In older American slang, a "bum steer" is a bad tip, some bad advice or being sent in the wrong direction (to name a few examples). Bum Steer JNL was modeled from some playful hand lettering found on a piece of early 20th Century sheet music entitled "When Uncle Joe Plays a Rag on His Old Banjo". It's very possible that "Hobo" (a popular type design of the time) was a strong influence on the sheet music's style of title lettering. It seems that songwriters in those bygone days were prone to cramming as many words from a line of their song into the title itself. Another such example of a wordy song title which coincidently is in keeping with the theme of a "bum steer" (pun intended) is a novelty number from 1915: "Cows May Come and Cows May Go but the Bull Goes on Forever" (words by Vincent Bryan, music by Harry Von Tilzer). [It's kind of self-descriptive, don't you think?]

Brass Rail JNL is a novelty font, with its name derived from two key components of the source material. It was modeled from examples of vintage small letters stamped out of brass with "rails" above and below each character to fit within a slot. The most likely use of these letters would have been for either decorative initials or small merchandising signs (similar examples of both have been seen in the past). From these few examples comes a typeface with numerals, punctuation and an extended character set.

Sheet Music JNL was based on lettering found on an old piece of 1930s-era sheet music being sold at a local rummage sale.

Twenty-Six various styles of document seals comprise Embossing Seals JNL. With a little imagination any plain document can take on an "official" look by adding text and a few special effects to the finished image.

Another filter effect version of Adhesive Serif Letters JNL (of which the original design was modeled after some vintage gummed letters used for signage) and is called Shattered Dreams JNL. This variant has jagged edges all around and is kind of reminiscent of shapes you could make with a small magnet and iron filings. Shattered Dreams JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Metal Stencil JNL is a digital reconstruction of the brass stencil set used as a model for French Stencil JNL. Each character sits on its own individual 'card'. There is a limited character set consisting of letters, numbers, punctuation and a few extra glyphs including foreign currency symbols.

Saddle Hitch JNL is a Western font inspired by a few words set in a decorative typeface from an 1887 publication.

Scribner's Magazine was an illustrated periodical published from 1887 to 1939. The 1895 holiday issue “Scribner's for Xmas” had the cover text hand lettered in an Art Nouveau style with spurred serifs. This is now available digitally as Nouveau Style JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

Casual Lunch JNL is a friendly, relaxed typeface that's perfect for headlines where legibility is important, but formality is optional.

Dan Hardie, a Miami-based graphic artist and creative consultant at Mutiny, Inc. shared an image he’d spotted online of some interesting signage formerly on the front of the Miami Medical Building. Comprised of hand-cut metal characters (with a thoroughly avant-garde “Art Deco meets Modernist” approach), this instantly became a font design idea unusual and quirky enough to develop as a digital typeface. The end result is Office Visit JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Concave Tuscan Extra Condensed is a classic wood type sans serif design that is the basis for Table Wood JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A set of cling vinyl letters and numbers for titling home movies or slides is the basis for Home Movies JNL. The set was made by the Clingtite Letters Company of Chicago and retailed for $2.95. It was advertised in many photographic publications of the 1950s.

Border pieces, catch words, head and tail pieces and a generous amount of cartoons comprise Letterpress Assortment JNL. All of the printers' stock cuts were re-drawn from vintage source material.

The hand lettered title on the 1915 sheet music for “On the Banks of the Amazon” was the design model for Nouveau Spurred JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. This gently spurred Art Nouveau Roman is a beautiful choice for headlines, book titles and other retro-influenced projects.

A small book entitled “Portfolio of Alphabet Designs for Artists, Architects, Designers & Craftsmen” [published in 1938 by Irene K. Ames] contained a number of pages displaying hand lettered alphabet examples. One sample in particular stood out for its bold Art Deco look and unusual design. This is now available as Dance Moderne JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

Lost Hills JNL is a split-serif Western font based on Jeff Levine's Brogado JNL. Named for an actual location in California, this font has all the basic characteristics of a traditional Old West design.

Loosely based on some hand-lettered title cards from various vintage Columbia Pictures two-reel comedies, Short Subject JNL is a pleasant sans serif typeface that is aptly suited for titling and other similar applications.

There are very few Western-style stencil digital fonts available, hence Overland Stage JNL. In the days when stage coaches, wagon trains, the Pony Express and the first transcontinental railroad crossed the landscape of this country, merchants shipped their goods any way possible to the growing territories and states. Picture wooden cases filled with dry goods, hardware or foodstuffs marked in hand-cut stencil lettering and nailed shut for their cross-country journey. Companion fonts to complement this design are Frontiersman JNL (Western lettering with an inline engraving) and Frontiersman Black JNL.

“Victoria Underwood” was found within the pages of the 1923 American Type Founders specimen book. It was one of many printing fonts faithfully replicating those used on various makes and models of actual typewriters. The purpose of such type was to allow mass production of letters or notices that could appear personalized rather than shop printed. Antique Typewriter JNL is the digital version of this design, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Continental Gothic JNL is elegant and sophisticated... perfect for an Art Deco project needing a font that is not too bold or overpowering.

The title card for the 1938 screwball comedy "Four's a Crowd" (starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Rosalind Russell) offered a classic, thin Art Deco type design with stylized letter forms. This is the basis for Society Column JNL; which derives its name from the newspaper columns popularized in that era detailing the whereabouts of the "upper crust" of society.

