ART GOTHIC was attributed to the Central Type Foundry of St. Louis, Missouri, USA by Henry Lewis Bullen, writing in INLAND PRINTER in 1907, with a reproduction shown in Kelly’s AMERICAN WOOD TYPE. More…

The typeface appears on the cover of an issue of “The Superior Printer” pictured in TYPOLOGY by Heller and Fili dated in the 1870s. Since Central was founded in 1872, we would take that as the earliest possible date. ART GOTHIC proved to be one of the more popular and enduring of the American-designed Victorian display faces of the period, appearing frequently in ads in various publications. The Hamilton Mfg. Co showed a very similar wood type, No. 232, with a modified and rather heavy-handed upper case in 1892. As late as 1897, it may be found in the advertising section of “The Ivy” of Trinity College of Hartford, Connecticut and was included in the Norwood Press 1902 Specimen Book.

Our font includes a complement of five upper case and four lower case alternatives as follows: 123=C, 125=E, 135=H, 137=S, 172=c, 175=e, 215=m and 247=s. Great for period pieces.

ART GOTHIC HIH is clean, readable, and surprisingly modern-looking; unlike so many overly complex Victorian display fonts. Can be used in text sizes.