paul Renner. It is based on geometric shapes that became representative visual elements of the Bauhaus design style of 1919–1933...
and Rudolf Koch's
Rudolf Koch
thumb|250px|[[Fraktur]] fonts by Rudolf KochRudolf Koch was a leading German calligrapher, typographic artist and teacher, born in Nuremberg. He was primarily a calligrapher with the Gebr. Klingspor foundry. He created several typefaces, in both fraktur and roman styles...
Kabel
Kabel (typeface)
Kabel is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by German typeface designer Rudolf Koch, and released by the Klingspor foundry in 1927. The face was named to honor the newly completed trans-Atlantic telephone cable...
by some five years. Starting in 1925, Ludwig & Mayer types were distributed in the United States by Continental Type Founders Association
Continental Type Founders Association
Continental Type Founders Association was founded by Melbert Brinckerhoff Cary Jr. in 1925 to distribute foundry type imported from European foundries. The influence of more modern European type design was thus felt in the United States for the first time, and American foundries responded by...
. When the foundry ceased operations in 1984, rights to the typefaces was transmitted to the Neufville Foundry.