Sol Hess
Encyclopedia
Sol Hess was an American typeface designer. After a three-year scholarship course at Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Design
, he began at Lanston Monotype in 1902, rising to typographic manager in 1922. He was a close friend and collaborator with Monotype art director Frederic Goudy
, succeeding him in that position in 1940. Hess was particularly adept at expanding type faces into whole families, allowing him to complete 85 faces for Monotype, making him America’s fourth most prolific type designer. While he was with Monotype, Hess worked on commissions for many prominent users of type, including, Crowell-Collier
, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward
, Yale University Press
, World Publishing Company, and Curtis Publishing
for whom he re-designed the typography of their Saturday Evening Post.
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
The University of the Arts is one of the United States' oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia...
, he began at Lanston Monotype in 1902, rising to typographic manager in 1922. He was a close friend and collaborator with Monotype art director Frederic Goudy
Frederic Goudy
Frederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
, succeeding him in that position in 1940. Hess was particularly adept at expanding type faces into whole families, allowing him to complete 85 faces for Monotype, making him America’s fourth most prolific type designer. While he was with Monotype, Hess worked on commissions for many prominent users of type, including, Crowell-Collier
Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
Thomas Y. Crowell Co. was a publishing company founded by Thomas Y. Crowell in 1834 in the United States.-History:The company began publishing books in 1876, and in 1882 T. Irving Crowell joined his father in the business. Jeremiah Osborne Crowell became the sales manager.In 1909, after Thomas Y....
, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
, Yale University Press
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
, World Publishing Company, and Curtis Publishing
Curtis Publishing Company
The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, The American Home,...
for whom he re-designed the typography of their Saturday Evening Post.
Typefaces designed by Sol Hess
All faces cut by Lanston Monotype.- Hess Title + Italic (1910)
- Hess Title Italic (1911)
- Bookman seriesBookman (typeface)Bookman or Bookman Old Style is a serif typeface derived from Old Style Antique and designed by Alexander Phemister in 1858 for Miller and Richard foundry. Several American foundries copied the design, including the Bruce Type Foundry, and issued it under various names. In 1901, Bruce refitted...
based on an oldstyle antique face designed by A.C. Phemister for the Scottish foundry of Miller & Richard about 1860.- Bookman Oldstyle Condensed (1916)
- New Bookman (1927)
- Jefferson Gothic (1916), alternate characters for Benton’sMorris Fuller BentonMorris Fuller Benton was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders , for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937...
News Gothic Extra Condensed. Also cast by Baltimore Type & Composition Company as Tourist Extra Condensed. - Cochin series, based on the original by the Peignot FoundryDeberny & PeignotDeberny & Peignot was a French type foundry, created by the 1923 merger of Peignot foundry and the Laurent & Deberny foundry. It was bought by the Haas Type Foundry of Switzerland in 1972, which in turn was merged into D...
in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.- Cochin (1917)
- Cochin Italic (1921)
- Cochin Bold + Bold Italic (1921)
- Cochin Open (1927)
- Cochin Bold Tooled, was designed in house by Monotype, probably by Hess.
- Goudy Old Style series, all based on Frederic Goudy’sFrederic GoudyFrederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
Old Style- Swash capitals for Goudy Bold Italic (1919)
- Swash capitals for Goudy Handtooled Italic (1922)
- Goudy Heavy Face Open (1926)
- Goudy Heavy Face Condensed (1927)
- Goudy Text Shaded, was designed in house by Monotype, probably by Hess.
- Hess Old StyleHess Old StyleHess Old Style is an old style serif font, designed by Sol Hess for Lanston Monotype based on designs of Nicolas Janson from 1479. It was released in 1920 with a companion italic made available in 1923...
(1920), based on faces by Nicolas JensonNicolas JensonNicolas Jenson was a French engraver, pioneer printer and type designer who carried out most of his work in Venice. Jenson acted as Master of the French Royal Mint at Tours, and is accredited with being the creator of the first model roman type...
.- Hess Old Style Italic (1922)
- Hess Bold (1922), a companion face for Goudy’sFrederic GoudyFrederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
Goudy Light.- Hess Bold Italic (1924)
- Italian Old Style Wide (1924), designed as a companion to Goudy’sFrederic GoudyFrederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
Italian Old Style. - Scotch Roman seriesScotch RomanScotch Roman refers to a class of typefaces popular in the early nineteenth century, particularly in the United States and to a lesser extent the United Kingdom...
based on faces cut by the ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
foundry of Alexander Wilson & Son before 1833.- Scotch Open Shaded Italic (1924)
- Swash initials for Scotch Roman Italic
- Kennerley Open Capitals (1925), designed as a companion to Goudy’sFrederic GoudyFrederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
Kennerley Open. - Heavyface Condensed (1927)
- Alternate Gothic Modernized (1927), thirteen alternate characters for Benton’sMorris Fuller BentonMorris Fuller Benton was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders , for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937...
