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Old 06-24-2005, 07:36 AM   #1
ktinkel
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Default Good free/share display fonts

I have been exploring the interesting Harold’s Fonts collection.

This site has an impressive and diverse collection of free and shareware fonts. Some come from familiar Dover books and old type specimens, but others are based on such varied sources as film titling, the embroidered lettering in the Bayueux Tapestry, a string of pearls, imprints of old rubber stamps, artist Ben Shahn’s lettering, and there is even a typeface based on the @ sign in Century Schoolbook.

There are many free fonts, but he also offers $5 sets (4 or 5 fonts in a family) and CD collections.

The links below are to a few of the fonts on his site that caught my eye.

Cinderella, from one of the Dan X. Solo collections from Dover.

Madfont, an all-caps font based on the Mad Magazine cover type, with tightly spaced version in the upper case, a looser one in lower.

Esquivel, a family of fonts based on an old Esquire magazine logotype, includes regular, condensed and an inline (engraved) version. $5 shareware.

Aardvark Café, based on the hand lettering used for the Hard Rock Café logo.


Rough Draft, sketched all caps characters with bits of guidelines showing. Free, or for $5 get a four-font set of regular, outlines, loose fill, and solid fill.


Rebus Font, a collection of little pictures that can be used to make rebus puzzles, inspired by the TV show Concentration.


Koch Dingbats, images designed to work with Koch’s Neuland face (available from Adobe and Linotype in a single weight or as a multi-style family from Treacyfaces). This is one of six sets of pi or dingbat fonts on the page.

Olde Chicago, based on the original Mac system font, translated into a sort of blackletter text face.

Koch Quadrat, Rudolf Koch’s constructed letters. A free version has 26 letters; a sharewave 5-font set includes many more, including layering fonts for adding color.


Blocked, a version of an old Letraset font that I always loved (and never found a use for). A basic font is free, but $5 gets more. (He also has Wireframe, based on Bombere, another Letraset face that seems to have vanished from their catalog.)

Frank the Architect, like Tekton, based on architect Frank Ching’s hand-lettering, but much freer and prettier than Tekton. $5 shareware.

Bifur, one of my irrational favorites from Cassandre, is a two-part font — a stencil font plus a fill font. The fill made of fine lines is difficult to do in a digital font (you almost need a separate font for each size). The free version of Bifur attempts that. If you pay $5 to get the 6-font set, you get solid fills as well.

Atlas Stripe (and Atlas Solid if you spring $5 for the set) — art deco fonts.

   
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Last edited by ktinkel; 03-09-2006 at 12:05 PM. Reason: fixed bad link
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Old 06-24-2005, 08:27 AM   #2
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My irrational favorite (I like the way you put that) of those above is the Atlas Stripe. Something about it just speaks to me. Don't know what I'd ever use it for!

   
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Old 06-24-2005, 08:40 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Franca
My irrational favorite (I like the way you put that) of those above is the Atlas Stripe. Something about it just speaks to me. Don't know what I'd ever use it for!
Yeah, I like that one too.

That is the problem with dated display types (art nouveau, art deco, etc.) — you always make a statement, and it may not be of any use to anyone. But I do like the look of the letters, and this Harold guy seems to have done a good job with many, many fonts.

   
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Old 06-25-2005, 01:09 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ktinkel
. But I do like the look of the letters, and this Harold guy seems to have done a good job with many, many fonts.
His CD collections are certainly good value.

I understand his cat helps with the CD copying -- and least, that seemed to be the reason why one of the CDs I received from him was blank -- seems that the cat doesn't always pay sufficient attention to detail.

   
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Old 06-25-2005, 05:22 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike
I understand his cat helps with the CD copying -- and least, that seemed to be the reason why one of the CDs I received from him was blank -- seems that the cat doesn't always pay sufficient attention to detail.
Oh, dear. Assume he is making good.

Bad kitty! Dry food for a week.

   
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Old 06-28-2005, 07:27 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ktinkel
Oh, dear. Assume he is making good.
No problem. He was happy to send a replacement CD but I suggested he just email me the fonts to save the postage. Interestingly he doesn't (or didn't at that time) charge any extra for foreign postage -- he says he's just happy to see people using his fonts.

   
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Old 06-24-2005, 09:28 AM   #7
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Wow, I'm in font heaven.

I love Rough Draft and the rubber-stamp fonts -- did you see Smelvetica? <LOL>

mxh
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Old 06-24-2005, 09:55 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marlene
Wow, I'm in font heaven.

I love Rough Draft and the rubber-stamp fonts -- did you see Smelvetica? <LOL>
Yep (rolling eyes!)

I figured you might like that place.

   
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Old 03-09-2006, 10:33 AM   #9
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Default http://www.haroldsfonts.com/

Quote:
Originally Posted by ktinkel
Yep (rolling eyes!)I figured you might like that place.
http://www.haroldsfonts.com/ is the current URL for this
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Old 03-09-2006, 12:06 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dthomsen8
the current URL for this
Thanks — I just fixed it in the root message. Save a lot of confusion.

   
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