Frida Bezrukova

The words “Benny Goodman & His Orchestra” on an appearance poster for the band from 1936 were rendered in a beautiful semi-script style of hand lettering.

While Student Council JNL was not influenced by any school activities, the design is based on a lithographed cardboard sign (circa 1930s) for Spizz Sparkling Water, a bottled seltzer from the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company of Lexington, Kentucky. 

A squared letterform with angled semi-serifs, this Art Deco typeface grabs attention.

Student Council JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A piece of sheet music for “Broken Blossoms” circa the 1920s or early 1930s has its cover title hand lettered in a wide thick-and-thin Art Deco design.

This is now available as Flower Shop JNL, in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered title found on the cover of the 1932 sheet music for “Dancing Marathon” inspired the digital revival of this unusual lettering as well as the font’s name.

This eccentric Art Deco design (with a slight bit of Art Nouveau mixed in) is a thin, monoline typeface.

Dancing Marathon JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Dance marathons got their start during the Great Depression as people desperate to earn a few dollars would enter into contests that went on for hours until the last couple remained standing on the dance floor.

In its heyday, the Starlight Room of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City quite frequently printed lunch and dinner menus for not only their rotating bill of fare, but also for special events held there.

The 1937 Electrolux (Eastern) Appreciation Banquet has its own menu cover, and the lettering was in a simple, yet Art-Deco influenced condensed block design with squared features.

This simple and quirky typeface has been digitally redrawn as Sales Convention JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Sheet music for the song “The Little Thing You Used to Do” (from the 1935 motion picture “Go into your Dance” starring Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler) had its title set in what closely resembled Bank Gothic Condensed.  

[Bank Gothic was originally designed by Morris Fuller Benton for American Type Founders circa 1930.]

This reinterpreted version is now known as Stenographer JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The Art Deco hand lettered opening credits for the 1936 French drama “La Belle Équipe” [English title: “They Were Five”] provided the inspiration for Foreign Film JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

According to Wikipedia, the film “…tells the story of five unemployed workers who win the jackpot in the national lottery but their solidarity then proves fragile.”

The thin, condensed serif lettering found in a 1937 magazine ad for Chris Craft boats inspired Formal Invite JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A title card with cast credits for the 1935 movie “The Whole Town’s Talking” (starring Edward G. Robinson and Jean Arthur) formed the basis for People Talk JNL.

The hand lettered names were done in a slightly condensed slab serif – mostly rectangular in shape with rounded corners. A few characters take on their own unique appearance.

People Talk JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered title card from the 1935 melodrama “Magnificent Obsession” inspired the digital revival Movie Classic JNL; available in both regular and oblique versions.

The hand lettered title card from the 1935 melodrama “Magnificent Obsession” inspired the digital revival Movie Classic JNL; available in both regular and oblique versions.