Originally hand-cut by Gudrun Zapf von Hesse at the Bauer type
foundry as brass punches for her private use in stamping letters on
leather book covers and spines. The set included capitals and
numerals in 36pt and was finished in 1947. Later named Hesse
Antiqua by the designer’s husband.
Ferdinand Ulrich, in close agreement with Zapf von Hesse,
digitized the existing letters, numerals as well as a set of
ornaments, and drew missing characters, turning the lettering
alphabet into a typeface after 70 years. Monotype’s Bernd Volmer
added small caps and more diacritics, and took care of the font
production. More…
Originally hand-cut by Gudrun Zapf von Hesse at the Bauer type foundry as brass punches for her private use in stamping letters on leather book covers and spines. The set included capitals and numerals in 36pt and was finished in 1947. Later named Hesse Antiqua by the designer’s husband.
Ferdinand Ulrich, in close agreement with Zapf von Hesse, digitized the existing letters, numerals as well as a set of ornaments, and drew missing characters, turning the lettering alphabet into a typeface after 70 years. Monotype’s Bernd Volmer added small caps and more diacritics, and took care of the font production. Hesse Antiqua was released with Monotype on January 2, 2018, Gudrun Zapf von Hesse’s 100th birthday.
