Schriftguss AG


Schriftguss AG was a type foundry in Germany founded in 1892 under the name Brüder Butter by purchasing the type casting firm of Otto Ludwig Bechert that had been founded in 1889. It was later incorporated in 1922 as Schriftguss A.-G. vorm. Brüder Butter. Their types were known for “vigour, liveliness and freshness.” Though some faces were done in house, the foundry mainly worked with outside “Schriftkünstler”, more than was typical at the time. A unique product of the foundry were modular systems of “Plakattype” to compose shapes and letterforms for display and jobbing applications, for instance Dekora, or Albert Auspurg’s 1931 Ne-Po, and finally Super-Plakattype in 1949. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 the last of the Butter brothers resigned from the corporation and it was changed to a limited partnership. In 1948 the company was expropriated by the post-war communist government and became public property, under the name VEB Schriftguss Dresden, eventually becoming merged into VEB Typoart – Drucktypen, Matrizen, Messinglinien in 1951. As a state run enterprise, the foundry lost its verve and panache and settled into producing serviceable type without distinction.

Typefaces

Source:

In-house faces

These type faces were produced in house by Schriftguss:

Spanish faces

A 1925 Schriftguss catalog in Spanish includes these and other typefaces, vignettes, and “tipos de cartel”:

Out-of-house designs

  • Aktuell
  • Arpke Antiqua, there is also a light and a shaded version.
  • Armin-Gotisch
  • Blickfang Schmuck
  • Capitol This face was revised as Capitol Pro in 2012 by Ralph M. Unger for his own RMU Foundry.
  • Cito Versalien, capitals only.
  • Demeter, later cast by VEB Typoart. This is one of a few German faces BB&S in Chicago received in exchange for rights to the Cooper types.
  • Demeter Schraffiert
  • Diamant
  • Divina
  • Drescher Versalien, capitals only.
  • Duplex
  • Echo
  • Edelweiß
  • Energos
  • Fao, Nick Curtis used this as the basis for his Fargo Faro.
  • Faro
  • Fatima
  • Geperlte Fournier Also called Pearl Fournier and called Dresden when it was later published by BB&S in Chicago.
  • Gladiator
  • Golf
  • Helion
  • Holländish series
  • * Holländish breit
  • * Holländish fett
  • * Holländish licht
  • Intermezzo
  • Klinger Type, also known as Typo Klinger.
  • * Klinger Type habfett
  • Klinger Kursiv
  • Kreß Versalien, an in-line capitals face. Agfa’s Ashley Inline is a digital version of his font.
  • Kursachsen Auszeichnung
  • Kursachsen Grundschrift
  • Lehmann-Fraktur
  • * Lehmann-Fraktur kräftig
  • Lido
  • Luxor
  • Marggraff-Deutsch a blackletter face by Gerhardt Marggraff) that included a Halbfette and Fette and a Leichte
  • Marggraff Kursiv
  • * Marggraff Kursiv fett
  • * Marggraff Kursiv leicht
  • Marggraff-Deutsch fett + halbfett
  • Marggraff-Deutsch leicht
  • Maximum A + B
  • Mendelsohn Grotesk + halbfett
  • Mendelsohn Type
  • Milo
  • Minister Antiqua + Kursiv + schmalhalbfett
  • * Minister Antiqua fett + halbfett
  • * Minister Kreis Versalien, a white on black titling font.
  • *Prominent, decorative initials based on Minister
  • *Symbol, decorative initials based on Minister
  • Ne-Po A modular set of patterned blocks for building letters and other ornamentation, consisting of a negative and a positive series. American Type Founders released a version in 1944 called Alpha-Blox.
  • Ondina
  • Orchidea
  • Originell
  • Patria
  • * Patria fett
  • * Patria halbfett
  • * Patria Kursiv
  • * Patria Kursiv halbfett
  • * Patria Werkschrift
  • * Patria Werkschrift halbfett
  • Pentape
  • Piehler Schmuck, type ornaments.
  • Piehler Schrift
  • * Piehler Schrift Kursiv
  • Ramona
  • Regatta
  • Schaefer Versalien, capitals only.
  • Schreibedeutsch + kräftig
  • Sinkwitz-Gotisch, a script face in three weights., later reissued by Typoart in 1966.
  • Splendor, a script face.
  • * Splendor kräftig
  • * Splendor extrakräftig
  • Stadion Grotesk
  • Super Blickfang Initialen
  • Super Elektrik
  • Super Grotesk
  • * Super Grotesk dreiviertelfett
  • * Super Grotesk fett
  • * Super Grotesk halbfett
  • * Super Grotesk Kursiv
  • * Super Grotesk Kursiv fett
  • * Super Grotesk Kursiv halbfett
  • * Super Grotesk schmalmager
  • * Super Grotesk schmalfett
  • * Super Grotesk schmalhalbfett
  • Super Reflex
  • Supremo Versalien, capitals only.
  • Thannhaeuser Schrift
  • * Thannhaeuser Schrift Kursiv
  • * Thannhaeuser Schrift halbfett
  • Trio A + B + C
  • Troubadour Magere
  • Wieynck Gotisch, digitized by Gerhard Helzel.
  • * Wieynck Gotisch licht, digitized by Gerhard Helzel.
  • * Wieynck Gotisch Werkschrift
  • '''Zeus'''

