Happy New Year greeting and YMCA Open House invitation, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1891
A New Year’s greeting and invitation card for a YMCA open house held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on January 1, 1891.
I’m not sure what to make of the “Museum of Natural Monstrosities” and the “Collection of Antiquities, Oddities, and Rarities” that were listed among the “Attractions” of the day.
Compliments of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Harrisburg, Pa. and its Best Wishes to You for
A HAPPY NEW YEAR and a Most Cordial Invitation to Visit the Open House To be Held at the Association Building, Second and Locust Sts., January 1st, 1891, From 2 to 10 P.M.
Please fill blank and present at entrance. Name ________ Address ________
Attractions. Music. Exhibition of Cameras. Museum of Natural Monstrosities. Collection of Antiquities, Oddities, and Rarities. Refreshments.
3 Comments on “Happy New Year greeting and YMCA Open House invitation, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1891”
This card was set using two typeface designs by the prolific Herman Ihlenburg, both of which haven’t featured on Fonts In Use before.
The main title is in Fillet, a set of bold caps with cupped stub serifs, distinguished by a flowing white band that runs through the letters (and the space). Fillet comes with a number of start and end pieces, some of which can be seen here. It was patented in 1890.
The other one is Culdee, a whimsical serif with descending caps patented in 1885. It’s used for “Attractions”. The other two typefaces – the italic sans-serif caps for “Open House” and the one used for the small text – are yet unidentified. The latter appears to be a precursor of Copperplate Gothic.
Here’s a showing of 24pt Fillet with the available start and end pieces:
did NOT expect this to be how i learned what “YMCA” meant