Delinquent Chacha by Ved Mehta
Delinquent Chacha is the debut novel by Indian-born writer Ved Mehta (1934–2021). First serialized in The New Yorker, it was published in book form by Harper & Row in 1966.
The first-edition dust jacket features Halftone. Originally boasting horizontally hatched (hence the name) and shaded letterforms, it’s here used in a solid version of unknown origin.
The designer specified an all-caps setting, yielding a whole lot of ball terminals. I’m afraid this might have been done out of exotism – although the resulting look has nothing to do with Indic scripts, and everything with the formal diversification in Western type design during the Victorian era.
Via a request posted by Ben Noe on Font ID.
Close-up
Detail from the showing of Halftone in Marder, Luse & Co.’s Specimen Book and Price List from 1893
Halftone appears on the spine portion, too, alongside the publisher’s name is caps from News Gothic.
Text on the inner flap is set in the Mergenthaler Linotype version of Janson, with the author’s name in Times New Roman and price info in Futura.
2 Comments on “Delinquent Chacha by Ved Mehta”
Might I suggest Thalia also as a related typeface for Halftone?
Thanks for the suggestion, Kate. Done!