Charly Antolini – In the Groove album art
Cover for an album by Swiss jazz drummer Charly Antolini (b. 1937), released in 1972 on MPS Records. The name is set in bichromatic Manuscript Capitals, a Letraset face that was released the same year. Designed by Bob Newman, the set of swashy contoured caps was probably inspired by Photo-Lettering’s Eminence from 1962 (which in turn goes back to a 19th-century typeface named Harper).
The title likely is custom drawn, patterned after ITC Busorama (Tom Carnase with Herb Lubalin, 1970). This geometric sans with Art Deco influences comes in three weights. Its Bold isn’t very bold though, so cover designer Ulrich Eichberger apparently made his own weight extension. In 2020, Eliott Grunewald drew a typeface named Herbus Bold which comes closer in weight. It doesn’t have an N with curved diagonal, and its V has the mirrored form. Herbus largely (but loosely) follows ITC Busorama, with some elements borrowed from ITC Avant Garde Gothic. The Bold has also some elements reminiscent of ITC Serif Gothic Heavy, another early-1970s typeface made with the involvement of Herb Lubalin.
A resetting of the title using URW’s digital Busorama Bold (top) and Eliott Grunewald’s Herbus Bold (bottom), both with adjusted spacing.
