Sektkellerei Wille flyer

Flyer advertising German sparkling wine by Sektkellerei Wille A.-G., Oldenburg in Oldenburg. While the front (shown below) features hand lettering – an expressive angular script for the company’s name plus various sans-serif styles – the back has text set in a number of typefaces, including Admiral by Julius Gipkens (Woellmer, 1906), Phosphor by Jakob Erbar (Ludwig & Mayer, 1923; with both forms for S), and Bravour by Martin Jacoby-Boy (Stempel, 1912).

The body copy is set in two weights and various sizes from Säculum. The first nine styles of this extensive series were designed by Heinrich Hoffmeister and issued by Stempel in 1906–19. Säculum merges characteristics from William Morris’ Golden Type (see Jenson Old Style), like the “Venetian” e or the square tittles, with traits from the Bookman branch, like the large-eyed a and the high ear in g. In this regard, it’s similar to Universum, which was Flinsch’s (and later Bauer’s) name for Old Roman.

Founded in 1865 by Carl Wille (1841–1915), the Wille winery was the largest of its kind in northwestern Germany after World War I. The business suffered during the global economic crisis and closed down in 1932.

The flyer is not dated, but mentions vintage sparkling wine from 1921, indicating a ca. mid-1920s date. It was printed by Adolf Essich & Co., previously known as F. Büttner, est. 1857. In 1922, this company moved to the Rudelsburg building where it operated until another move in 1981.