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ISRAEL PREVIEW
A preview of the new Israel section soon to be added to the main archive. Typography and lettering from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Ein Gedi, Tzfat, Golan Heights, Negev Desert, random kibbutzim, and other places. If you’re interested in supporting Vernacular Typography, consider making a donation to the project through Artspire & New York Foundation for the Arts 501(c)3 HERE. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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GOODBYE CONEY ISLAND
Summer is gone and so is Coney Island as I remember it. Coney Island was once populated by an incredible landscape of signs and symbols. The few storefronts that retain their unique signage seem more and more endangered with every visit. In 2004, a Creative Time initiative attempted to revive the fading signscape. A group of 25 artists formed The Dreamland Artsits Club and hand painted murals in the area as well as signs for local businesses. Sadly, even many of those have since disappeared or have become isolated fragments. Despite neighborhood opposition, development corporations continue to homogenize and strip Coney Island of its personality, replacing beautiful and inventive lettering…
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WOODSIDE PRESS
I just picked up some letterpress invitations printed at the incredible Woodside Press in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The press originally opened in 1993 in Woodside, Queens after acquiring equipment from the American Type Founders Company liquidation. In 1998, they moved to their current space, which is filled to the brim with amazing type paraphernalia and not just one, but two Linotype machines. They were nice enough to let me look around at some of their amazing stuff. Click through for more
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SUNSET PARK STOREFRONTS
As more and more small businesses in New York are being replaced by large retail chains and banks, there are still a few neighborhoods–mostly in the outer boroughs–that retain some of their independence. Here are a few examples from a recent walk through Sunset Park in Brooklyn:
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PRIME BURGER
The Prime Burger, one of my favorite places in the city, is sadly closing on Saturday. They’ve been in business since 1938. I’ve enjoyed their hand-painted signs, camouflaged faux bois clock, nice people, and bacon-related foods since 1986. Bye Sandro.
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PALM BEACH #2 PREVIEW
More type from Palm Beach, Florida coming soon. These hand painted murals and signs were along Broadway in West Palm.
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CLOCKS
More New York clocks here. Only 12 more hours to donate to Vernacular Typography on Kickstarter!
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MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY TYPOGRAPHY
Some beautiful typography from inside the New York State Environment Hall at the Museum of Natural History. The exhibit opened in 1951 and doesn’t look like it’s been touched since then. It analyzes the geological history of a 40 square mile area of Dutchess County. I emailed the Museum’s librarian to find out more about the lettering in the hall, but didn’t learn very much (“Unfortunately, we do not have this information in our archives but the labels would have been created by the graphics team since there has been a graphics department in the Museum from very early on in the Museum’s history”). Thanks to everybody who’s already donated to…
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MANHOLE COVERS OF WILLOW STREET
The four block stretch of Willow Street from Pierrepont to Cranberry in Brooklyn Heights has over 50 different manhole and chute covers. Most of the examples below are coal chutes rather than manhole covers, used for the delivery of coal from a truck to the basement furnaces in brownstones. Whereas manholes are usually found in the street and approximately the size of a burly man, coal chutes are smaller and built on the sidewalk or directly in front of houses. The most common covers on Willow Street are the Howell & Saxtan coal chute covers. Howell & Saxtan was in business from 1866 to the 1890s and owned by James Howell…
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NEW HAVEN
A visit to New Haven necessitated a New Map:
Letterforms in the Urban Environment
