Schelter & Giesecke Type Foundry

J.G. Schelter & Giesecke
Company typeAktiengesellschaft
IndustryType foundry
Founded1819
FounderJohann Schelter, Christian Giesecke
Defunct1946
HeadquartersLeipzig, Germany
Key people
Georg Belwe

J.G. Schelter & Giesecke was a German type foundry and manufacturer of printing presses started 1819 in Leipzig by punchcutter Johann Schelter and typefounder Christian Friedrich Giesecke (1793-1850). The foundry was nationalized in 1946 by the new German Democratic Republic, forming VEB Typoart, Dresden.[1]

Typefaces

A poster for the International Bartenders Association competition of 1965 uses the company's popular Breite halbfette Grotesk.[2]

These foundry types were produced by Schelter & Giesecke:[3]


  • Accidenz-Zierat (1902)
  • Akantrea (1883), borders and ornaments
  • Akropolis Ornamente (1907)
  • Alt Latein (1924) [4]
  • Baldur Baldur (1895) Revived by Alan Prescott as New Baldur APT (1996).
  • Belwe Roman (1907, Georg Belwe) [5]
  • Biedermeierzierat (1905)
  • Borghese (1904) An Art Nouveau face, revived by Ralph M. Unger as Borghese (2015).
  • Breite Grotesk (1886) This typeface influenced the Bauhaus movement and was a forerunner of Helvetica. Revived by Nick Curtis as Schelter Grotesk NF (2010), and by Arve Båtevik as Sagen Grotesk, Breite Halbfette Grotesk and Breite magere Grotesk (2015).
  • Breite Kanzlei (1835; other publications mention 1890) + Halbfette Kanzlei (1860)
  • Die Zierde (1913, F.H. Ernst Schneidler), ornaments
  • Dolmen (1922, Max Salzmann)
  • Edelgotisch (1901, Albert Knab)
  • Fafner + Schraffierte (1905) Revived by Oliver Weiss[dubious – discuss] as WF Fafner (2020)
  • Fanal (1933), angular blackletterish script face
  • Fee (1907), handwriting.
  • Flamme (1933), brush-like script
  • Gnom + breite Gnom (1928)
  • Gravira (1935, Herbert Thannhaueser) [7]
  • Gutenberg-Gotisch (1885) + Halbfette Gutenberg-Gotisch (1890) The original by F.W. Bauer and Th. Friebel dates from 1880.
  • Hispania Script (1890), a pirate map face
  • Initialen zur Rousseau (1907)
  • Italian Renaissance (1883) a black-letter face
  • Jugend-Fraktur (ca. 1900)
  • Kalender Vignetten (1907, Max Salzmann)
  • Kartuschen Einfassung serie 72 (1887), ornaments
  • Kolibri (1928)
  • Koralle (1929[8]) Nick Curtis based his Koralle NF (2012) and Koralle Rounded NF (2014) on this typeface; see also the recent revival Koralle RMU (2018) by Ralph M. Unger.
  • Leipziger Lateinschrift (1908)
  • Liane (1908)
  • Meierschrift (1904-1908, C.F. Meier)
  • Mimosenzierat (1909, Heinz Keune)
  • Moderne enge halbfette Fraktur (1886)
  • Monos (1912)
  • Münster-Gotisch (1896) Revived by Paulo W as Münster Gotische (2009). Gerhard Helzel also did a revival.
  • Patriz Huber Ornamente (1906, Patriz Huber)
  • Perkeo (1928)
  • Reklameschrift Radium (1904-1906)
  • Roland Grotesk (1910)
  • Roland Kursiv (1910)
  • Romanisch, later copied by the Central Type Foundry of Saint Louis as De Vinne.[9]
  • Rosenzierat Serien 534 und 535 (1905, Heinz Keune)
  • Rundgotisch (1909; others say 1902-1903)
  • Salzmann Antiqua (1913, Max Salzmann)
  • Salzmann Fraktur + Kräftige Salzmann Fraktur (1911, Max Salzmann)
  • Salzmann Kursiv (1911, Max Salzmann)
  • Salzmannschrift + Salzmannschrift halbfette + schmale Salzmannschrift (1910, Max Salzmann)
  • Saskia (1931, Jan Tschichold) [10]
  • Schelter Antiqua (1906) Revived in 2020 by Oliver Weiss as Schelter Antiqua WF.
    • Leipziger Lateinschrift (1907) a variant of Schelter Antiqua.
    • Tauchnitz-Antiqua (1907) a variant of Schelter Antiqua.
  • Schelter Kursiv (1906)
  • Schlanke Grotesk (1886)
  • Schlanke Grotesk (1886)
  • Schmale Anker Romanisch (1908), a German Romanesque.
  • Schmale fette Edelgotisch und Zierat (1907)
  • Schmale fette Schelterantiqua (1908)
  • Schmale Medieäval (1840) Rived in 2020 by Ralph M. Unger as Schmale Mediaeval.
  • Schmale Steinschrift (1898)
  • Schul-Fraktur (1886) + Fette (1890) + Schmale fette (1918) Digitization by Delbanco as DS-Schulfraktur (2001).
  • Shakespere Mediäval (1927–1929, Georg Belwe) [11]
  • Shieldface A (1881) caps only
  • Shieldface Combinationpieces (1881), ornamental
  • Silhouette Border Series 63 (1884)
  • Tauperle (1928)
  • Titan + Titan Gnom (1915)
  • Walgunde mit Zieraten (1908, Eduard Lautenbach)
  • Watteau-Schrift + Watteau Schmuck (1913), aka Kartenschrift Watteau, a non-connected script.
  • Wieland (1926, Georg Belwe)
  • Zierschrift 1328 (1889)
  • Zierschrift 1400 (1889)

