Gothic Manual
Gothic Manual
by Walden Font
Johanne< Gutenberg 1455
German Fraktur represents one of the most
interesting families of typefaces in the history of
printing. Few types have had such a turbulent
history, and even fewer have been alter-
nately praised and despised throughout
their history. Only recently has Fraktur
been rediscovered for what it is: a beau-
tiful way of putting words into written
form. Walden Font is proud to pres-
ent, for the first time, an edition of 18
classic Fraktur and German Script
fonts from five centuries for use on
your home computer. This booklet describes the history of each font and
provides you with samples for its use. Also included are the standard typeset-
ting instructions for Fraktur ligatures and the special characters of the
Gutenberg Bibelschrift.
We hope you find the Gutenberg Press to be an entertaining and
educational publishing tool. We certainly welcome your comments and sug-
gestions. You will find information on how to contact us at the end of this
booklet.
Verehrter Frakturfreund!
Wir hoffen mit unserer "“Gutenberg Pre%e”" zur Wiederbelebung der Fraktur=
schriften - ohne jedweden politis#en Nebengedanken - beizutragen. Leider verbieten
un< die hohen Produktion<kosten eine Deutsche Version diese< Be=
nu@erhandbüchlein< herau<zugeben, Sie werden aber den Deutschen Text auf den
Programmdisketten finden. Bitte lesen Sie die “liesmich”" Datei für weitere
Informationen. Wir freuen un< auch über Ihre Kommentare und Anregungen.
Kontaktinformationen sind am Ende diese< Büchlein< angegeben.
A brief history of Fraktur
At the end of the 15th century, most Latin books in Germany were printed in
a dark, barely legible gothic type style known as Textura. What little was
printed in German used the rougher and more base Schwabacher type. When
the German emperor Maximilian (reigned 1493-1519) decided to establish a
splendid library of printed books, he directed that a new typeface be created
especially for this purpose. This typeface was to be more elegant than the
boorish Schwabacher, more modern than the gothic Textura and yet dis-
tinctly “German” in that it should not incorporate elements of the Antiqua
that were the rage in Italy at that time.
Based on the Bastarda handwriting used by the scribes of the Emperor’s
chancery, the calligrapher Leonhard Wagner designed a typeface to these
specifications. It soon became known as Fraktur (pronounced frac-toor) for
the broken character of its lines.
Only four of Maximilian's planned 130 editions were completed in his
lifetime, and Fraktur would have quickly vanished, but the books that were in
fact completed had been sent for illustration to the foremost German
Renaissance artists, Dürer, Cranach and Grün. These artists became inspired
by the novel typeface and used it in their publications. Albrecht Dürer’s
“Unterweysung” is still one of the most famous books printed in Fraktur.
When the reformation movement swept across Germany, a flood of
printed propaganda came with it. Much of this material used the
new, fresh Fraktur type, which helped to popularize
it extensively. It allowed for an easy distinc-
tion of catholic and protestant publica-
tions: Protestants printed in German,
using Fraktur; Catholics printed in
Latin, using Antiqua types similar to
the ones we use today. One edition
of the Bible even had each verse start
with a Fraktur letter when the topic was
salvation or other positive events, but Antiqua
when Satan, hell, and damnation were the
topic. It was this separation that caused
Fraktur to be known as the “German” and
Antiqua as the “Latin” font.
For the next five centuries, Germany and
many Scandinavian countries held on to Fraktur,
swaying between unanimous support of it and cursing
the “anachronistic monk’s scribbles” depending on the
Maximilianu< Imperator
current level of national sentiment. Most works intended for a general audi-
ence continued to be printed this way well into the 20th century, while books
of a more scientific nature used the “learned” Latin type. In the meantime,
most other European countries adopted Antiqua, and still use it to this day.
After World War I, Fraktur gradually went out of style as German
society became more cosmopolitan and open to international influences.
