La fin du monde [The end of the world] resembles a thistle or a holly branch. During his residency at the Ergastule studios in Nancy, France, Jérôme Knebusch created twelve in a limited edition. All look similar, but none are identical. They were vector drawn, laser cut in brass, manually folded and oxidized in vinegar steam. Six are exclusively available at Poem, six others at Ergastule. The thistle photograph by Emile Gallé is from the École de Nancy archives.

Rudolf Koch began drawing the Offenbach typeface in 1928, the first size was cut in 1931, and Koch made final corrections on his deathbed in 1934. The type was published from 6 to 60 pt posthumously by Gebr. Klingspor foundry in 1935. Stylistically, Offenbach is a hybrid, pairing wide roman capitals with narrow gothic minuscules, a mixture Koch had experienced in several of his typefaces like Jessen or Wallau. His student Hans Kühne had added to the Klingspor release the ‘German’ gothic capitals as alternative to the roman capitals. Offenbach is a faithful revival of Offenbach Mager, the initial thin weight, based on a one-week workshop in 2022 under the direction of Jérôme Knebusch. The students of the HfG Offenbach studied the archive material in the Klingspor Museum and lead type in the nearby printing workshop in the Bernardbau. The Offenbach typeface is freely usable by anyone, privately or professionally, under the Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 license. This licence allows free use of the font, provided that the type and author are mentioned when using it (Offenbach by Rudolf Koch) and that no modification is made to its design.

Almost is a typeface between gothic and roman. It was designed by Jérôme Knebusch in five weights and many alternates. They can be endlessly combined, taking either a roman or gothic direction, without falling in a strong, broken script nor becoming a ‘pure’ roman design. Above, uncialesque and bizarre (Byzantine) letterforms and a full set of initials complete the fonts. All take their inspiration in the 15th century, specifically in the period of 1459-1482 with Gotico-Antiqua typefaces like the ‘Durandus’ of Fust & Schöffer, the first type to present a humanistic tendency. A few years later Sweynheim & Pannartz use a type in Subiaco which some consider to be the first roman although gothic influences remain clearly visible. Roman type was finally defined in 1469-70 in Venice by the ‘de Spira’ brothers and Nicolas Jenson. But roman did not precipitate the death of gothic forms, mixtures of gothic and roman were tried out and the two co-existed for some time. Almost is a hommage to these types, which represent a unique, transitory moment in history of typography. More information about Almost on Poem's website.

The old guys stole our best ideas. Three typographic perspectives on historical forms, conference held at Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire Strasbourg, 2024. With Francis Ramel and Laurent Bourcellier. Each of us presented two type revival projects. Francis presented Carolinéale and Baroque Brutal, Laurent Joos and Johannes, myself Nouveau Quellstift and Koch Grotesk. The conference was recorded, video link below.

It is usually believed that the typefounder Robert Thorne (1753–1820) was the first to have introduced in the early 19th century the ‘fat face’, a swollen offspring of the new ‘modern’ types then in vogue. Sébastien Morlighem’s essay intends to reassess his precise role in its development as well as other English founders. It is built on a re-reading of several key texts and a careful survey of original specimen books from the Thorne, Caslon & Catherwood, Fry & Steele and Figgins foundries. Edited by Alice Savoie and Jérôme Knebusch in the Poem Pamphlet series.

From metal type to phototypesetting, from the typewriter to the Minitel, and from engraving to dry-transfer lettering, the typographical work of Ange Degheest (1928-2009) testifies of the numerous technical changes the printing and telecommunication sectors went through during the second half of the twentieth century. Ange Degheest’s story is remarkable and a perfect illustration of the technical odyssey that took place throughout the twentieth century. Yet it is astonishing and disturbing to realise that, in spite of the quality and diversity of her lettering and type design work, her name has been forgotten amongst the list of those who have shaped the history of typography to this day. Reviving Ange Degheest was collectively written in Benjamin Gomez's type design class at EESAB Rennes by Eugénie Bidaut, Oriane Charvieux, Anaïs Déal, Luna Delabre, Camille Depalle, Mandy Elbé, Justine Herbel and May Jolivet. Afterword 'Ange Degheest, a female ghost of France’s type history' by Alice Savoie. Edited by Alice Savoie and Jérôme Knebusch in the Poem Pamphlet series.