The movie poster promoting the 1962 James Cagney comedy "One, Two Three" had it's text done in free-style hand lettering. Starting with an auto-trace in order to have an isolated version of the black letters separated from the red poster background, the tracing kept the basic forms intact, but with limited accuracy. Cleaning up and digitally reshaping the letters manually to form a more correct version [closer to the original movie poster], additional figures, foreign characters, accents and punctuation were drawn from scratch. This is now available as Handwritten Note JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

Art Topic JNL is a round-cornered square sans serif in the Art Deco style, and was modeled from a 1930 WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster for the Federal Arts Project.

In 1962, the late Robert Libauer of the Stenso Lettering Company (of Baltimore, MD) revised two of his popular stencil lettering guides to offers users two choices: “traditional” stencil letters and numbers and "solid" letters for tracing and coloring. Solid Stencil JNL was modeled from one of those lettering guides, and contains all of the character anomalies found within that vintage stencil.

Utlity Signage JNL is a collection of fifty-two various "all purpose signs" we've all seen in hardware and variety stores is perfect for spot illustrations in ad copy, making one-off images for props in a stage play or production or even for novelty jokes or gags. NOTE: Usage of this font to create printed or digital "stock signs" for resale is not part of, nor allowed under the terms of the standard Jeffrey N. Levine Software License Agreement. A separate license for the manufacture and distribution of derivative products is required by contacting the font author directly. Please refer to the EULA for further details.

The inspiration for Brattleboro Stencil JNL was found within a reproduction of a sales catalog for stencil punch dies manufactured by S.M. Spencer & Co. (originally of Brattleboro, VT), circa 1868. Basically a sans serif letter, the font's unusual feature is its "split tail" design where the letters take on a bit of a "Western" look in appearance.

Here's another stencil font designed from and inspired by the lettering guides used for years by teachers, school children, merchants and others.

Instead of being directly based on classic wood or metal type examples, Mule Train JNL takes a roundabout route in its development. Images of a set of letters and numbers cut from plywood (which in turn were based on a vintage type design) served as the work models. Mule Train JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

What has become a rite of passage at baseball games got its start in 1908 when lyricist Jack Norworth and music composer Albert Von Tilzer wrote "Take Me Out to the Ball-Game" (which was published by Von Tilzer's York Music Company). The Art Nouveau hand lettered title on the cover of the sheet music was eccentric and attractive enough to warrant being turned into a digital type face, and in honor of its namesake song is called Ball Game JNL; available in both regular and oblique versions.

An ad in the May 27, 1939 issue of "Motion Picture Herald" for the film "Young Mr. Lincoln" featured the film's title hand lettered in a squared, bold pen lettering with rounded terminals along with an incised 'engraving' line. This formed the basis for Political Trend JNL, which available in both regular and oblique versions.

Eckhardt Embellishments JNL collects a number of vintage pointing hands, ribbons, panels and embellishments from an early 1900s sign painter's manual and misc. type sources. This font is a continuation of the series named in honor of the late Albert Eckhardt, Jr. - a Miami area sign painter and close friend of type designer Jeff Levine.

Vintage sheet music for the song "Just Once for All Time" (from the United Artists release "Congress Dances") provided the bold sans that served as the model for Dance Number JNL. This 1932 film was the English language version of the German comedy "Der Kongrefl tanzt" The movie's plot is based around the Congress of Vienna. There, an Austrian commoner is mistakenly thought to be the Tsar of Russia.

With electronics taking over virtually every aspect of manufacturing, packaging and shipping, it's almost difficult to envision a time when wooden crates were marked for identification by using brass stencils. Many of these stencils were hand-cut or manufactured with special punches that perforated the brass sheets with pre-formed letters and numbers. One such stencil was the design model for Marking Stencil JNL.

From cartoons to ad helpers to embellishments and ornaments, Letterpress Pieces JNL is another collection of vintage imagery from the pre-computer era of printing and advertising.

An interesting hand lettered sans serif type style with a “brush stroke” feel was used for various article headlines in the October, 1938 issue of “Radio Stars” magazine.

For a pulp magazine called Spicy Western Stories, it was unusual that the January 01, 1939 issue had its cover title hand lettered in an extra bold Art Deco style rather than Western influenced lettering. This did not stop the lettering from being used as the design model for a digital type revival. Pulp Magazine JNL, is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Titles from the 1938 movie "Service Deluxe" starring Vincent Price and Constance Bennett were the inspiration for the similarly named Art Deco typeface Service Deluxe JNL.

Sometimes the simplest ideas yield more than one result. The basic “dot matrix” design of aligned circles that was the basis for Transactive JNL also yielded Zera JNL (connected rings) and Pillow Puff JNL (fluffy and cloud-like lettering). One more design was originally cast aside. A separate file is available for filling in the letters with a colored background, however minute adjustments may be needed due to the fact that each drawing or design software program has its own characteristics and quirks. NOTE: DO NOT purchase the fill font as a “stand alone” type face because of the difference in spacing and alignment. For the dot matrix look in your work, please purchase Transactive JNL.

Call the lettering French Clarendon Condensed, call it circus lettering, wanted poster type or Old West letters, the style of this typeface is one of the most recognizable and evokes all of the above images and more. Tent Show JNL was re-drawn from examples of a vintage set of wood type, and contains all of the eccentricities that are present in these hand-routed classic letter forms.

Shipping stencils cut on an antique machine with its somewhat crude slab serif type design inspired Container Stencil JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Free-form hand lettering on a 1979 poster for the Washington, D.C. exhibition of watercolors and etchings by the Elie Abrahami inspired Art Director JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. This type of lettering was most popular in the late 50s through the mid-60s for movie titles, greeting cards and poster text.