Of course, the Nazis put an end to that when they rose to power in 1933. All
things German were glorified, and Fraktur was declared the only “Aryan”
type. Many pseudo-Fraktur and Gothic fonts were created then, most dis-
playing the harsh spirit of the “New Germany” and all of them stiff and
ugly.
It is ironic to learn that it was Hitler himself who finally terminated
Fraktur printing. By January 1941, Germany had conquered most of
Europe, and the German type had become a communications barrier with
the new “vassals”. Fraktur was replaced by the standard Antiqua. In a typi-
cal ideological about-face, Hitler declared Fraktur to be “Un-German” and
“of Jewish origin”, and so it was officially abolished. Hitler’s order directed
all newspapers and publishing houses to switch to Antiqua at the earliest
practicable date. This was an economic impossibility for many printers, so
the decree didn’t have any profound effect until late in the war. The allied
forces naturally couldn’t have agreed more with Hitler on the legibility issue
and promptly ordered the regulation to remain in effect.
Following the war, German printers and type designers looked for new
directions that were not reminiscent of Germany’s militarist past, and even-
tually developed a style similar to the Bauhaus designs of the 1920’s.
During the next forty years, Fraktur became associated closely and
solely with the Third Reich. Fraktur became “Nazi-print”. This image was
enforced by many movies, documentaries, books and articles, and it proves
almost impossible to correct today. Nonetheless, printers and type designers
are carefully pulling the old treasures back into the light and hope to free
them of political connotations.
We hope that our little bundle of 18 fonts contributes to that end, we cor-
dially invite you to enjoy this new, old, beautiful way of putting thoughts on
paper.
The Font<
GutenbergBibelschrift
Only in today’s age of capitalism and high technology are we able to appreci-
ate not only the artistic value of Johannes Gutenberg’s work, but also the
immense business acumen and vision that this man possessed. At a time
when laboriously handwritten books fetched astronomical sums in the mar-
ket, Gutenberg conceived of a method to mass-produce books of equal
quality, thus opening up a true goldmine. For the twenty years it took him to
develop the art of printing, Gutenberg never lost his vision, overcame
immense technical and financial difficulties, and finally produced books of
such a technical and artistic quality that they cannot be duplicated by today’s
printers. How soon we started to take the art of printing for granted is shown
by the fact that Gutenberg was quickly forgotten after his death. Our entire
knowledge of the man and his life is derived from a handful of legal docu-
ments, most of which were destroyed in a 19th century fire. The only monu-
ment to the man Johannes Gutenberg is the one he built himself: his 42-line
Bible.
The Gutenberg Bibelschrift font is an accurate rendition of the
type developed and used by Gutenberg for his 42-line Bible. His aim was to
imitate the beautiful, but hard to read Textura calligraphy then used for most
books. To that end, he had to render not only the letters of the alphabet, but
also a great number of common ligatures and abbreviations. To strengthen
the impression of original handwriting, he also cast several slightly different
versions for each letter, so that his entire font consisted of 290 types. We
have reproduced the most common version of the alphabet, as well as the
ligatures and abbreviations used. The original font had no numerals.
Whatever numbering was required was added in red ink after printing was
completed.
Alte Schwabacher
When Fraktur was developed, most German-language publications were
printed using a form of Schwabacher type. This font evolved from the
bastarda scripts that were widely used at the time. Schwabacher types are
easily distinguished from Fraktur fonts by the rounded stems of such letters
as “o” and “d”. The Schwabacher font has a bold and original character, it
complements the Renaissance woodcuts of Dürer, Cranach and many other
artists. Being a very ornamental font, it is suitable for decorative printing, or
to augment calligraphic work.
Wittenberg Schwabacher
By the time Martin Luther completed his German translation of the Bible,
printing had been a flourishing industry for over eighty years. It is therefore
no surprise that the “Biblia Deutsch” found fertile ground; hundreds of thou-
sands of copies were sold, the original printer could not satisfy the demand
and a good number of pirated copies appeared. All these Bibles were printed
in some form of Schwabacher; our Wittenberg version comes closest to the
original font.
