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This is nothing I’ve ever seen before. The numbers look too similar to other monument industry specific fonts for this to be something I’d expect to see commercially available. If I had to guess I’d say this is a custom font created by a local shop, and will likely need to be drawn up to match.
Hi Mike, this is a customized version of the Spacerite Modified Roman alphabet with the serifs removed by the stencil cutter, typically called Modified Roman Sans. It became somewhat popular in the 1960s and 70s, though I’ve seen examples much earlier. It was popularized by many of the designers of the day, including Edward R. Peterson, and can regularly be seen in the design prints he sold to shops all over the country during that era.
Exactly where the serifs are were removed was up to the stencil cutter, so different shops developed their own styles especially on the curved letters, so there are often “semi-sans” versions as well.
The MLC has two available, a sans, and a semi-sans version, with some alternates for characters like ‘R’ that were often modified more significantly. The alternate characters are available in software that supports OpenType features, such as Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW.
https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/mlc-modified-roman-sans-ss/
https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/mlc-modified-roman-semi-sans/
If you don’t want to purchase both fonts for this job, feel free to utilize the inscription matching service: https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/cemetery-inscription-matching-service/
Hi Nicolas, this was a little hard to identify at first, but this is two separate plastic stencil press alphabets being used simultaneously. You can tell by the two different ‘A’s and two different ‘Q’s.
The “uppercase” is the ScotchKut Raised Modified Roman
The small-caps, or smaller uppercase is the PALL or Cutrite*: Modified Roman Raised
Things like this happened when a shop had both sets but not in each size needed, so the inscription can be mixed.
* There are extremely small differences in the characters of the PALL and Cutrite versions so it’s unclear which version it is–though the punctuation was largely different.
Hi Mike, this appears to be the Spacerite Modified Roman, but pretty crudely hand-cut, with the crossbars on the A’s dropped down slightly (it looks like they missed a couple, including the second ‘A’ in January). The A’s crossbar being dropped down is common enough that I’ve included two versions with lowered bars as alternate characters in the MLC Modified Roman Handcut font.
Hello Nicolas, most–but not all–versions of Baskerville contain a numeral ‘5’ of this style, though I am not sure which version is used on this memorial. There are many, many versions of Baskerville.
Hello John, it’s possible this was/is a commercially available typeface, but it also might be an old concrete stamping letter set made exclusively for that purpose and was never digitized.
I’ve not seen a font that shares all of the characteristics of the lettering on the memorial in your photo, but if you just need something close I would do a search for “typewriter fonts” or “slab serif fonts”.
If the client would like to match it exactly it will need to be done manually, feel free to use the MLC matching service: https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/cemetery-inscription-matching-service/
Hi Nicolas, this is actually a font called Cheltenham Bold
Hello Nicolas, unsure of this lettering style, and it is possibly hand-drawn, though it is difficult to tell.
This is almost certainly a hand-drawn letter style or perhaps a very rare blueprint alphabet and will need to be custom matched.
Feel free to use the matching service if you’d like help: https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/cemetery-inscription-matching-service/
This appears to be a somewhat poorly digitized version of Helvetica. The exact version looks like it may be “Helvetica Light” in the Monu-Cad software.
Yes, this is definitely not a style that was available as a reproducible letter set at the time. It does appear fairly consistent, but looking closely there are some slight differences from letter to letter so it is almost certainly hand cut.
Feel free to use the matching service if you would like help matching this inscription: https://www.monumentletteringcenter.com/product/cemetery-inscription-matching-service/
Hello John, this is a common issue with hand-cut lettering, as the boldness of the letter depended on whether the stencil cutter followed just inside or just outside of the lines on the stencil with the knife blade. Even the angle of the knife blade can make a difference if it was not held completely vertical. Sometimes the Spacerite letters would be used but a slightly bolder letter was desired so a conscious effort was made to thicken up the letters, so there can be a lot of variance.
You’ll need to consult the Flexi Sign manual on page 59 to see instructions on adding an outline to a font in order to make it bolder. Below is a link to a Flexi manual: https://www.thinkmutoh.com/wp-content/uploads/articulate_uploads/MUTOH-FlexiSIGN-Webinar-Marathon-Replay1/story_content/external_files/NEW%20Flexi%20Training%20Manual.pdf
