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In Photos, a Tour of Brooklyn's Best Vintage Typography

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Bright and early yesterday morning, 30-plus dedicated typophiles, many in town for the 10-day Typographics design festival, followed Alex­ander Tochil­ovsky through brownstone and industrial Brooklyn looking up, down and across for examples of lettering on manhole covers, coal chutes, former pharmacies, apartment buildings, and churches. Tochilovsky, an adjunct professor at the Cooper Union and the curator of the Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography, was equally happy pointing out naive sign-painting and errors in computer typesetting, as well as the past mastery of utility companies' metalwork. The tour ended at the 1891 Boys High School on Marcy Avenue, designed by James W. Naughton and featuring lots of beautiful brownstone lettering.

First stop on #typographics Brooklyn type tour. Extruded metal and neon sign (most of the neon RIP).

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A flexible version, made by Coca-Cola for deli owners. Note hand-painted street name above. #typographics

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Tin-wrapped building name. Count the number of buildings named The Clinton in Fort Greene #typographics

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#ilookdown #typographics @typographicsnyc Brooklyn type tour.

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Tote bag game @typographicsnyc #typographics tour: Gerrit Noordzij nib bag.

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Sts. Luke and Matthew Episcopal Church @typographicsnyc #typographics

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When architectural ornament came from the store ... It has a twin called the De Kalb @typographicsnyc #typographics

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Locanda glass hand-painted sign restored by John Downer (there's a YouTube video) @typographicsnyc #typographics

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Overpainted and extremely detailed. The Post on the far right reads GUIL(T)Y! @typographicsnyc #typographics

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Rare, giant MTA manhole cover with 7yo for scale. @typographicsnyc #typographics

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· Typographics Design Festival [official]