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M.M. Chadakhtzian business card

Contributed by Fonts In Use Staff on Jul 9th, 2023. Artwork published in
circa 1910
.
M.M. Chadakhtzian business card
Source: www.ebay.com Sonomatreasures4u. License: All Rights Reserved.

Via Norman McKnight, who comments:

I bought this card because of the variety of type faces and languages, Armenian, Arabic & French.

The typeface used for the name in Latin letters and the French job title (“Négociant – Commissionnaire” – “Merchant – Commission agent”) is the light weight of a design that went under various names. The left-leaning advertising face originated at Wagner & Schmidt, a punchcutting company in Leipzig that sold matrices to numerous foundries. Those would then cast the designs and typically sell them under different names. In Germany, Stempel and also Ludwig Wagner and Weber carried both weights as Helvetia. Bauer had it as Favorit-Zirkular, Genzsch & Heyse as Caprice and John as Corona. In France, Beaudoire and Peignot & Fils sold it as Helvétiennes and Turlot as Batardes Renversées. In England, Stephenson Blake and Harrild & Sons offered the light weight under the name Engadine and the bold as (Reed’s) Waverley. For more names, see the typeface page.

The upright script used for the place name – “Alexandrie (Egypte)” – is a Ronde, probably of French origin. The specific version is unidentified. For similar fonts that are digitally available, see French 111 (a.k.a. Gando), ITC Redonda, Bon Mot NF, Typo Upright, and the linked related typefaces on those pages.

The Arabic and the open and shaded Armenian are likewise unidentified. If you have any insights into their names, please share in the comments.

Typefaces

  • Helvetia
  • unidentified typeface

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