Here's a companion font for the fun and playful typeface Doowop JNL from Jeff Levine. Doowop Initials JNL features an initial over the silhouette of a 1950s-style singing group. For an extra bonus, there's a handful of 50s-style icons on the number keys in both the upper and lower shift positions.

Vintage packaging for Frosty Stencil Flock contained the hand lettered term “spray flock” which served as the basis for Flocking Stencil JNL; available in both regular and oblique versions. Commonly referred to as “Spray Snow”, these kits of holiday stencils and spray cans were a popular item in the households of the 1950s and early-to-mid 1960s.

A 1964 piece of sheet music entitled “Old Soldiers Never Die (They Just Fade Away)” was based on the farewell speech General Douglas MacArthur gave to Congress on April 19, 1951. This particular edition of the song sheet had part of his speech (as well as its title) hand lettered in a free-form sans serif reminiscent of the lettering done by such noted lettering artists as Paul Coker and Saul Bass. The casual and playful style of this type design became the inspiration for Swing Vote JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Decorative Arrows JNL is a collection of twenty-six decorative arrows provided in right and left facing directions.

Modeled after an image of an almost complete set of Latin Condensed wood type, Cattle Trail JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The unusual mix of Art Deco lettering with a smattering of Art Nouveau characters found within Dance Partner JNL comes from a movie poster for the 1935 RKO picture "Roberta" starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The musical was based on the hit 1933 stage play that introduced the song "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". The play itself was based on the Alice Duer Miller novel "Gowns by Roberta".

In the MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan type specimen book of 1892 are examples of Lining Gothic Extended, a wide sans serif typeface. A lining font has the numerals aligned with the capital letter height, rather than following the “Old Style” method of smaller figures that could also descend below the baseline. Order Form JNL is the digital version of this design, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Samuel Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers” contained dozens of hand-lettered alphabets used as inspiration for both the sign trade and for graphic designers. Intertitle Nouveau JNL – available in both regular and oblique versions – was originally an alphabet produced by a round lettering nib, and was first shown in the 1927 edition (later reprinted in the 1960 edition). It is reminiscent of the lettering used on intertitle cards of the silent film era. This font marks an amazing milestone - the 2000th release by Jeff Levine Fonts since its inception in January of 2006.

Casting Call JNL is a simple condensed sans modeled from the hand-lettered title of a piece of vintage sheet music entitled "Somebody Else is Taking My Place"; a 1940s song co-authored and made famous by bandleader Russ Morgan.

The 1920s film production company Tiffany-Stahl often used a hand lettered Art Nouveau novelty type design with thick horizontal lines in their various film release ads. One such ad was in the August 11, 1929 of “The Film Daily”. This served as the model for Nouveau Event JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The idea for Gummed Letters JNL came from an online auction of some foil-embossed gummed letters from the 1940s and 1950s. One particular set was of a sans serif face that hadn't been produced in decades, and Jeff Levine felt it was worthy of a digital treatment.

Gramercy Eight JNL is an outline and drop shadow treatment of Crestview Six JNL, inspired by some 1930s-1940s era Art Deco hand lettering spotted on a sales flier for some decorator decals.

The bold round point pen lettering on the cover of the 1934 sheet music for “New England in the Rain” was the model and inspiration for Poster Pen JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

In the 1920 edition of “How to Paint Signs and Sho’ Cards” by E. C. Matthews is an example of what is termed “poster lettering” that is so free form and unusual it borders on the eccentric. Resembling lettering more commonly found in 1960s “underground comics” of the Hippie generation rather than of the Art Nouveau period, it oddly enough works well in both styles. This novelty typeface is now available as Hippie Comics JNL in both regular and oblique versions.

Trafalgar Stencil JNL gets its inspiration from a set of lettering stencils manufactured by Reese and Sons in Great Britain during the 1950s as does its counterpart, British Stencil JNL.

Picturesque Stencil JNL gets its name and design from the title of a circa-1920s children’s stencil activity book entitled “Dean’s Picturesque Stencil Book No. 10 - Series 75”; published by the F. Weber Company of Philadelphia and printed in England by Dean. The book’s stenciled title was hand lettered in a bold Roman design in the Art Nouveau style. Picturesque Stencil JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

An image from the Library of Congress showing a New York City Italian Kitchen storefront window and its various neon signs inspired Spaghetti Joint JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions. The term “Spaghetti Joint” is old-fashioned slang for any restaurant serving Italian cuisine, especially those featuring spaghetti or other pasta dishes.

The Logansport, Indiana Pharos-Observer dated June 12, 1917 had the following headline running across its front page: “American Steamer Sunk by German U Boat”. The condensed slab serif typeface used to set that headline has been recreated digitally as Newspaper Publisher JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Found within the pages of the 1934 edition of the American Type Foundry’s “Book of American Type” is a sans serif design with rounded terminals that emulates a typewriter face. “Jumbo Typewriter” is reminiscent of the type of lettering formerly found on teletype news copy. “Teletype” was a division of Western Electric (part of AT&T), and the machines utilized telephone lines to electronically type and send (as well as receive) messages worldwide. Many folks will remember the sound of teletype machines in the background when radio stations had their news breaks. Now available digitally as News Copy JNL, it is available in both regular and oblique versions.