Town Planning by Thomas Sharp
1942
This title is an odd departure from the Edward Young directed Pelican covers of the 1930s and ’40s, almost all of which used Gill Sans throughout. Personally, I find this type to be slightly more palatable than the Gill Extra Bold Display used here. Then again, I’m not British.
My best guess is that this type is Tempo Heavy as evidenced by this specimen when you include the alts with pointed apexes (‘A’, ‘N’, ‘M’, ‘W’). Only the bar-less ‘G’ is missing from that example. But, according to samples in McGrew, this form did appear in some versions of the face.
I was unable to find a credit for this design. I welcome anyone who can fill in the blanks. Incidentally, Thomas Sharp’s book was fairly popular, being reprinted many times and selling 250,000 copies.
1945
