What fonts did GW use in their publications?

axiom

Member
Hi all, I'd be interested to discover what fonts GW used in their publications from the mid-1980s to 1990s - rulebooks, Citadel Journal, White Dwarf.

Are there any fonts which they were particularly associated with? Any hints and tips welcomed :)
 

VanLoon

Member
I was wondering this a few months back. I wanted to write up some scenarios and print them out with the old GW font.

Never found out for certain, but my best guess is that it's Courier.

Would like to know for certain though.
 

Zhu Bajie

Member
Let's start here:

Citadel-miniatures.png


This is "Stonehenge" published by Graphic Products Corporation in their Formatt series of cut out lettering, used in paste-up before graphic design became something people just do on computers. Anyone have any sheets, let me know I'd like to get ahold of some.

Citadel aren't the only fantasy brand to use the font, it appears on TSR D&D products, Palladium Games RPG, Heritage Miniatures "Dungeon Dwellers" and many others. In GW publications, it's also used as the 1st and 2nd Edition Warhammer logos, and as each of the book headings in 2nd.

tumblr_mt49e6cZe71r0uc86o1_500.jpg


3rd edition logo is very heavily based on it, but it isn't the same thing really.

So far there have been two digital revivals of Stonehenge, both distributed for free:

1) Moria Citadel by Russ Herschler of Dragonfang - online gaming supplies retailer and archive of many an adventure sheet. Russ was kind enough to point me in the right direction for the origin of his font. This is the one I used on the logo up there at the top of the site, and so is an Offical Oldhammer™ Approved Product ;)

2) Satans Minions by Mickey Rossi, which isn't quite as nice IMHO.
 

phreedh

Member
Zheers Zhu! I've been using Casablanca Antique as a "counts as" proxy... =)

casablancant.gif


It's nice, but not AS nice. I'll be getting me some Moria Citadel fontage.

However, I think Jon was after the fonts used in the actual text content of the publications?
 

tp_1983

Member
Fascinating post, two things that I find immensely interesting, early days of Games Workshop/Citadel and fonts.

Anymore info on any of the fonts used for any logos etc would be gratefully received.
 

Nico

Member
Zhu Bajie":30q5n2c3 said:
1) Moria Citadel by Russ Herschler of Dragonfang - online gaming supplies retailer and archive of many an adventure sheet. Russ was kind enough to point me in the right direction for the origin of his font. This is the one I used on the logo up there at the top of the site, and so is an Offical Oldhammer™ Approved Product ;)


Thany you Zhu !
 

Zhu Bajie

Member
phreedh":1740kkjh said:
Zheers Zhu! I've been using Casablanca Antique as a "counts as" proxy... =)

Good call Phreed. Casablanca Antique is font I used for "In Battle There is No Law" up there on the logo, and as headings on the Oldhammer blog ans the Oldhammer Wiki. Needless to say so is also an Offical Oldhammer™ Approved Product (I wonder how long I can get away with that gag).

It has a long and venerable history in GW - it is the main heading font in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition, Realm of Chaos (StD), and steadily became the defacto-standard Warhammer font used on packaging throughout the 90s and 10s. As a typeface it has an interesting history, it's actually a knock-off of Caslon Antique...

images


... but it appears that GW don't use Caslon, but Casablanca. It's other uses outside are wide and varied, it's the main font used by the seminal 80s goth band, Sisters of Mercy, and the original cover for Fighting Fantasy Citadel of Chaos (coincidence?)

first-and-last-and-always-4e63165b4076f.jpg


figfan02.jpg
 

VanLoon

Member
Ah, very interesting and very useful. Thanks Zhu.

So the basic text used in publications like WFB 2ed etc... Courier or something different?
 

axiom

Member
Thanks for all the excellent input so far; really interesting stuff! As commented above, I'm also interested in the fonts used in the main body of texts - any leads?
 

Zhu Bajie

Member
Yep, I did some research on that a while ago it is not Courier,

citcomp2019-02.jpg


The early Warhammer font (1st Ed. 2nd Ed and Compendiums, as above) is a Xerox pinwheel type called "Cubic PC" check the second sample:

800px-Daisy_wheel_output_samples_1980-81.jpg


But it has never been digitized as far as I know. SV BASIC MANUAL by Johan Winge is a TTF revival of a different version of Cubic - and he's working on a new one, which is much cleaner, but he hasn't released it yet. Winges version(s) don't have the same proportions as the GW / Xerox - which have much wider caps, and the lowercase i, l, aren't the same at all - it might be enough to give a similar feel, but not quite enough to create forgeries of rare Citadel flyers and sell them on eBay for massive profits.

The headings in have been digitized as Egyptienne. Actually I don't know what the original letraset might have been.

T2512_02.jpg


http://www.youworkforthem.com/font/T2512/egyptienne

You can see I used these 2 in combination here:

game1_turn_5.jpg
 

VanLoon

Member
Zhu Bajie":2noi4o95 said:
... not quite enough to create forgeries of rare Citadel flyers and sell them on eBay for massive profits...

:lol:

Thanks for the extra information, I found it very interesting.
 

Zhu Bajie

Member
Phreed - I think we're still waiting for you to put your turn in! Lol! If there's interest we can resurrect it.

Back on topic, the main page-chapter headings in Rogue Trader are ITC Serif Gothic

rogue_trader_equipment.jpg


Which is the same font as used in 1st /2nd Talisman

talisman-front.jpg


and laso appeared on He-Man toy packaging in the 80s.

Note that very cool variant rounded "E" on the Talisman box. Seriously I've got tonnes of notes on this stuff in half written blog-posts...
 

phreedh

Member
Zhu Bajie":2ijj7szg said:
Seriously I've got tonnes of notes on this stuff in half written blog-posts...
A nerd! Get him!!!

Oh... Oh, wait.

Never mind. =)

Nice additions Zhu! Your knowledge in this is impressive, but not unexpected. =)
 

Zhu Bajie

Member
Might work! Wanted to keep it old-school black on blue, like...

165975_sm-Copyright%20Games%20Workshop%2C%20Retro%20Reivew%2C%20Rogue%20Trader.jpg


("Counters" and other RT subheads are a 'wide' or squashed Helvetica Black BTW)
 

Coopdevil

Member
My circle of gaming mates routinely call it "Rouge" to the point where (outside of gaming) I have to double check that I don't use that word when I really meant "Rogue". Likewise "mans" not being the correct plural form of "man".

Still, even Leo Hartas does it sometimes...

Crunch-gamebook-002.jpg


Coop
 
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