Looks like some made this with a letering stencil, by rotring for instance
http://www.rotring.com/en/produkte/schablonen/schriftschablonen.html

hi, thanks

but it is printed - its an old manual, and small type, so it looks quite blobby when blown up. can anyone think of a similiar font? we're not looking for the stressed look, but the actual letterforms themselves

actually - your on to something
the Leroy lettering machine for drafting seems to be close

cheers

i don't know about any leroy, but i'm glad if it helped