Don't know what I'd call it other than a decorative embellishment usually associated with old west fonts.

IIRC the triangular shape first appeared in the Didot on the lowercase-l (ell) to differentiate it somehow. I've emailed the big guns to see if they can't clarify.

Sure you aren't thinking of a long s, Tiff?

You might be able to closely replicate this by adding the diamond thingies to Berthold City.

- Lex

I belief the "diamond thingies" described here are typical Tuscan embelishment arising out of 19th century woodtype design. I'm no type historian so identifying the "first" example is beyond my brain.

What's cool about this is that it combines the tuscan element with an industrial feeling geometric slab. The result is a very hip mashup.

BTW following is a digital font I'm pretty sure, the serifs are off but the basic slab, and diamonds are right on.

This also is in the same veign, but a sans:
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/woodentypefonts/gothic-tuscan-round/

Perhaps I'm going to far back in history. It was the lowercase-l (ell) and I'm pretty sure it was Didot.

Tiffany you're talking about the mark first seen in
the RdR, but it's not really the same thing as this.

hhp

Thanks, Hrant. That's right. Yes, I know that now. That's why I said I think I went too far back.

Blimey. Have I really stumped Typophile twice in one post? I doubt it.

So it's a custom font and those embellishments have no standardised typographic anatomical name then.

I'm guessing Tuscan embellishments come in a variety of forms and positions on a glyph? Googling the phrase "Tuscan embellishment" only results in one highly inappropriate result. So it doesn't look like that singular element can be called that then.

Thanks for your efforts everyone anyway :)

"Tuscan flourish" is the more common expression.

hhp

Sorry to go on, but just to clarify, is “Tuscan flourish” the expression for just those side spur thingies or for a variety of wobbly bits like in Randy's picture above?

If anything, given this genre, spur is perfect.

According to the Baines/Haslam Typography book, Tuscans are classified as such based on whether or not their serifs fork. The passage goes on to say that toward the end of the 19th century, Tuscan stems began to aquire "bulges" (from which one would guess the diamond-shaped embellishments evolved).

Thanks Eric. That will do for me.

So without anything more definitive can we declare those half diamonds on the outer sides of the uprights a...

TUSCAN BULGE

How would one go about making it official? I like the phrase for its risqué double entendre alone. It's a shame the Tuscany region isn't one of the bulges in the Italian coastline.

How would one go about making it official?

start using it. if others like it they'll start using it.

Of course even better would be to use the Italian term for bulge...

And what Paul said.

hhp

Hey, Paul, did you happen to see those Tuscan Bulges on the Undefeated logotype at the start of this thread? I thought, as Tuscan Bulges go, they were quite good ones. I especialy liked the way these Tuscan Bulges were complimentary to the angles elsewhere in the font.

Of course these Tuscan Bulges are not the most Tuscan of Tuscan Bulges or even the most bulging of Tuscan Bulges but they are still very nice Tuscan Bulges all the same.

Nah, nice try, but that won't do it. It's got to become widely used by lots of folks in these forums, like Tiffany's term 'Squooshed'. ;)

- Mike Yanega

heh, my new favorite term i hope catches on is some-serifs. Hypatia Sans is a great exemplar of the some-serifs genre of typefaces.

Paul, it's funny you should mention that because I've been working on a design for a some-slab serif typeface.

I may even do a version with Tuscan Bulges :D

I thought I might return to the original question, and suggest a similar typeface, though not as squared. It does have the 'Tuscan Bulges' (patent pending). See Cowboy Western from Font Mesa.

- Mike Yanega

Jeepers Mike, someone could lose an eye on those Tuscan Bulges ;)

The only Tuscan Bulge I get is when I eat too much good Italian food. ;-)

Hey, Linda, youz can call me Toni. I got a Tuscan Bulge in my Levi's just for you sweet cheeks ;)

ROFL: take a number and stand in line. ;-)

Good point, well made, denis, but I don't see the relevance to Tuscan bulges?

Graham

I like how "Denis" entered a first name, but put random gibberish in the other fields of his registration.

- Lex

If you gonna do something (pointless - especially on a type website) you might as well do it properly.

bye bye denis.

Graham

Don't mind me. Just taking notes here for future developments...

But anyway, Bablefish translates "Tuscan bluge" as "Rigonfiamento toscano".

Iberian bulges?
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/cubanica/sombra/

hhp

Iberian bulges?

A bit too sharp for my liking.

Latino bulges?

I think bulge in this instance implies something ugly. If something is bulging, it seems to me, it is a lack of proper engineering or design. However, the above typographic and *ahem* physcial features are both not ugly and designed on purpose.