I’m a big fan of the logo for “The Standard” hotels as well, everywhere it’s used, it’s typically flipped upside down, which is a typographic element all on its own. I imagine from the strange forms the glyphs take, when they are read inversely.

Found on Hannover Square, only a few steps off of Wall Street.

It’s rare that such a balance of old and new stays together so well, without going too gimmicky.

Found on a 42nd St. entrance to the 4-5-6 at Grand Central Terminal

Gorgeous old stencil signage, backlight with two lightbulbs, which makes pictures impossible, yet gorgeous all at the same time.

Below the signs are rows of old wooden public phone booths, with modern pay phones inside. Worth seeing.

Take a look right above the condiment bar,  and you’ll find this great soda crate, living it’s second life as a shelf for stuff. I just can’t get enough of the all-caps condensed gothic used here. The rounded corners give it a slightly softer characteristic.

Again, as with many of these artifacts, it’s impossible to know if these were actual typefaces, or hand interpretations of a popular gothic or sans. This would be a font that i’d buy in a heartbeat.

Found in NoHo

Found in the Upper East Side.

The story goes, that Patrick Joeseph Clarke’s apartment was in the exact space the Sidecar now exists.

Of course, the door is marked by the rusted metal hanging sign, hand painted a warm mute yellow, with a script that puts you in the right mood for a burger.

Check around the corner for the much more well known brick façade, easily visible from the sidewalk on the northeast corner of the restaurant.

One of my favorite parts about the bar is the level of care and detail the menu boards are refreshed, all with simply blackboard slate and chalk. The ornaments and subtly grid balanced listings really show the handicraft of a real typographer.

Don’t forget to check out the “Employees must wash hands” sign, which is done in the same fashion. Thankfully, that sign is shielded from drunken patrons with a thin sheet of plexiglas.

Always a favorite.

As you guys know I’ve been building, designing and scrapping a new version of New Type York for well over eight months at this point, although never fully giving the site the attention it deserves. Which is a shame, because I have been amassing a sizable archive of artifacts over the past few months.

So, as of this week, I’m back to daily artifact posts as the new site is being built.

I’m excited to share all these great type artifacts with you again, and can’t wait to hear from you all again. Thanks again for keeping this project alive, your enthusiasm and interest has put a real fire under me.

“Toasted My Buns,” one could say.

Thanks again, and let’s go dig up some type.

James Patrick Gibson
June, 2011
New York City

On the left, a white on black (typically harder to read) sign with terribly distorted characters, a really confusing street direction, and a phone number which nobody will write down. Monthly space is important to New Yorkers, but not so important for that percentage of a sign, which is supposed to attract you to park right now.

Found right near this Day & Meyer sign.

I love the quick hit “Elvis” stamp that someone threw up right next to the fighter jet. It’s pretty funny to see the “discussion” of street artists and taggers as they try and battle it out for space on clean walls.

This is obviously a commentary on Iraq & Afghanistan, although a bit weird, because the silhouette of the fighter looks like an F-14, which has been out of commission for some time. Still, it does balance out well.

Found near Mulberry Street.

This amazing gold-gilded sign above is right next door to my new office. Look at the wonderful imperfection of the characters, and the great flourish in between the stems of the A’s. Warm and classic. It’s a personal favorite of mine.

Little Rant: With such an amazing sign, and equally amazing storefront, I was expecting their website to have the same amount of detail and warmth. It’s a shame it doesn’t. This is a great opportunity for your web designers out there, give your clients site creative the same level of detail and care that goes into signs like the one above.

The setting is done so well. Beautiful gold script, with restrained swashes and a warmly aged drop stroke. The sans is ever so imperfect, but carefully kerned and set well underneath the main mark.

This is a very different direction for J Crew, if you know their typical Connecticut / Hamptons bend for retail fronts. This is a nice warm nod to early 40′s and 50′s gentlemen’s stores. I love it.

Interesting Fact: The store itself is just under two years old, as much as they would want to make you believe its been there forever. It’s former life: A Newsstand.

The building it lives on sits currently vacant.

Condensed all caps, with the “the” and “of the” taking the classic upwards bend. It’s such a great example of old simple New York Type.

Note: I’m working on the redesign of the blog right now, and much older typography such as the example above has been a pretty huge reference for me. I’ve become a huge fan of white condensed, all caps sans on black. The new logo for the site may take a pretty large reference from this classic style. Stay tuned.

Beautifully condensed type (nicely tracked out) on black & orange? Absolutely classic. Hence why I’m such a fan of this Herbert Matter mark.

Update: After scouring around looking at faces, i’m about 99% certain the face is: Los Alamos Pro Fat Man by Red Rooster. See the setting from myfonts.com below.

Note: I plan on spending a bit more time in SoHo. It’s an absolute goldmine of great classic / handmade typography. Expect to see much more from this neighborhood.