Wasn’t there something about the earth coming into alignment with the plume of gas and dust created by the supermassive black hole that’s likely at the center of the Milky Way galaxy? No, that’s actually very unlikely. Though the world is set to end on Friday, I believe it is. Marking today off is D, set in Jim Parkinson’s Hotel, an inline sans reminiscent of old still-hanging city signage in San Francisco, and the surrounding neighborhood.
Marking 18 days prior to the coming end of the world is R, set in Jim Parkinson’s Modesto. Though taken from the sign-painter tradition, Modesto is one of my favorite alternatives to the ubiquitous Copperplate Gothic. Its balanced, warm letterforms come in three widths, an initial outline, and an inline ‘Open Caps’ variant.
L is another letter with evidence of origins in Egyptian writing. The symbol for ox goad, or whip used to drive the ox, reappears in Phoenician, Etruscan, and Greek, each with a degree more of refinement. If you ever need an A without the crossbar, take a look at capital Lambda. (And I’ll put that tip with A where it belongs.)
The stylized L with a line through it that symbolizes the British Pound, £, is said to have come from a blackletter-style L, like the one in Jim Parkinson’s Avebury, though I’d like to see more evidence before passing this off as fact.
