I'd guess it's custom by the sculptor. If it's molded in concrete, there could have been a standard set of dies made up for the letters and numerals, but my guess is that each one would have been hand-carved from what appears to be sandstone.

- Lex

EDIT: Didn't read that it was concrete. I stand by my die hypothesis.

I think Lex's idea makes a lot of sense, although it also seems possible that the dies he suggested were based on an existing typeface. I notice the '7' is quite odd -- more like an upside-down 'L'. I can't think of a typeface with that feature. This date was 1947. Are all the bridges of a similar age, and were the plaques made when the bridges were built, or added on later?

Would you have any more samples of the lettering? For my purposes only the R and E in this sample are useful as key letters. I'd like to know what the C, G, J, K, M, U or W look like to have more to base an ID on.

- Mike Yanega

I've been looking through some fonts in the previous FontBook, and Joe Treacy's 'Habitat' seems like a pretty good match for the letters in 'LIVERPOOL'. That font was designed in 1985, but who knows if it was based on anything older. [Note: you need to use the site's 'TRY' feature to see the range of weights for the font.]

- Mike Yanega

Thanks.

I think you must be right about the use of dies.

That 7 sure is quirky.