    Faces originally cast by other foundries

These type faces were produced by other foundries and licensed by Schriftguss:
  • Aida, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Ambassador, originally made by Woellmer Type Foundry.
  • Burgund, originally made by Woellmer Type Foundry.
  • Butterfly, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • * Butterfly Halbfette
  • Carmen, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Copra, originally made by Barnhart Brothers & Spindler as Cooper Black. The series included the following faces:
  • * Copra Antiqua
  • * Copra Antiqua fett
  • * Copra Antiqua halbfett
  • * Copra Kursiv
  • * Copra Kursiv fett
  • * Copra Kursiv licht
  • Diva, originally made by Ludwig & Mayer.
  • Elegant Kursiv, originally made by Woellmer Type Foundry.
  • Esprit, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Feudal, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Gilden Fraktur, originally made by Woellmer Type Foundry.
  • * Gilden Fraktur halbfett, originally made by Woellmer Type Foundry.
  • Jupiter, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Kabinett, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Kasino, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Liebing Gotisch, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Lohengrin, originally made by Woellmer Type Foundry.
  • Mars, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Merkur, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Mimosa + Kursiv + halbfett, originally made by Linotype as Copperplate Gothic.
  • Mirabelle + habfett, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Neptun, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Ohio + Ohio Kursiv, originally made by American Type Founders as Pabst Oldstyle.
  • * Ohio Kraft, a variant on Pabst Oldstyle, designed in house by Eduard Lauterbach.
  • Orion, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Pallas, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Pfeil Antiqua, originally made by American Type Founders as Cheltenham.
  • Picadilly, originally made by either Berthold Type Foundry or Woellmer Type Foundry.
  • Planeta, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Presto, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Saturn, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Saxonia Kursive + fett, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt. The bold was later cast by Linotype.
  • Standard I + II + III, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Tiffany Shaded, originally made by American Type Founders as Typo Shaded.
  • Ultra series, originally made by Ludwig & Mayer around 1935.
  • * Ultra fett
  • * Ultra halbfett
  • * Ultra kräftig
  • * Ultra leicht
  • * Ultra schmalhalbfett
  • * Ultra Werkschrift
  • Uranus, originally made by Wagner & Schmidt.
  • Violetta, originally made by B. Krebs Foundry.
  • Walhalla, originally made by Ludwig & Mayer, later digitized by Gerhard Helzel.
  • Wedding Text, originally made by American Type Founders.
  • Wellington + fett, originally made by Inland Type Foundry.