Fette Fraktur
Encyclopedia
Fette Fraktur is a blackletter
typeface of the sub-classification Fraktur designed by the German punchcutter Johann Christian Bauer
(1802–1867) in 1850. The C.E. Weber Foundry
published a version in 1875, and the D Stempel AG foundry published the version shown at right in 1908.
Fette Fraktur (German for bold Fraktur) is based on the Fraktur type of blackletter faces. This heavy nineteenth century version was developed more for advertising than text, similar to the extremely heavy advertising versions of Didone classification faces like Poster Bodoni, Thorogood, and Fat Face.
and cultural Bolshevism
). Approved use of blackletter Fraktur faces by the Nazi regime continued until January 3, 1941, when Martin Bormann
, director of the Party Chancellery
issued a directive discontinuing the use of blackletter faces because of an alleged discovery of Jewish contributions in the development of these faces. Another reason may have been their limited legibility outside of Germany. While the Nazis forbade its use for practical and ideological reasons, at the conclusion of World War II, the Allied forces also prohibited it for a time because occupation troops could not read these faces. Eventually the ban on blackletter and Frakturs was lifted, but in Germany and Scandinavia the faces were largely replaced by the Antiqua (roman) alphabet.
Emotional reaction to association with the Third Reich, and a sense that the faces were outdated vestiges of the nineteenth century further reduced their use. Variants of Fraktur faces, such as Fette Fraktur, are however used in advertising and packaging to communicate a sense of traditional Austrian, Bavarian, or German flavor. In this modern decorative use the Fraktur rules about long s
and short s or about ligature
s are often disregarded, the knowledge of the old typographical conventions being lost.
, California.
Blackletter
Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Fraktur is a notable script of this type, and sometimes...
typeface of the sub-classification Fraktur designed by the German punchcutter Johann Christian Bauer
Johann Christian Bauer
Johann Christian Bauer was a German type designer, punchcutter, and founder of the Bauer Type Foundry. Bauer was born in Hanau and began working as a punch-cutter in 1827. He ran a type foundry in Frankfurt am Main, Germany for three years with Christian Nies, before founding the Bauersche...
(1802–1867) in 1850. The C.E. Weber Foundry
Weber Typefoundry
C.E. Weber was a German type foundry established in 1827 in Stuttgart. Noted designers working for the foundry included Georg Trump, and Ernst Schneidler. The foundry closed in 1970; some designs passed to the Johannes Wagner Type Foundry, others to Stempel....
published a version in 1875, and the D Stempel AG foundry published the version shown at right in 1908.
Fette Fraktur (German for bold Fraktur) is based on the Fraktur type of blackletter faces. This heavy nineteenth century version was developed more for advertising than text, similar to the extremely heavy advertising versions of Didone classification faces like Poster Bodoni, Thorogood, and Fat Face.
History
For a span of nearly a hundred years, the original Fraktur script was used as a standard text face in German-speaking Europe and parts of Scandinavia. During the period of the Third Reich Fraktur and blackletter faces were initially approved of in contrast to sans-serif faces (associated with the BauhausBauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
and cultural Bolshevism
Cultural Bolshevism
Cultural Bolshevism, or in German Kulturbolschewismus, was a term widely used during the Third Reich by critics who denounced modernism in the arts, particularly when seeking to discredit more nihilistic forms of expression...
). Approved use of blackletter Fraktur faces by the Nazi regime continued until January 3, 1941, when Martin Bormann
Martin Bormann
Martin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
, director of the Party Chancellery
Party Chancellery
Party Chancellery , until 1941 Staff of the Deputy Führer , was the name of the head office of the German Nazi Party .-Organization:...
issued a directive discontinuing the use of blackletter faces because of an alleged discovery of Jewish contributions in the development of these faces. Another reason may have been their limited legibility outside of Germany. While the Nazis forbade its use for practical and ideological reasons, at the conclusion of World War II, the Allied forces also prohibited it for a time because occupation troops could not read these faces. Eventually the ban on blackletter and Frakturs was lifted, but in Germany and Scandinavia the faces were largely replaced by the Antiqua (roman) alphabet.
Emotional reaction to association with the Third Reich, and a sense that the faces were outdated vestiges of the nineteenth century further reduced their use. Variants of Fraktur faces, such as Fette Fraktur, are however used in advertising and packaging to communicate a sense of traditional Austrian, Bavarian, or German flavor. In this modern decorative use the Fraktur rules about long s
Long s
The long, medial or descending s is a form of the minuscule letter s formerly used where s occurred in the middle or at the beginning of a word, for example "ſinfulneſs" . The modern letterform was called the terminal, round, or short s.-History:The long s is derived from the old Roman cursive...
and short s or about ligature
Ligature (typography)
In writing and typography, a ligature occurs where two or more graphemes are joined as a single glyph. Ligatures usually replace consecutive characters sharing common components and are part of a more general class of glyphs called "contextual forms", where the specific shape of a letter depends on...
s are often disregarded, the knowledge of the old typographical conventions being lost.
Confusion with blackletter
Fette Fraktur and the regular Fraktur typeface have been confused for the blackletter script often mislabeled Old English script, and which has become extremely popular in the world of hip-hop music and fashion. Those forms of blackletter , however, derive from Textualis, not Fraktur, and have been influenced by the Chicano urban culture of Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California.