Venus or Venus-Grotesk is a sans-serif typeface family released by the Bauer Type Foundry of Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 1907 onwards.[1][a] Released in a large range of styles, including condensed and extended weights, it was very popular in the early-to-mid twentieth century.[3][4][5][6] It was exported to other countries, notably the United States, where it was distributed by Bauer Alphabets Inc, the U.S. branch of the firm.[7][8]
Like other "grotesque" typefaces of the period such as Akzidenz-Grotesk of the Berthold Type Foundry, Venus has a minimal, 'neutral' design, with a monoline structure and an absence of flourishes. However, compared to many later sans-serifs, such as Helvetica and Univers, it has a more irregular design, with stroke terminals at a variety of angles rather than generally exactly horizontal or vertical.[9] A notable feature is the distinctive motif of unusually high-waisted capitals, visible in the 'R', 'G' and 'E'. Walter Tracy describes this as similar to some of the much more adorned Art Nouveau and Secessionist lettering of the period.[10] Original versions had sheared horizontal stroke terminals on 'E' and 'F', but in the later metal-type period it was sold with alternate capitals without these.[11] The 'g' is single-storey and the sloped form is an oblique, rather than a true italic.[12] A double-storey 'g' was also available as an alternate character.[13]
A prominent use of it was Jan Tschichold's second book, Eine Stunde Druckgestaltung (1930), which used it for body text.[10] It was also used in other avant-garde printing of the period.[14]Sainsbury's, a major United Kingdom supermarket chain, used Venus in its logo for many years.[15]
A number of digitisations have been released based on some styles of the family.[16][17] Monotype's 1920s Grotesque 215 and 216 series, created for their hot metal typesetting system, were also reportedly loosely based on it;[18] the standard Windows typeface Arial is influenced by them.[19][20]
In 2007, David Berlow published the "Vonness" typeface, closely based on the Venus typeface.[21]
Eric Olson designed the Coordinates typeface, a monospaced sans-serif typeface based on the Venus typeface.[22]
Parachute Type Foundry designed the PF Grand Gothik Variable typeface, a blend of Venus and Interstate, with OpenType features.[23][24]
^Alexander S. Lawson (January 1990). Anatomy of a Typeface. David R. Godine Publisher. pp. 298–305. ISBN978-0-87923-333-4.
^Jeremy Aynsley (Wolfsonian-Florida International University) (2000). Graphic Design in Germany: 1890-1945. University of California Press. pp. 103─108. ISBN978-0-520-22796-5.
^Hardwig, Florian (7 November 2018). "Sexual Politics – Kate Millett". Fonts in Use. Retrieved 20 April 2019. Bauer recut the E, F and L in all sizes and styles of Venus, straightening the diagonally sheared terminals
^Angela Kottke (4 January 2002). Die Auswirkungen des Bauhauses auf die Buchgestaltung der zwanziger Jahre. Diplom.de. p. 86, 87. ISBN978-3-8324-4869-1.
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