I really have to suggest Peignot™ (http://www.linotype.com/1328/peignot-family.html) and I'm French... ;-)

and also Cochin™ (http://www.linotype.com/267/cochin-family.html)

French Cannon from Fell Types:

http://www.iginomarini.com/fell.html

(may be a little on the 'older' side, but French flavoured none-the-less).

and also older:

http://www.linotype.com/1012/linotypedidot-family.html

Kentness, off topic . . . are you in Habbo Hotel?

Vendôme!

[edit: might be a little modern for that time period.]

Anisette and for readability use Anisette Petite for smaller information.

You might also find Ambroise interestingly useful.

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/bitstream/parisian/ and http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/canadatype/flirt/ and http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/spiecegraphics/adonis-old-style-sg/ and http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/marksimonson/coquette/ and http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/spiecegraphics/quaint-gothic-sg/ and maybe even http://letterheadfonts.com/styles/artnouveau.shtml

Vendome is truly Paris in the Fifties, if that's the look. All the postwar French book classics used Vendome for their title heads, mainly because it was one of the few available. But if it's earlier and more classic in feel, try one of the Didots (such as Hoefler's) for larger heads, and maybe FF Acanthus with old style figures for the body copy. I just went to New York's Dahesh Museum for a show of large French art books created as a result of Napoleon's abortive campaign in Egypt, and published around 1808, and their large heads used a beautiful Didot, and for the body copy, the nearest equivalent now would be either Acanthus or ITC Bodoni Twelve. Just depends on the period feel being targeted.

John, did you take any pictures? I'd love to see these.

No photo-taking was allowed, Miss Tiffany, but maybe the Dahesh Museum would send you a JPEG or two of the book inside pages. One text font, roughly equivalent to Acanthus today, was fascinating, esp the tiny crossbar in the middle of the lower case l character (as in love), which was printed clear as a bell...at the Morgan Library recently, I saw another big French art book around that period, an edition of Racine, with a big rendering of that same text font, impeccably printed...

You might also find this thread interesting... We hunted for a match for the title sequence to "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg"... ended up deciding it was at the very least inspired by Roger Excoffon's Antique Olive Nord.

--Michael.

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// love what you do or do something else. //
Michael Ebert -- graphic designer, jazz saxophonist, horror movie devotee
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