Akzidenz-Grotesk
Berthold’s grotesque of 1898 for jobbing work – the model for 1950s Swiss typography.
Akzidenz means jobbing printing: tickets, forms and advertising, as opposed to books. Berthold’s grotesque was based on older German grotesques and sold in many weights.
In the 1950s it became the favourite of Swiss typographers and the model for Helvetica and Univers. The designer is unknown, and later digital versions are protected – so only a drawing is shown.
Materials: Metal type
Manufacture: Cast by H. Berthold AG in Berlin, in a family of weights extended over a long period.
No serifs and an almost even stroke weight.
A somewhat uneven family, since the weights came from different models.
An R with a straight leg and a G with a spur.