Heller Sans JNL is based on the main letterforms of an experimental alphabet designed by Steven Heller; noted author of over 170 books on design and visual culture. Some modifications were made in turning his design into a digital font. In his own words, here is the background to this typeface: “I recently recovered this from the junk heap. It is a yellowing photostat of my first and only typeface design (1969-70). Total folly! At the time I was smitten by Art Moderne lettering. I called it “Klaus Boobala Bold” because I liked the K and B. I’ve lost the letters S through Z, which were made. The letters were drawn with compass, Techno pen (that frequently clogged). as well as a triangle and T-square. The inline and outline made no real logical sense. I based the design, in part, on Kabel, Avant Garde and it was a product of whatever I could accomplish with those tools. The caps-only alphabet was photographed and produced as a film negative that was cut in foot-long strips and spliced to fit on a Typositor reel. Sadly, the negatives made for the font were too brittle and the splice snapped apart in the Typositor. I worked on it for well over a month and used the face only once. I realized with this attempt, like so many other times I attempted different challenges, that type design — indeed mechanical drawing — was not my strong suit.” Heller Sans JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Another batch of vintage letterpress cartoons, cuts, dingbats and embellishments is offered in Print Sellers JNL.

Handmade Roman JNL is a simple and clean serif design. Perfect for headlines or titles, this condensed serif font gets attention without being overly formal.

The deep well of creativity that is the era of the hand lettered sheet music title page brings forth Nouveau Nights JNL. Re-drawn from a period example of the 1920s, this titling font perfectly captures the warm "human" look of pen and ink lettering, long before the advent of "perfect" digital type.

The hand lettering found on the cover of the 1912 sheet music for "Somebody Else is Getting It" featured a blockish Art Nouveau style with rounded corners and a very lurid title [although it likely had a more innocent meaning in those days than the casual observer might interpret today]. Now available as Nouveau Standard JNL, it is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Welcome Home JNL gets its inspiration from metal letters and numbers affixed to homes, posts and mailboxes in the 1920s and 1930s. The block style of lettering that was silk screened onto enameled rectangles of steel was especially popular during that time period. This font has a limited character set.

Oceanfront Property JNL was modeled from the hand lettered title on the cover of the 1932 sheet music for "There's Oceans of Love by the Beautiful Sea". A simple sans, it still reflects the beginnings of the Art Deco Era with its approach to letter forms and varying widths. This type design is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Pleasant Evening JNL was modeled after an Art Nouveau serif typeface named ‘Racine’ [found in the 1881 Barnhart Bros. & Spindler type specimen book] and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Van Wyck JNL was inspired by some old printing found in a catalog.

Wood Line JNL is based on a printed example of a vintage handmade wood type. This sans serif digital font is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Art Museum JNL is yet another take on the classic Art Deco "solid letter" fonts that emulate the style of Futura Black. This version comes to you through the courtesy of a vintage WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster promoting national parks and Winter sports. Take note of the unusual inverted middle crossbar on the 'E' and 'F' as inspired by the poster's hand lettering.

Online auctions offer a myriad of unique, vintage and novel lettering devices – all which are fertile ground for typographic inspiration. In this instance, a set of stamped metal letters for outdoor signage was the basis for Stamped Metal JNL. Some of the non-traditional letter weights makes these simple block letters a wonderful change of pace for bold, attention-getting headlines.

Calendar Blocks JNL was inspired by old-fashioned wood type used to assemble calendar pages in the days of letterpress printing. The A-Z keystrokes contain the dates 1-26. The lower case a-z keystrokes have the remaining dates 27-31, along with the split dates 23/30 and 24/31 and blank boxes. The days of the week are located on the 1-7 keys.

Spring Fashion JNL was modeled after an example of hand lettering from an old book displayed on an online auction. Rendered in lower case only with basic punctuation, this type design was made specifically for headlines. Its light, airy personality adds charm to simple ad copy or titles.

Named for a Manhattan neighborhood, Morningside Heights JNL is based on lettering found on a 1920s-era piece of sheet music. Part of the charm of hand lettering from the Art Nouveau era is found in the non-standard line thicknesses, experimental character shapes and varying character widths.

Take a classic wood type design, add some white panels to parts of the letters and numbers and you end up with Partial Eclipse JNL, a novelty display font that adds a clean, yet unique look to your digital or print project. A little experimentation can go a long way!

Spur Stencil JNL gets its inspiration from the single word "stencils" lettered on a vintage package of Glass Wax Christmas stencils.

An ad in the Oct. 27, 1919 issue of the trade magazine “The Moving Picture World” promoted “Princess Virtue” from Bluebird Pictures starring Mae Murray – The Adorable [as noted by the movie studio in the ad]. The Art Nouveau hand lettering emulated the style usually drawn with a round nib pen, but was given a specialized treatment for the ad. It was re-drawn in a more traditional ‘pen nib’ look for digital revival. The end result is Silent Movies JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Bit Player JNL is the extra-condensed companion font to Cast and Crew JNL, and features an additional oblique version. Useful wherever a large block of copy text needs to fit into a constrained space, Bit Player JNL can be applied to movie title credits, disclaimers, warranty information, end user license agreements and similar projects.

Stuffed Shirt JNL acquires its name from a term popularized during the years when the Art Deco period flourished. The Great Depression further widened the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. Occasionally, some of those that 'had' (and some who pretended they did) came off as standoffish, egotistical and pompously arrogant. Such individuals were referred to as a "stuffed shirt"; a blowhard who thought he was better than others. In this case, Stuffed Shirt JNL is no more than a dual-line adaptation of Playwright JNL, itself an interpretation of the classic Broadway type design in a way that emulates the hand lettering of old-time sign painters.