FONT CHECK
In order that this site looks as I intended it you need to have certain fonts installed on the computer. I have tracked down two of t he fonts used for the original instruction manuals and I thought it would be nice to use them. If you don't want to install the fonts then that is ok the site will work OK it just won't look as I intended.
To see if you have the right fonts installed compare the two samples of writing below. The one on the left is a section of original instruction manual from the PLOUGH INSTRUCTION MANUAL. The sample on the right uses the font installed on your computer . The two should be the same? There is a slight difference in height. If they are not then below you can copy the font's to your computer and install them. Once installed have a look at this page again.
Image File |
Written Word with formatting |
 |
BEFORE USE To prevent corrosion to the bright pa coating of paint and varnish is applied. that this protective coating is rem Shares. coulters and skimmers or th will suffice for this operation; heat, grease that may have been applied shaft must be removed to prevent to these parts- hey must be left co HOW TO ATTACH |
THE FONTS
The two fonts used are....
ROCKWELL, For the Heading was used (always in capitals)
Gill Sans, For the Main body (I could not find Gill Sans so I am using Gill Sans MT)
I still have to locate one font. That was the one used to write the trade mark Ferguson...
and on the earlier instruction manuals along the bottom........
Graham Holland's Comments on the missing font:
The script font to which you refer is, I am sure, a special font designed
for Harry Ferguson Limited. I even suspect it might have been designed by
Eric Gill, the famous typographer, who designed both Rockwell and Gill Sans;
as well as the only other face ever used by Mr. Ferguson - what was it now?
Ah yes, no, not Perpetua (that was another one by Mr. Gill), but - the one
we now know (wrongly) as copperplate (I think that's a copyright issue) - Oh
my goodness, my memory fails me! I'll write again when it re-occurs to me.
Incidently, Eric Gill was also a fantastic artist,
very popular in Mr. Ferguson's early 20's. I HAVE IT! Spartan was the name
of the other Gill face which Ferguson employed! All caps and available to
very small sizes on a 6pt body - Up to 1/5th of body height - that's
0.0166666666666 of an inch high. I recall it being very popular with The
Professions for visiting and business cards and letter headings, in sizes,
very small.
Davids Earl's Take on the Font.....
I looked at your website and I noticed you were looking? to see if you could source the font used at the bottom of early Ferguson manuals. Looking at the image, I think it may have been hand drawn at some point, rather than being set using a typeface. I have attached an image to show you why I think this might be. If you look at the letters that repeat themselves, you can see that they alter radically from each other (I have shown 2 "a" and "e" letters in the example). While it is not impossible that this has been made into a typeface at a later date, the construction of the letters leads me to think it was hand produced. I hope thats of some help!
Eric Gill was a very interesting person indeed. Apart from type design, he was
as you know an artist and a sculptor - did you know that he produced the stone
carvings that adorn the outside of BBC Broadcasting House in London? There is a
description of the stone carvings and Eric himself on the BBC website, I have
included the link below.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/broadcasting_house.shtml
David Earls
I got in touch with David after looking at the
Fergiland site Which He
designed. I also noted that he had a book out on Designing Fonts. The ISBN for
his book (Designing Typefaces) is 2880466997.?
Eric Gilll
How profound, a bit more info on Eric Gill:
"wrote constantly and prodigiously on his favourite topics:" one of which was "the evils of industrialisation!" Does this include Machanisation?
"He designed his first typeface, Perpetua, for Stanley Morison who had badgered
him for years on this matter. Of all the 11 typefaces that he designed, Gill Sans
is his most famous; it is a clear modern type and became the letter of the
railways - appearing on their signs, engine plates, and timetables."
No wonder then that Mr ferguson used Gill Sans as one of his fonts. Maybe the
designers came from designing railway literature before designing tractor
instruction manuals. Never the less a popular font of the time.
A great Quote from Eric Here
"Look after goodness and truth, and beauty will look after herself." Eric Gill
Source, www.identifont.com which they took from: Attwater, Donald. A Cell of Good Living: the life, works, and opinions of Eric Gill. Geoffrey Chapman: London. 1969.
FONT MATCHING
To match the font I used a fantastic matching website. there where over 5000 fonts to select form when I looked.