During the heydey of automobile travel hundreds of motels, motor courts and tourist cabins sprung up along the roadways in order to offer weary drivers (and most often their families) rest with a night's lodging. Tourist Cabin JNL takes the inline portion from the inline font Asbury Park JNL and creates this pleasant monoline design. The original design inspiration (from which the inline portion of the letters was taken) was a 1930s WPA (Works Progress Administration) Federal art project poster with the hand-lettered words “Work with Care”

Antique Ornaments JNL collects twenty-six vintage printers' ornaments from the 1800s into one convenient digital font file.

A condensed, light face spurred serif alphabet was shown on an antique catalog page from Spon & Chamberlain Publishers as “French”. The catalog likely sold tools and dies to stonecutters for making inscriptions in marble, granite and so forth. This elegant design is available digitally as Nouveau Thin JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

The title on the 1925 sheet music for “By the Light of the Stars” was hand lettered in an eccentric Art Nouveau type style with varying character shapes and line widths. This is now available as Erratic Nouveau JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

Handmade Dropshadow JNL was modeled from lettering found on a vintage silk screened metal sign used for point-of-sale marketing. Before the advent of computers and modern techniques, silk screens were hand cut using material called frisket and knife tools, and the lettering reflected the human inconsistencies of cutting these lettering into the template surface for transfer.

Cellophane Tape JNL is a stripped-down and slightly modified version of Eckhardt Trilinear JNL with open-ended letters. While the name Cellophane Tape JNL is nostalgic (tape is no longer made from cellophane), its still a fun, novelty font for many applications.

Tourist Spot JNL is the same lettering style as Old Tijuana JNL, but with the squiggly inside lines stripped away. The original design was modeled from the hand lettered title on the cover of the 1939 sheet music for "Class Will Tell" and is available in both regular and oblique versions. Casual and playful in nature, the font can be used by itself or combined with Old Tijuana JNL for any project that promotes festive occasions.

The cover of the 1938 sheet music for "Treasure Island March" had its title hand lettered in a rough-hewn Western style with overtones of Art Deco influence. All of the characters were "cleaned up" for the digital font, but still retain the basic designs with their irregular, eccentric look. The result is Western Deco JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered titles and credits from the 1958 war film “The Young Lions” command your attention with a bold block slab serif type style. This design has been digitally recreated as No Entry JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The Federal Music Project was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's WPA (Works Progress Administration), putting many people back to work in the Depression years of the 1930s. A hand-lettered poster advertising an "American Music Festival" featuring the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra offered up the extra bold Art Deco inspiration which became Music Festival JNL

At first glance, Typewriter Sans JNL seems to look like the pantograph lettering of an engraved sign or the rounded-end lettering from an architect's templates. It might also be mistaken for plastic pin-back lettering used on some bulletin boards. In actuality, the design is based on examples of an electric typewriter ball element with a sans font named "Dual Gothic", suggested for use "in credit reports and other financial applications".

Stencil Punch JNL is modeled from lettering examples made by a Diagraph stencil cutting machine. Diagraph was the first company to make the stencil punch machines used in industry and by the military. Thanks to Neal Haynes for his kindness and assistance in providing me with sample cuts direct from the company's machine testing department.

Antique X Condensed is a condensed slab serif font found with the pages of a Rob Roy Kelly book of wood type designs. It was introduced around 1840 by Wells and Webb, and the example served as the model for General Merchandise JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The April 8, 1932 issue of The Film Daily ran an ad for a film entitled "The Sin of Lena Rivers". Hand lettered in a block style of chamfered characters, it is reminiscent of the 1920s, but still carries a touch of Art Deco influences with the thinner and extended horizontal strokes of the E, F and H. This retro sans serif design is now available digitally as Evil Ways JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

Shelf Numbers JNL recreates the small plastic pricing tags that were used on grocery, drug, variety and liquor stores shelves for many years. The number keys have alternates in the shift position with a cent sign alongside the numbers. Also included are various phrases such as "for", "each", "lb." in the A-L/a-l keystrokes, and there is an additional set of numbers in the M-V/m-v keystrokes with a decimal point to the right of each numeral for dollar amounts.

A bold, condensed slab serif face A July 9, 1935 trade paper ad for Paramount Pictures’ 1st quarter film releases sported hand lettering with chamfered slab serifs. This condensed type design is now available as Preferred Shares JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

A vintage rubber stamp alphabet and star printing set had a package header with Art Deco-inspired lettering describing the product. Sold by a company called Elvin [circa late 50's-early 1960s], these Japanese-made sets were one of many distributed by independent toy importers and made in various configurations including [at times] tiny animal stamps. The type design on this particular item was the model for Retro Packaging JNL, available in both regular and oblique versions.

Amongst a batch of antique sheet musical instruction booklets offered for sale online was a piece with Art Nouveau hand lettering on the cover entitled “Seven Musical Travelogues for Piano”. This design served as the inspiration and model for Ragtime Gal JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. The font’s name comes from the line ‘Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal…’ from the 1899 song “Hello Ma Baby”; a tune that found a new burst of popularity in an odd way within a 1955 Warner Brother’s cartoon [“One Froggy Evening”].

A style of die-cut cardboard letters and numbers used for signs, displays and show cards was the basis for Haute Couture JNL, an Art-Deco flavored typeface from Jeff Levine. A direct cousin to Signboard JNL, this font shares some similar characteristics in letterforms. Both styles of die-cut lettering were manufactured by a number of companies, and were most popular from the 1940s through the mid-1960s.

