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Hello John, I believe this is a version of Univers 57. It may go under a different name depending on the software.
Hello Brian, this looks familiar, but I can’t currently remember the name. I’ll have to do some digging and get back to you. Definitely not a common font.
Hi Torrey, I don’t currently cut and mail stencil, but if you’d like to use the inscription matching service I can work it up for you and email a digital file ready for plotting: https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/cemetery-inscription-matching-service/
Hello Torrey, this is a very old style hand-drawn and hand-cut lettering. I don’t know of any digital fonts that will come close. I do have some old blueprint alphabets, and one of them has some similar features.
Hi John, yes, I can match this for you. I will just need to know the height of the letters and the info needed.
Hello John, this definitely looks hand-cut, and is nothing I’ve seen in any other cemetery before. It’s possible it was a local creation by an old shop in your area.
Thank you for sharing this! Do you know where this sheet came from and if there were other letter styles included? I have never seen this before, and I’d be very interested in finding out more about it.
Hello, this is an interesting one. It appears to be nearly identical to a font in Monu-Cad called “Bold Roman 1”. However, it seems to be a somewhat better version overall. While they both share the same weight, serif thickness, and a very narrow numeral ‘2’; the Monu-Cad version has an upside-down ‘S’, and a very strange ‘R’ with a leg that is rounded off and drags on slightly longer. This version of the font has either been corrected, or the two fonts were perhaps based on the same reference alphabet. I am unaware of any other software that contains a version of the font.
Hello Eric, this is a custom lettering style that was popularized in the 1950s and 60s, and many shops continued the practice into the 1970s. It was usually created by using the Spacerite Double Outline alphabet, removing the serifs, and modifying the leg of ‘R’ to feel more “modern”. Because the serifs were removed by hand, the letters can vary from memorial to memorial, as different shops would leave more or less of the serif, or customize certain letters. Edward R. Peterson also created a version of this style as a full-size print to be used alongside his “Art-Line Capitals”, but his version did not contain numbers. Unfortunately, there are currently no digital versions of the font available.
If you would like help matching it, feel free to use the MLC inscription matching service: https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/cemetery-inscription-matching-service/
This was definitely not available as a physical metal or plastic alphabet in the 1970s or early 1980s, so this lettering must have been drawn by hand. This leaves the question of whether it was inspired by an existing typeface, and unfortunately I am unaware of any one typeface that shares all of the features of this lettering. Though it is possible the typeface does exist, it is also possible that whoever created it took features from several sources.
Hello, welcome. This is a font you may be aware of called Modified Roman. However, the exact version is a bit hard to nail down based on your rubbing photos, due to the fact that there are several dozen versions out there. The font dates back to 1925, when it was designed by Timothy Jellow of the Spacerite Company, as a condensed (“or modified”) version of the Classic Roman alphabet. At this time metal letters were used to create an imprint on stencil which was then hand cut. Later the company also created a Condensed Roman. It remained largely unchanged until the 1960s when several companies, including PALL Canada and SKS (later renamed ScotchKut by 3M) produced their own plastic versions for use with the stencil press. These versions were based on the Spacerite alphabet but contained some changes, including thicker serifs. Often these companies would make variations to the alphabets at smaller sizes to allow for better sandblasting, so a 1″ plastic alphabet will often differ from a 2.5″ set–increasing the number of versions of the alphabet.
In the late 1980s several CAD companies created digital versions of the Modified Roman alphabet, making their own changes along the way–some more faithful to the original metal or plastic alphabets than others. Since then there have been many other digital versions, some by software companies and others by specific monument shops in the US and Canada.
This version looks either to be the SKS/ScotchKut alphabet, or a digital version based on it. The punctuation is often a giveaway, as well as small details on certain characters. You can feel free to check what you have against the MLC’s version of the SKS Modified Roman, which is faithful to the original plastic alphabets: https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/mlc-scotchkut-modified-roman/
A list of distinguishing features is listed on all MLC fonts, so you can view the MLC’s list of Modified Roman fonts and read through the specific features of each font here: https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product-tag/modified-roman-fonts/