Gebetbuch Fraktur
The first of Emperor Maximilian’s magnificent books was a prayer book, 10
copies printed on parchment. It was for this book that the first Fraktur font
was commissioned because all other available types were either too common
or too antiquated. This Fraktur was based on drawings by Leonhard Wagner.
The punches were cut by Johann Schönsperger, who also printed the prayer
books. The finished copies were then given to noted Renaissance artists for
illustration. The result were books of such high artistic quality and excellent
workmanship that they stand up to Gutenberg’s 42-line Bibles.
Theuerdank Fraktur
One of Maximilian’s most ambitious printing projects was a glorification of
his voyage west to wed Mary of Burgundy. The romanticized account of this
adventure was lavishly layed out in the epic “Theuerdank”. The typeface for
this book was probably designed by Vinzenz Rockner, the Emperor’s per-
sonal secretary. Theuerdank is an almost “modern” Fraktur and forms the
base for many subsequent designs. Note that the printed letters of the origi-
nal were embellished further by adding ornamental lines in various colors by
hand.
Luther Fraktur
This font was designed by Erasmus Luther in 1708 and still is considered one
of the most beautiful and legible Fraktur fonts. The Luther Fraktur forms a
link between the earlier Gebetbuch Fraktur and the later Breitkopf Fraktur
types. It is very well-suited for any type of printing, especially for religious
texts. Luther Fraktur looks best when it is printed at relatively large sizes: at
about 13 - 14 points.
Breitkopf Fraktur
While Luther based his font on Maximilian’s Gebetbuch Fraktur, Johann
Gottlieb Immanuel Breitkopf took the younger Neudörffer-Andreä Fraktur
as his model, a font that was used by Dürer to print several of his theoretical
works. The Breitkopf Fraktur represents what is commonly thought of as a
“classic” Fraktur. It gained immediate success and remained the most popu-
lar Fraktur well into the last century, but then fell into disuse until 1899, when
it was re-cast by a number of foundries.
Unger Fraktur
Enlightenment, French Revolution and the beginning development of the
classicist style in art and architecture made a renewal of the traditional type-
faces unavoidable. Johann Friedrich Unger, a renowned Berlin printer and
publisher, took on the task and presented this light, sharply-contrasted
Fraktur in 1793. It was very well received by the luminaries of the time;
Goethe’s “Wilhelm Meister” was one of the first books printed in Unger
Fraktur.
Maximilian Gotisch
The 19th century type designer Rudolf Koch drew inspiration from his
strong Christian faith. He devoted his life to the development of a fitting
typeface for the Bible. Maximilian, appropriately named for Fraktur’s origi-
nator, comes close to this goal. Its broad and noble impression makes it an
ideal choice for headlines and quotes.
Zentenar Fraktur
Zentenar Fraktur could easily be considered the most beautiful of all Fraktur
types. It was one of the last Fraktur fonts produced before World War II,
and as such presents the pinnacle of Fraktur development before it was taken
over by the Nazis..
Großvater Kurrent
A stack of old family letters yielded this personal handwriting. My grandfa-
ther wrote a clear, yet traditional script, and we thought we’d make a fun font
for personal and informal correspondence. Your friends will probably curse
you if you use it for longer letters - it tends to be hard on the eyes!
Kurrent Kupfers>tich
Kurrent Kupferstich is a rendition of the Old German Script as it was used
from the 18th century on in most official documents. If you happen to trace
your German family roots, or have letters or documents from before 1900,
you will want to use this font to help you learn the old German script: simply
type some text in any ordinary font, then convert it to Kurrent Kupferstich
and practice your reading skills.
S>ütterlin
Anybody who has tried, will confirm that the classic Kurrent script is very
hard to write. There are many sharp angles, straight lines and abrupt changes
in direction. To give schoolchildren an easier start, the Viennese graphic
artist Ludwig Sütterlin (born 1865, died 1917) devised a form of Kurrent
that consisted of wide curves and very few sharp angles, intended as a basic
script from which the pupils would develop their individual handwriting.
