Powell? Pabst Oldstyle? Need to see specimens first to be sure...

cannot locate Powell, Pabst is not right.

Here is a version of Powell done by NovelFonts in 1994 called Powhatten. With added stroke thickness I thinks it's a very good match. Also, for comparison, Packard, which had some similar feeling. (Two of the 5 P's of Antique Type that always make me pause: Pabst, Packard, Parsons, Poor Richard and Powell.)

I agree, Pabst is not right. Neither is Poor Richard or Parsons. (Or, clearly, Packard)

does Novel Fonts have a website - where can I get this font

That's the problem. I cannot find anywhere that still sells these fonts. As far as I know NovelFonts is defunct. I was able to find Powhatten on the web just now, but we do not like to point out sites with dubious wares for download.

If anyone knows of a source for NovelFonts, I would love to know about it, so I can tell others who ask about these fonts. I bought my set in 1994 from Tiger Direct as the "Expresiv Fonts Ornate Collection".

What are the ethics of "sharing" fonts that are not commercially available anywhere - but once were? The Fontographer fonts for example, which I believe you can't buy even if you're a millionaire.

Just asking... it's a shame to lose fonts from circulation.

I agree with you about the loss of fonts, and thus I think it becomes a personal judgment about making a good faith effort to see if anyone still holds a copyright to the font before you decide that a design is 'dead' and in need of 'revival'. In this case NovelFonts was cautious enough to rename all of their fonts, although many, if not all, of them were old designs that were never digitized.

But I guess those statements were really about when you could revive a design. As far as 'sharing', I have always been VERY reluctant to do that, unless I believe the font is no longer commercially available, AND the individual I am 'sharing' it with is someone I know will not be using it commercially or selling/distributing it themselves. It's a slippery slope, so I would rather err on the side of conservativism, and avoid the practice altogether.

For a 'Revival' of 'Powell', you may want to take a look at 'Powell Antique', by Dieter Steffmann..