The foundry claimed by the twentieth century to have been one of the first to offer general-purpose sans-serif typefaces with lower-case, as early as 1825.[12][13] This was repeated by some authors, but is now known to be untrue: Wolfgang Homola dates it to 1882 based on a study of Schelter & Giesecke specimens.[2][a]

Press Manufacturing

Villa Georg Giesecke, the Leipzig house of foundry co-owner Georg Giesecke

Beginning in 1827 Schelter & Giesecke manufactured letterpress presses, cylinder proof presses and platen presses; and after World War I also of web-fed, letterpress and flexo printing presses.

The Leipzig house of foundry co-owner Georg Giesecke, designed by Berlin architect Max Hasak, survives and is listed.[16]

References

  1. ^ "J.G. Schelter&Giesecke". Luc Devroye. School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Homola, Wolfgang. "Type design in the age of the machine. The 'Breite Grotesk' by J. G. Schelter & Giesecke" (PDF). University of Reading (archived). Archived from the original on 12 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Unless otherwise noted, all types in this list are cited from "J.G. Schelter&Giesecke type list". Luc Devroye. School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. ^ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983, ISBN 0-7137-1347-X p. 5.
  5. ^ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983, ISBN 0-7137-1347-X p. 19.
  6. ^ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983, ISBN 0-7137-1347-X p. 263.
  7. ^ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983, ISBN 0-7137-1347-X p. 109.
  8. ^ "J.G. Schelter&Giesecke / Koralle". Luc Devroye. School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2021. Georg Kraus mentions the date 1915, as does Nick Curtis .
  9. ^ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983, ISBN 0-7137-1347-X p. 67.
  10. ^ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983, ISBN 0-7137-1347-X p. 201.
  11. ^ Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983, ISBN 0-7137-1347-X p. 205.
  12. ^ Lawson, Alexander S., Anatomy of a Typeface, David R. Godine, Publisher, Boston, Massachusetts, 1990, ISBN 0-87923-333-8, p. 296.
  13. ^ Handbuch der Schriftarten. Leipzig: Seeman. 1926.
  14. ^ Mosley, James. "Comments on Typophile thread - "Unborn: sans serif lower case in the 19th century"". Typophile (archived). Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ Tracy, Walter. Letters of Credit. p. 86.
  16. ^ Sabine Knopf (2011). Buchstadt Leipzig: der historische Reiseführer. Ch. Links Verlag. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-3-86153-634-5.
  1. ^ Walter Tracy also comments that the claimed date is "forty years too early" and James Mosley describes it as "thoroughly discredited".[14][15]


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