Charade was designed by Al Elliott and released in the late 1960s or early 1970s by Headliners [McDonald]. Not listed in an index from 1969. Shown as neo-Charade with Outline and Shadow styles as well as alternates (‘A’, ‘o’), ligatures, and a terminal swash form [1977 specimen]. Copied by Castcraft as Gaston Agency (“similar to Charade”) [Castcraft 1978]. Also adopted by Formatt as Gaston [1978, 1981 catalogs]. Homage to the Alphabet shows it as Brandywine Bold, together with the similar but unrelated Brandywine.

There are digital versions of Gaston by Opti/Castcraft Software Inc. (mediocre) and Dan X. Solo (useless). Jason Walcott’s Groovin’ (2005) is a better interpretation. Profonts’ Charade (before 2009) has all three variants and a higher glyph count, but no alternates – and it doesn’t join up. Charade has a lot in common with Benguiat Charisma (Photo-Lettering Inc., 1969?) and Alan Meeks’ Candice (Letraset, 1976).