Typography Specimen

BERTHOLD
AKZIDE
GR
Akzidenz (sic) Grotesk was released by
Berthold in Berlin in 1898, according
to their own literature. It was obviously
based on faces already offered by
other foundries, some of which were
later taken over by Berthold. One of
the contemporaries of AG was Royal
Grotesk from Theinhardt. In Bertholds
specimen booklet no. 429, which was
most likely released in 1954, Akzidenz
Grotesk Mager (light) was still referred
to as Royal Grotesk, in brackets.
Berthold acquired a typeface in 1908,
(when they bought Ferd.Theinhardt)
which
they released as Akzidenz Grotesk
Halbfett (medium). They kept adding
weights, some of them from other
faces, acquired from other foundries.
Every foundry had a version of that
type of face, more often than not
available in a few sizes only. The
original series remained quite divers,
individual weights showing not
much resemblance but in name. It
was mainly a marketing and naming
success. That only changed when
they cut Series 57, and then Series
58, named for the years of release.
These had some sizes (but not all)
recut under the direction of Günter
Gerhard Lange, who was their
(freelance) artistic director at the
time.
GG Lange always claimed that
Berthold had taken some AG weights
and sizes from Popplbaum in Vienna,
and that is supposed to account for
the release date of 1896 or 1898.
Popplbaum was not bought by
Berthold until 1926. Berthold did take
different fonts from all the foundries
they bought (and obviously also made
deal without buying a foundry) and
rename them until they got a family
together which still showed the original
influences, sometimes even from size
to size.