Alternate Gothic No. 1Franklin GothicFranklin Gothic and its related faces are realist sans-serif typefaces originated by Morris Fuller Benton in 1902. “Gothic” is an increasingly archaic term meaning sans-serif. Franklin Gothic has been used in many advertisements and headlines in newspapers. The typeface continues to maintain a...
. - Cooper Tooled (1928), based upon Oz Cooper’sOswald Bruce CooperOswald Bruce Cooper was an American type designer, lettering artist, graphic designer, and teacher of these trades.-Early life and education:...
Cooper HiliteCooper BlackCooper Black is a heavily weighted, old style serif typeface designed by Oswald Bruce Cooper in 1921 and released by the Barnhart Brothers & Spindler type foundry in 1922. The typeface is drawn as an extra bold weight of Cooper Old Style. Though not based on a single historic model, Cooper Black...
, though with the white line on the opposite side. - Broadway series
- Broadway Engraved (1928)
- Lowercase letters for Benton’sMorris Fuller BentonMorris Fuller Benton was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders , for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937...
BroadwayBroadway (typeface)Broadway is a decorative typeface, perhaps the archetypal Art Deco typeface. The original face was designed by Morris Fuller Benton in 1927 for ATF as a capitals only display face. It had a long initial run of popularity, before being discontinued by ATF in 1954. It was re-discovered in the Cold...
(1929)
- Tourist Gothic series
- Tourist Gothic (1922), adapted from on Barnhart Brothers & Spindler’sBarnhart Brothers & SpindlerBarnhart Brothers & Spindler Type Foundry was founded as the Great Western Type Foundry in 1873. It became Barnhart Brothers & Spindler ten years later. It was a successful foundry known for innovative type design and well designed type catalogs. Oz Cooper, Will Ransom, Robert Wiebking, and...
Modern Condensed Gothic by including a set of alternate rounded capitals. - Tourist Gothic Italic (1938)
- Tourist Extra Condensed was actually just Baltimore Type’s re-branding of Hess’s Jefferson Gothic.
- Tourist Gothic (1922), adapted from on Barnhart Brothers & Spindler’s
- Bodoni seriesBodoni-Cold Type versions:As it had been a standard type for many years, Bodoni was widely available in cold type. Alphatype, Autologic, Berthold, Compugraphic, Dymo, Harris, Mergenthaler, MGD Graphic Systems, and Varityper, Hell AG, Monotype, all sold the face under the name ‘’Bodoni, while Graphic...
- Bodoni Bold Panelled (1928)
- Bodoni Bold Condensed (1934)
- Sans Serif series, based on Rudolf KochRudolf Kochthumb|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...
’s KabelKabel (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...
.- Sans Serif Extrabold (1930)
- Sans Serif Extrabold Condensed (1930)
- Sans Serif Medium Condensed (1930)
- Sans Serif Light Condensed (1930)
- Sans Serif Lined
- Hadriano Stone Cut (1932), an in-line version of Goudy’sFrederic GoudyFrederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
Hadriano Title. - Pendrawn (1933)
- Hess Neobold (1934)
- Stymie series, based on Benton’sMorris Fuller BentonMorris Fuller Benton was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders , for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937...
Stymie- Stymie Extrabold (1934)
- Stymie Medium Condensed (1935)
- Stymie Extrabold Condensed (1935)
- Stymie Light Condensed (1936)
- Stymie Extrabold Italic (1935)
- Baskerville BoldBaskervilleBaskerville is a transitional serif typeface designed in 1757 by John Baskerville in Birmingham, England. Baskerville is classified as a transitional typeface, positioned between the old style typefaces of William Caslon, and the modern styles of Giambattista Bodoni and Firmin Didot.The...
(1935), adapted from John BaskervilleJohn BaskervilleJohn Baskerville was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and typographer.-Life:...
’s heavyface of 1757. - Spire (1937), capital letters only.
- Twentieth Century seriesTwentieth Century (typeface)Twentieth Century is a geometric sans-serif foundry typeface designed by Sol Hess for Lanston Monotype as a competitor to the successful Futura typeface, but with a larger x-height and more even stroke width...
(1937)- Twentieth Century Bold Italic (1937)
- Twentieth Century Extrabold Italic (1937)
- Twentieth Century Extrabold Condensed Italic (1938)
- Twentieth Century Ultrabold (1941)
- Twentieth Century Ultrabold Condensed (1944)
- Twentieth Century Medium Condensed Italic (1947)
- Twentieth Century Ultrabold Italic (1947)
- Century Bold Condensed Italic (1938), based on Benton’sMorris Fuller BentonMorris Fuller Benton was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders , for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937...
Century BoldCentury Type FamilyCentury refers to a family of type faces derived from the original Century Roman cut by American Type Founders’ designer Linn Boyd Benton in 1894. Despite originating in the nineteenth century, use of the typeface remains strong, for periodicals, textbooks, and literature...
. - New Gothic Condensed lowercase (1938)
- Slimline (1939), a knock off of Huxley Vertical.
