Typophile

In Search of Western-style Typefaces

iamcorey

Hello,

I am looking for Western-style typefaces that are not the typical saloon-hot-iron-brand typefaces. These typefaces will be used to design a contemporary magazine advertisement with a Western-style flare.

Here are a few examples of what I like so far,

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/aerotype/applewood/
http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/device/chase/
http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/canadatype/clarendon-text/

Any research help, or advice about using these or other Western-style typefaces together, is greatly appreciated.

- corey

Sentinel by HFJ is a better choice for the Clarendon style:
http://www.typography.com/fonts/font_overview.php?productLineID=100034

There's plenty of western feeling fonts out there. You seem to like the distressed woodtype variety. I would just search woodtype at Myfonts.com and see what comes up.

Maple doesn't scream western, but it has a certain flavor:
http://www.processtypefoundry.com/typefaces/maple/index.html

Letterhead fonts has some nice display faces. Font Mesa also has a few.

Good Luck!

pbc

Playbill is pretty classic.
It was a retro design in the 1930s (when Westerns were popular in film), harking back to the previous century's Italiennes.
Then in the 1950s it became hip when designers started repurposing Victoriana (such as blow-ups of old engravings) in modernist layouts.
Wide letterspacing of the caps was part of that look, so blocky, kind of architectural.
There are both clean and distressed versions.
So it has a range of allusions.

There's some less obvious stuff in this wood type list.

So is in the fonts by FontMesa, a foundry that specializes in old west styles.

When using a chromatic font like Rosewood, make sure

  • to take full advantage of it and not use the ‘Fill’ style without its companion and
  • to have a look at less common alternatives like Zebrawood, Pepperwood, Madame

Something subtler:
http://betatype.com/node/52

You might also have a look through Letterhead fonts.

http://www.letterheadfonts.com/

...not use the ‘Fill’ style without its companion...

That's no fun.
IIRC, Rosewood Fill has been more used than the fancy or full Rosewood, and is more interesting for the very reason that it is being perverted. Rather like using micro fonts at display size (eg Bell Centennial with the huge ink traps).

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