“Sütterlin” became the “standard” script in all Prussian schools in 1915. By
1934, it was firmly established in virtually all German schools. Sütterlin
Kurrent is the handwriting remembered by today’s older German genera-
tion, and much confusion exists whenever Sütterlin, Kurrent and Old
German Script are discussed as totally separate things. Instead, they are
simply different styles of writing German. Like all Fraktur and Kurrent
types, Sütterlin disappeared after 1941.
F a u |
Eine Tragödie
von
Goethe
Zweyter Theil
in fünf Acten
(Vollendet im Sommer 1831)
S t u t t g a r t u n d T ü b i n g e n,
in der J. G. Cotta’schen Buchhandlung
1 8 3 3
The long s featured in all Fraktur fonts was also present in all Antiqua types
before 1800. The advantage in using the long s lies in greater legibility of
long words, as well as a richer type image. s is used at the beginning of words,
and partial words in longer combinations, as well as in within words: sagen,
Erbse, lesen, essen, gestern, Höhensonne, Mikroskop, transpirieren.
If a word is hyphenated, the s remains: Mes=ser. Likewise, if a word ends in an
apostrophe, the s remains: lass’ .
Combined words that drop the ‘e’ also use the s: Verwechslung, erlesne.
Abbreviations retain the s as well: Vers.=Ges.
The round or ending < is used at the end of words and partial words, and at
the end of syllables derived from foreign terms: die<, Hä<chen, au<trinken,
Ordnung<liebe, Di<pen<, I<chia<. < also occurs at the end of syllables in rare
combinations such as <d, <k, <m, <n, <w: Dre<den, Arabe<ke, ri<kant, (but obskur),
Mo<kau (but Min<k), Wi<mut, Klau<ner. There is no <<; the proper forms are
either s<, <s, ss or ß
Ligatures (joined letters) improve the flow of printed Fraktur. The follow-
ing ligatures are available in most fonts of the Gutenberg Press: # $ ~ [{_ }%^ ß
| @. ß is placed at the end of words ending, or about to end in s<. Ligatures are
used whenever the applicable pair of letters falls into a syllable. Combined
words do not use ligatures: do#, Ru$, ho~en, ver[lzt, {ach, o_, Wa%er, A|, Ka@e but
not auffordern, Schilfinsel, Schnupftuch.
Bold and Italicized fonts are rare in Fraktur printing, and even those available
don’t look quite right. Skewing Fraktur electronically creates unsatisfactory
results as well. Legibility considerations prohibit setting in capital letters.
For centuries, printers got around this problem by capitalizing only the first
two letters of an emphasized word: Ich bin der HErr, dein GOtt. However, this
method disappeared at the close of the 18th century and should only be used
to reproduce printed matter from before that time. The only traditionally
correct solutions are bold and s p r e a d t e x t. It is important to note that all
ligatures except ch, ck, tz, and ß are split when text is spread. Alternately, differ-
ent fonts such as the Schwabacher can be used to emphasize: Beispiel einer
Schwabacher al< Auszeichnung<schrift. Lastly, the words to be emphasized may
be set one or two points larger than the base type: Beispiel einer Vergrößerung
al< Auszeichnung.
The handwriting fonts demand special attention with regards to the correct
spacing of individual letters. While some letter combinations require extra
spacing; others do not. We therefore have provided a free joint that can be
used where extra spacing is appropriate.
InprincipiocreavitÑu<caelÈ
etterram.Terraautemerat
inani<etvacua:ettenebreer†t
supfacišaby%iet
s¢<DÒifere™±
supaqu=a<.
DixitÇÑu<.
Fiatlux.Et
faÉašlux.EtviditÑu<lucem
Ùe%et§na:Údivisitlucšac
tenebri<,apŒllavit quelucem
diemÚtenebra<noÉem.
