 TYPE
DESIGN
The
type designs of Vojtech Preissig are rugged, bold and often technically
flawed. The hand of the designer is clearly evident. In the true
spirit of William Morris and the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement,
the tell-tale signs of the machine are eradicated. In the same way
as Rudolf Koch hand cut the punches of Neuland, Preissig eliminated
the mechanical precision of his types. Often it is mentioned that
Preissig hand cut one of his type designs with a pocket knife. It
is not readily apparent which one design this anectdote refers to
since several of his type designs are clearly hand rendered. The
images below offer a comparison of some of Preissig's type designs.
Preissigovy
Ceske Typy z Kolumbijske Univerzity 1912-13. Created during his
time at Columbia University. A rough digital version has been created
by Typerware while
a more refined version has been made available by International
House of Fonts.
Ink
Drawing 1914.There is not much information regarding this type
style. It features the trademark wedge shapes that appear in many
of Preissigs works.
1914
(Scrape). This type was featured on the title page of the unpublished
book, "The House" by Frantisek Muzik-Zachar (As seen in Fine Print
V.13,No.1) This type was first brought to my attention by Ondra Sturma
who used a stylized version of this type for his Scrape Sound record
label. This type also appeared on a Czech postage Stamp in 1994. Available
from P22.
Preissigovym
pisem grotesk-antikva 1915. Designed with small caps
Linocut
type 1918. This type has been digitally recreated and is availble
from Frantisek Storm under
the name Preissig 1918
Preissig
Roman 1923 (Antikva)
Preissig's best known typeface haas been digitized by at least four separate
entities. The P22 version includes
only the roman and has been designed to be used as both a text and display font.
Characters were optically modified to be readable at small sizes, while retaining
the angular characteristics of large display usage.
The latest digital version has won an award for the Type
Directors Club. This is a version that eliminates much of the subtlety of
the face and misreads Preissig's intentions by making all of the lines straight
with sharp angles. It also includes a baffling set of extras that have nothing
to do with Preissig
For the ultimate in digital versions of Preissig Roman and Italic, Frantisek
Storm has made a very complete set of text and display font. 
Preissig
Italic (Kurisva) The companion font to Preissig Roman. This face
has been criticised as being merely a slanted version of the roman,
however it does present enough character to define itself as much more.
Available (along with Roman, Bold, and Small Caps variations) from Psy-Ops.
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