Jungle Drums JNL is based on the hand-lettered title on the 1929 sheet music of its musical namesake. A bold, free form design with a hint of the Art Deco movement of the coming decades, this casual typeface has the vintage charm to enrich many design projects. Jungle Drums JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The title hand lettered onto the 1933 sheet music cover for “Yours is My Heart Alone” represents the classic Art Deco typographic features of unusual character shapes and widths, yet at the same time it projects simplicity in geometric design. This served at the basis for Deco Diva JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Deco Signage JNL was inspired by the cast metal letters of a German wall sign “Kaspar Stanggasinger-Haus” in an online display of European signage photography - and is available in both regular and oblique versions. Although the original age of the sign is unknown, the tall, thin monoline font it’s based on evokes a definite 1940s Art Deco design influence.

The spurred serif style of Roman lettering has long been a favorite of sign painters and show card writers. Spur Handlettered JNL from Jeff Levine gives this classic design an ultra-casual look, complete with all of the nuances of hand-lettering.

Tall, condensed and square in shape... Slim James JNL balances well against bolder Deco-style sans or novelty type faces.

A vintage British lettering stencil was the inspiration for Sandwell Stencil JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. This pleasant and condensed stencil font was originally a semi-stencil – many of the characters were made as solid letters ,while the others had a traditional stencil treatment. For the digital version, the stencil treatment was applied to previously solid characters to create a consistency in the overall design.

Chinese Herbs JNL gives an outline and cast shadow treatment to the lettering found in Chinese Menu JNL. Based on some old signage.

An older typeface belonging to a family of sans serif fonts known as Grotesque (or Grotesk in the classic spelling) has been re-drawn by Jeff Levine and released as Album Cover JNL. The font's name is derived from the fact that this typeface was found on many long-playing record jackets during the 1950s and 1960s. To add a look closer to that of hand-set type, there are minute variants in some of the heights of the characters.

From 1958 to 1964, one of ABC-TV’s popular shows was the detective series “77 Sunset Strip”. Based in Los Angeles, the fictional detective agency was located next door to Dino’s Lodge, (partly owned by Dean Martin and actually located at 8532 Sunset). It was originally known as the Alpine Lodge. The adjacent building where Stuart Bailey and Jeff Spencer’s private detective service was located in fact housed a popular modeling agency. The ‘77’ address did not exist outside of the realm of the series. However, a wonderful sign with Art Deco-influenced lettering graced the set (on the wall of the office foyer) saying “Bailey & Spencer Private Investigators Suites 101-102”. A screen capture of this sign served as the working model for Private Eye JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Letterpress Ornamentals JNL collects twenty-six decorative embellishments, corner pieces, borders, separators and ornaments for enhancing your print project.

Samuel Welo’s “Studio Handbook – Letter and Design for Artists and Advertisers” was a go-to source of inspiration for generations of layout artists, graphic designers and sign painters. An interesting example of free-form pen lettering was found amongst the pages of one edition and it has now been recreated as a digital typeface called Nouveau Cartoon JNL; available in both regular and oblique versions.

The 1930 sheet music for “A Peach of a Pair” from Paramount Pictures’ “Follow Through” listed the stars and production credits in a wonderfully casual, free-form Art Nouveau hand lettering. This has been recreated digitally as Casually Nouveau JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions. For another Art Nouveau typeface with a free-form look, try the similarly named Casual Nouveau JNL.

Engine Company JNL is a slab serif font based on a set of wood type. The design emits an image of strength and purpose, and fits well into any project where a word or phrase must be conveyed forcefully without seeming overly imposing.

Federal Case JNL is a stencil version of Government Issue JNL... adding the feel of industrial, military or high-level government espionage... From the lettering on a shipping crate to the cover of a secret folder of undercover plans, this font fits like a hand in a glove.

Modeled from a set of individual painting stencils, Mess Hall JNL is named for the armed services cafeteria where thousands of enlisted men endured bland, boring meals day in and day out for years.

A vintage brass stencil for an individual or company named ‘Rodrigues’ was spotted in an online auction. The hand punched, condensed Roman lettering inspired the digital typeface Nameplate Stencil JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Thin, elegant and thoroughly Art Deco is the thick-and-thin (slightly flared) alphabet found on page 31 of Samuel Welo’s 1930 instructional book “Lettering Practical and Foreign”. Redrawn digitally as Evening Dress JNL, it is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A 1940s Australian song folio featuring tunes performed by singer-actress Deanna Durbin had her name hand lettered in an interesting Art Deco style sans. This became the basis for Song Folio JNL, capturing all the nuances of the original in digital form.

Dollar Tree Stores imports a number of items from China, and many times these are limited-run products only available until the existing supplies run out. One such item was a sans serif stencil lettering guide with rounded ends that takes on the look of 1980s-influenced techno lettering. This is now available as Import Stencil JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

The vintage sheet music for "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" yielded another bit of Art Deco-era lettering perfect for developing into a digital font. This time it wasn't the song title, but rather the name of the show it was from serving as the type inspiration - the Cotton Club's 1931 revue "Rhythm-Mania". Harlem's Cotton Club was an "exclusive, whites only" club; both famous for its talent and shows, yet infamous for hiring black acts but not allowing black patronage. On the sheet music, the show title was hand lettered in a bold, slightly stylized fashion which became the basis for Rhythmic Revue JNL; available in both regular and oblique versions.

Amateur Printer JNL is comprised of letters and numbers from one of the rubber stamp sign printing sets that were popular with children up until about the 1960s. The letters were printed out on paper, then scanned and converted into a font... leaving all of the rough edges and defects intact to give the look of authentic rubber stamp impressions.