FactÈÇe|ÖsŒreetmanedie<
unu<dixitquoqueDeu<fiat
firmamentuminmedioaquar
umetdiviÍtaqu=a<abaqui<et
fecitDeu<firmam=entum
divi<itqueaqua<quaeera=nt
Gutenberg had to account for slight variations in a scribe’s handwriting to
create the illusion of a handwritten book. He therefore created several
punches for each letter. Including ligatures and other symbols, his typeset
eventually contained 290 characters. The chart below shows the available
special characters, the ASCII code, and for which combination of letters they
were used.
De< Knaben
Wunderhorn
The following pages show examples of how the fonts of the Gutenberg
Press may be used. You can re-create old documents, make new ones, or just
employ the unique character of these fonts in modern graphic design. There
are no limits to the possibilities.
A
m Anfang s#uf GOtt Hymmel
und Erde/Und die Erde war wü|
und leer, und e< war [n|er auf der
Tie~e; und der Gei| GOtte< s#webte au~
dem Wa%er/Und Gott spra#: E< werde
Li#t/Und e< ward Li#t/Und GOtt
sah/daß da< Li#t gut war/Da s#ied Gott
da< Li#t von der Fin|erni< und nannte
da< Li#t Tag und die Fin|erni< Na#t.
Da ward au< Abend und Morgen der er|e
Tag.
Und GOtt spra#: E< werde eine Fe|e
zwis#en den Wa%ern/die da s#eide
zwis#en den Wa%ern/Da ma#te GOtt
die Fe|e und s#ied da< Wa%er unter der
Fe|e von dem Wa%er über der Fe|e/
Und e< ges#ah so/Und GOtt nannte die
Fe|e Himmel/Da ward au< Abend und
Morgen der zweite Tag.
N ach Choi|igeburt/1513. Jar Adi 1.May hat man dem gros<mech-tigsten König Emanuel von Portugal/gen Lysabona au<
India pracht/ain solch lebendig Thier, da< nennen sie Rhinoceru</ Das ist hie mit all seiner gestalt Abconterfect. E< hat ein farb wie ein gepfreckelte
schildkrot/ und ist von dicken schalen uberlegt sehr fest/und ist in der grö< al< der Heilffandt/ aber niderichter von baynen und sehr wehrhafftig e< hat ein
scharffstarck Horn vorn auff der Nassen/ da< begundt e< zu we@en wo e< bey Steynen ist/ da< da ein Sieg Thier ist/ de< Heilfandten Todfeyndt. Der
Heilffandt fürcht< fast ubel/ den wo e< Ihn ankompt/ so laufft Ihm da< Thir mit dem Kopff zwischen die fordern bayn/ und reist den Heilffanten unten
am bauch auff/ und er würget ihn/ de< mag er sich nicht erwehren. Dann da< Thier ist also gewapnet da< ihm der Jeilffande nicht< thun kann/ Sie sagen
auch/ da< der Rhinoceru</Schnell/frayeig/ und auch Lustig/sey.
zum Volkstanz
November 3, 6:00 p.m.
at the
Edelweiß-Halle
Bla<musik
Meier’<
Original
Bayrische
Auction
Thi< coming Saturday, April 12th, the e|ate of the late
Mr. E. G. Bundenbach will be sold at A u c t i o n,
at the Park Hotel, 50 Main Street.
The e|ate contain< many valuable antique<, old and rare
book<, autograph<, |amp<, coin<, and other paper
collectible<.
Admi%ion i< free. R. S. V. P 212.555.5555
Zum
Goldenen
Obere Gasse 4 Bopfingen Inh. E. Frasch
Ochsen
Menü
Vorspeisen
Saurer Kä< - Tellersülze = Schnecken im Pfännle
Hauptgeri#t
Saure Karto~elrädle = Eingema#te< Kalbfleis# - Ro|braten =
Forelle = Kalb<lend#en in Mor#elrahm = Kä<spätzle =
Krautrouladen
Nachtis#
Rahmsulz = Apfelküchle = Ei<kugelhupf
Contacting Walden Font
Walden Font
P.O. Box 871
Winchester, MA 01890