DOWN HOME JNL

In the October 31, 1920 edition of Wid’s Daily (the predecessor to The Film Daily), a block of ad copy from a 1920 film called “Down Home” had the text printed in such a fluent pen lettered style that a bit of a shortcut was used in the beginning of the design process for this typeface.

Normally, font inspirations are redrawn [and not by simply using auto-trace] except under specialized circumstances like this one where that feature is a help to, rather than a replacement for the creative process. 

The entire block of text copy was auto-traced, then the necessary letters were selected from the available wording and cleaned up to remove any sharp points and irregular curves in an effort to make the end results as close to the original and unusual hand drawn text.

From there the missing characters needed to produce a finished type font were created utilizing the standard methods of drawing and font construction.  The end results turned out very well.

Using the film’s title as it’s namesake, this design is now available digitally as Down Home JNL in both regular and oblique versions.