I just looked at the publishing info again, and this paperback edition was published in 1999, so a digital font is much more likely. (1978 was the publication date of the original novel.)

- Mike

Hi Mike,

it must be Indispose (Light) by T-26, but I see it's not available for purchase at MyFonts.com or FontShop... I don't know why.

-----------------------------------------------
I found it using Find my Font - http://www.findmyfont.com

Fivos, it's not available at T-26 either. Do you know anything about the designer and history of this font?

- Mike Yanega

I see 2 references in Luc Devroy's pages:

a) He includes it on a T-26 font catalog here:
http://luc.devroye.org/T26fonts.txt

b) He mentions that the designer is Alan-Dague-Greene:
http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-36439.html

Looks like a swipe-n-hack job in any case. Avoid.

hhp

Fivos, thanks. I have written to Carlos Segura of T-26 to see what he can tell me about this font. Luc's information is generally accurate and thorough, so I believe that it was a T-26 font. I have T-26 catalogs from years ago, and have some that bracket the font number (T0488) that Luc listed, but I could not find the one showing "Indispose". It is certainly the sort of non-mainstream design that T-26 is known for.

Hrant, I am curious why you categorized this as a 'swipe-n-hack' job. It seems like an original, if not attractive, font design. I suspect it may have been removed because the designer left T-26.

- Mike Yanega

It's just a hunch based on things like the earliness of the work and the stark combination of refinement and sloppiness.

And if I were to guess as to why it was removed, I might suggest it had to do with Greene maturing and realizing it was a mistake.

hhp

Hrant, you may be right. The font seemed quite complete, as I have found that it came in 3 weights, with SC, ligatures and italics for all weights, but he may have decided in view of later work, that it was not the quality he wanted to represent his work. He is the same designer who did FF Atma Serif three years later, and it has some similar features to Indispose. I have written to the designer, but have not heard from him yet, or from Carlos Segura of T-26.

- Mike Yanega

Just to close this out, although I am probably the only one who still cares, I heard back yesterday night from Alan Dague-Greene, the font designer. He said it is "not commercially available anywhere, and really shouldn't be." He said he didn't know why T-26 withdrew it from their collection, but he didn't mind that they did.

When I told him I wanted to include it in the Serif Font ID Guide he said "If you want to list it, I can't stop you, but boy is it awful."

So it seems Hrant's speculation was right.

- Mike Yanega

he didn't know why T-26 withdrew it

This I'm surprised at - I figured they would at least be on the same page. Continuing the devil's-advocate speculation: maybe the designer of the original complained.

hhp

Legal / Operational / Business question: If someone had legitimately licensed this font set or any other 'abandoned' commercial fonts when they were available, and now wanted to use them in a manner that would require additional licenses, what legal options exist?

- Herb

Herb, Wouldn't the original license still apply? I don't know the answer, but that would be my guess.

Hrant, I think the design of Indispose is Alan's original work, though it's a rare font indeed that shares nothing with earlier work by other type designers. His final words in his e-mail were: "Like I said, it's entirely your choice if you want to list it [in the Serif Guide]. I'm not exactly fond of it, but I am certainly the one responsible."

- Mike Yanega

OK, good to know (and thanks for engaging in the personal correspondence). In any case it's great that Greene quickly moved up to high-quality work like Atma.

hhp

I think the uppercase of Indispose is just Trajan.

I think the uppercase of Indispose is just Trajan

From what I see it’s definitely not.

Here is the full sample I have made for the Serif Guide. I think it's clearly not Trajan, in spite of the M and a few other letters perhaps. This lettering has inspired many type designs. Trajan is the lower sample.

- Mike Yanega