Schelter & Giesecke Type Foundry

J.G. Schelter & Giesecke was a German type foundry and manufacturer of printing presses started 1819 in Leipzig by punchcutter Johann Schelter and typefounder Christian Friedrich Giesecke (1793-1850). The foundry was nationalized in 1946 by the new German Democratic Republic, forming VEB Typoart, Dresden.^[1]

J.G. Schelter & Giesecke

Company type	Aktiengesellschaft
Industry	Type foundry
Founded	1819
Founder	Johann Schelter, Christian Giesecke
Defunct	1946
Headquarters	Leipzig, Germany
Key people	Georg Belwe

Typefaces

A poster for the International Bartenders Association competition of 1965 uses the company's popular Breite halbfette Grotesk.^[2]

These foundry types were produced by Schelter & Giesecke:^[3]

• Accidenz-Zierat (1902)
• Akantrea (1883), borders and ornaments
• Akropolis Ornamente (1907)
• Alt Latein (1924) ^[4]
• Baldur Baldur (1895) open and shaded variant of Wodan (1894). Revived by Alan Prescott as New Baldur APT (1996).
• Belwe Roman (1907, Georg Belwe) ^[5]
• Biedermeierzierat (1905)
• Borghese (1904) An Art Nouveau face, revived by Ralph M. Unger as Borghese (2015).
• Breite Grotesk (1886) This typeface influenced the Bauhaus movement and was a forerunner of Helvetica. Revived by Nick Curtis as Schelter Grotesk NF (2010), and by Arve Båtevik as Sagen Grotesk, Breite Halbfette Grotesk and Breite magere Grotesk (2015).
• Breite Kanzlei (1835; other publications mention 1890) + Halbfette Kanzlei (1860)
• Die Zierde (1913, F.H. Ernst Schneidler), ornaments
• Dolmen (1922, Max Salzmann)
  • Zierdolmen (1922, Max Salzmann), a decorated version of Dolmen.^[6]
• Edelgotisch (1901, Albert Knab)
• Fafner + Schraffierte (1905) Revived by Oliver Weiss / Walden Font Co. as WF Fafner (2020)
• Fanal (1933), angular blackletterish script face
• Fee (1907), handwriting.
• Flamme (1933), brush-like script
• Gnom + breite Gnom (1928)
• Gravira (1935, Herbert Thannhaueser) ^[7]
• Gudrum The bicolor combination of Wodan (fill) and Baldur (open).
• Gutenberg-Gotisch (1885) + Halbfette Gutenberg-Gotisch (1890) The original by F.W. Bauer and Th. Friebel dates from 1880.
• Hispania Script (1890), a pirate map face
• Initialen zur Rousseau (1907)
• Italian Renaissance (1883) a black-letter face
• Jugend-Fraktur (ca. 1900)
• Kalender Vignetten (1907, Max Salzmann)
• Kartuschen Einfassung serie 72 (1887), ornaments
• Kolibri (1928)
• Koralle (1929^[8]) Nick Curtis based his Koralle NF (2012) and Koralle Rounded NF (2014) on this typeface; see also the recent revival Koralle RMU (2018) by Ralph M. Unger.
• Leipziger Lateinschrift (1908)
• Liane (1908) Revived by Oliver Weiss / Walden Font Co. as WF Fafner (2020)
• Meierschrift (1904-1908, C.F. Meier) Revived by Oliver Weiss / Walden Font Co. as WF Meierschrift (2020)
• Mimosenzierat (1909, Heinz Keune)
• Moderne enge halbfette Fraktur (1886)
• Monos (1912)
• Münster-Gotisch (1896) Revived by Paulo W as Münster Gotische (2009). Gerhard Helzel also did a revival.
• Patriz Huber Ornamente (1906, Patriz Huber) Revived by Oliver Weiss / Walden Font Co. as WF Border Patriz Huber (2020)
• Perkeo (1928)
• Reklameschrift Radium (1904-1906) Revived by Oliver Weiss / Walden Font Co. as WF Radium (2020)
• Roland Grotesk (1910)
• Roland Kursiv (1910)
• Romanisch, later copied by the Central Type Foundry of Saint Louis as De Vinne.^[9]
• Rosenzierat Serien 534 und 535 (1905, Heinz Keune)
• Rundgotisch (1909; others say 1902-1903)
• Salzmann Antiqua (1913, Max Salzmann)
• Salzmann Fraktur + Kräftige Salzmann Fraktur (1911, Max Salzmann)
• Salzmann Kursiv (1911, Max Salzmann)
• Salzmannschrift + Salzmannschrift halbfette + schmale Salzmannschrift (1910, Max Salzmann)
• Saskia (1931, Jan Tschichold) ^[10]
• Schelter Antiqua (1906) Revived by Oliver Weiss / Walden Font Co. as WF Schelter Antiqua (2020).
  • Leipziger Lateinschrift (1907) a variant of Schelter Antiqua.
  • Tauchnitz-Antiqua (1907) a variant of Schelter Antiqua.
• Schelter Kursiv (1906)
• Schlanke Grotesk (1886)
• Schlanke Grotesk (1886)
• Schmale Anker Romanisch (1908), a German Romanesque.
• Schmale fette Edelgotisch und Zierat (1907)
• Schmale fette Schelterantiqua (1908)
• Schmale Medieäval (1840) Rived in 2020 by Ralph M. Unger as Schmale Mediaeval.
• Schmale Steinschrift (1898)
• Schul-Fraktur (1886) + Fette (1890) + Schmale fette (1918) Digitization by Delbanco as DS-Schulfraktur (2001).
• Shakespere Mediäval (1927–1929, Georg Belwe) ^[11]
• Shieldface A (1881) caps only
• Shieldface Combinationpieces (1881), ornamental
• Silhouette Border Series 63 (1884)
• Tauperle (1928)
• Titan + Titan Gnom (1915)
• Walgunde mit Zieraten (1908, Eduard Lautenbach)
• Walküre The grey variant of Wodan.
• Watteau-Schrift + Watteau Schmuck (1913), aka Kartenschrift Watteau, a non-connected script.
• Wieland (1926, Georg Belwe)
• Wodan (1894),
• Zierschrift 1328 (1889)
• Zierschrift 1400 (1889)

The foundry claimed by the twentieth century to have been one of the first to offer general-purpose sans-serif typefaces with lower-case, as early as 1825.^[12][13] This was repeated by some authors, but is now known to be untrue: Wolfgang Homola dates it to 1882 based on a study of Schelter & Giesecke specimens.^[2][a]

Press Manufacturing

Villa Georg Giesecke, the Leipzig house of foundry co-owner Georg Giesecke

Beginning in 1827 Schelter & Giesecke manufactured letterpress presses, cylinder proof presses and platen presses; and after World War I also of web-fed, letterpress and flexo printing presses.

The Leipzig house of foundry co-owner Georg Giesecke, designed by Berlin architect Max Hasak, survives and is listed.^[16]