- Onyx Italic (1939), a companion to Gerry Powell’s Onyx
- Squareface (1940), a variation of Stymie Extra Bold.
- Stylescript (1940)
- Post series, commissioned by the Saturday Evening Post and based upon E.J. Kitson’s hand lettering for that magazine.
- Post Black Italic (1939)
- Post Stout Italic (1934)
- Ward Roman + Italic (1942), based upon Rudolf Weiss’sRudolf WeissRudolf Weiß was a German officer, and one of the last residents of the Führerbunker.-Military career:...
Memphis Light. Privately cast for use in the Montgomery WardMontgomery WardMontgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
catalog.
- Alternate Gothic Italic, No. 2 (1946), an italic companion to Benton’sMorris Fuller BentonMorris Fuller Benton was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders , for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937...
Alternate Gothic No. 2. - Stationers Gothic series
- Stationers Gothic Light (1948)
- Stationers Gothic Bold (1948)
- Stationers Gothic Medium (1948)
- Hess New Bookbold + Italic (1948), an adaptation of Garamond BoldGaramondGaramond is the name given to a group of old-style serif typefaces named after the punch-cutter Claude Garamond . Most of the Garamond faces are more closely related to the work of a later punch-cutter, Jean Jannon...
. - Artscript (1948), based on the calligraphy of Domingo Maria de Servidori of MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
from 1798. - Cheltenham Wide Italic, a companion to Goodhue’sBertram GoodhueBertram Grosvenor Goodhue was a American architect celebrated for his work in neo-gothic design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for the Merrymount Press.-Early career:...
CheltenhamCheltenham (typeface)Cheltenham is a display typeface, designed in 1896 by architect Bertram Goodhue and Ingalls Kimball, director of the Cheltenham Press. The original drawings were known as Boston Old Style and were made about 14" high. These drawings were then turned over to Morris Fuller Benton at American Type...
. - Poster, also called Hess Poster.
- Hess Monoblack, never listed in regular specimen books, only on a “specimen request sheet.”
Typefaces adapted for Monotype composition by Sol Hess
- Bruce Oldstyle (1902), based on a face produced by the Bruce Foundry about 1869.
- Bruce Oldstyle Italic (1908), the first kerned italic for Monotype casting.
- Caslon seriesCaslonCaslon refers to a number of serif typefaces designed by William Caslon I , and various revivals thereof.Caslon shares the irregularity characteristic of Dutch Baroque types. It is characterized by short ascenders and descenders, bracketed serifs, moderately-high contrast, robust texture, and...
- English Caslon Old Style No. 37 + Italic (1903), commissioned by the Gilliss Press in BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. - Caslon Old Style No. 437 + Italic, based on Stephenson BlakeStephenson BlakeStephenson Blake was a British Type foundry, based in Sheffield, England. Active from the 19th century until the 1990s, it remained the last active typefoundry in Britain.-Type Founding:...
’s Caslon Old Face.
- English Caslon Old Style No. 37 + Italic (1903), commissioned by the Gilliss Press in Boston
- Classic Hebrew (1920)
- JansonJansonJanson is the name given to an old-style serif typeface named for Dutch punch-cutter and printer Anton Janson. Research in the 1970s and early 1980s, however, concluded that the typeface was the work of a Hungarian punch-cutter named Miklós Tótfalusi Kis...
+ Italic (1936), based on the thirteenth century face of Anton JansonAnton JansonAnton Janson was a Dutch type founder and printer.The typeface Janson is named for him, although it can also be attributed to Hungarian punch-cutter and printer Miklós Kis -References:*Carter, Rob, Day, Ben, Meggs,Philip...
. Adapted by Hess and Bruce Rogers. - Laurentian (1940), a Monotype adaptation of William Dana Orcutt’s Humanistic (1904, privately cast by American Type FoundersAmerican Type FoundersAmerican Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
for Harvard University PressHarvard University PressHarvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
). Later modified by Stephenson BlakeStephenson BlakeStephenson Blake was a British Type foundry, based in Sheffield, England. Active from the 19th century until the 1990s, it remained the last active typefoundry in Britain.-Type Founding:...
and called Bologna, which was in turn copied by ATFAmerican Type FoundersAmerican Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
and called Verona - Goudy Bible (1941), a re-branding of Goudy’sFrederic GoudyFrederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
Goudy Newstyle (1921, Village Letter Foundry). Used by Bruce Rogers and Hess for the famous Oxford Lectern BibleOxford Lectern BibleThe Oxford Lectern Bible was a massive edition of the English Bible designed by American typographer Bruce Rogers. The Bible, completed in 1935, was published by Oxford University Press. There were three sizes of the Bible printed...
of 1948. - Martin + Italic (1945), listed by Monotype as having been produced and being based on “old sources” but no specimen survives.
External links
- http://new.myfonts.com/person/Sol_Hess/Samples of Hess's fonts by MyFontsMyFontsMyFonts is a digital fonts distribution, location based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, selling fonts through the web site. It launched in September 1999 , and started selling fonts in March 2000....
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