Typophile

Appassionata for pathétique Black-Letter - Cover font for Gieseking's Beethoven sonatas on Columbia

cartouche

hello all!

this somewhat modernist blackletter font is from columbia sax 2259 but was used on most of gieseking's series of beethoven sonatas (the remaining being 33cx mono).

i could'nt produce any close results with wtf but then again blackletter is a vast country…

looking forward to your input!

thanks

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Don't have the answer so dropping here only alternatives: Germania (digitized as Germania and Deutsch Gothic), Becker, Bradley

Found a match to your font.
Fontcraft/Scriptorium sells a version as "Rousseau" in its Nouveau Gothic Package


http://www.fontcraft.com/scriptorium/masterfonts/
---start quote---
Our first Master Fonts package features three type styles based on late 19th century designs which were influenced by Gothic calligraphy filtered through the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements. Kelmscott is based on William Morris' classic Troy type design. Joyeuse is based on an English font of the same period which was clearly influenced by Morris. Rousseau is derived from a slightly later French design which shows many of the same influences.
---end quote---
Rousseau is probably not the original name of the font, a heavier version of which would seem to be the original source of the lettering on your Columbia record titling.
Note that Rousseau is a lighter version of the letters than the ones in the Columbia record titling.
Don

Solved more of the puzzle.
The original name of the font seems to be Kloster-Gotisch and it is German rather than French. I believe that Scriptorium called it "Rousseau" because this name appears in the type specimen, as published by Ludwig Petzendorfer

The specimen is for the "magere" or lighter weight.
I believe that your lettering is from the "fette" or bold weight of Kloster-Gotisch or from an extremely similar font.
Don

thanks ryuk and don for your input and sorry for not getting back to you earlier!
the kloster gotisch seems promissing; couldn't find a 'fette' version to copy from though - will have to tweak a photo of a cover thus!

cheers :)

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