Schelter & Giesecke Type Foundry

J.G. Schelter & Giesecke was a German type foundry and manufacturer of printing presses started 1819 in Leipzig by punchcutter Johann Schelter and typefounder Christian Friedrich Giesecke (1793-1850). The foundry was nationalized in 1946 by the new German Democratic Republic, forming VEB Typoart, Dresden.

Typefaces
These foundry types were produced by Schelter & Giesecke:

Typefaces
• Accidenz-Zierat (1902)

• Akantrea (1883), borders and ornaments

• Akropolis Ornamente (1907)

• Alt Latein (1924)

• Baldur Baldur (1895) Revived by Alan Prescott as New Baldur APT (1996).

• Belwe Roman (1907, Georg Belwe)

• Biedermeierzierat (1905)

• Borghese (1904) An Art Nouveau face, revived by Ralph M. Unger as Borghese (2015).

• Breite Grotesk (1886) This typeface influenced the Bauhaus movement and was a forerunner of Helvetica. Revived by Nick Curtis as Schelter Grotesk NF (2010), and by Arve Båtevik as Sagen Grotesk, Breite Halbfette Grotesk and Breite magere Grotesk (2015).

• Breite Kanzlei (1835; other publications mention 1890) + Halbfette Kanzlei (1860)

• Die Zierde (1913, F.H. Ernst Schneidler), ornaments

• Dolmen (1922, Max Salzmann)

• * Zierdolmen (1922, Max Salzmann), a decorated version of Dolmen.

• Edelgotisch (1901, Albert Knab)

• Fafner + Schraffierte (1905) Revived by Oliver Weiss as WF Fafner (2020)

• Fanal (1933), angular blackletterish script face

• Fee (1907), handwriting.

• Flamme (1933), brush-like script

• Gnom + breite Gnom (1928)

• Gravira (1935, Herbert Thannhaueser)

• Gutenberg-Gotisch (1885) + Halbfette Gutenberg-Gotisch (1890) The original by F.W. Bauer and Th. Friebel dates from 1880.

• Hispania Script (1890), a pirate map face

• Initialen zur Rousseau (1907)

• Italian Renaissance (1883) a black-letter face

• Jugend-Fraktur (ca. 1900)

• Kalender Vignetten  (1907, Max Salzmann)

• Kartuschen Einfassung serie 72 (1887), ornaments

• Kolibri (1928)

• Koralle (1929 ) Nick Curtis based his Koralle NF (2012) and Koralle Rounded NF (2014) on this typeface; see also the recent revival Koralle RMU (2018) by Ralph M. Unger.

• Leipziger Lateinschrift (1908)

• Liane (1908)

• Meierschrift (1904-1908, C.F. Meier)

• Mimosenzierat (1909, Heinz Keune)

• Moderne enge halbfette Fraktur (1886)

• Monos (1912)

• Münster-Gotisch (1896) Revived by Paulo W as Münster Gotische (2009). Gerhard Helzel also did a revival.

• Patriz Huber Ornamente (1906, Patriz Huber)

• Perkeo (1928)

• Reklameschrift Radium (1904-1906)

• Roland Grotesk (1910)

• Roland Kursiv (1910)

• Romanisch, later copied by the Central Type Foundry of Saint Louis as De Vinne.

• Rosenzierat Serien 534 und 535 (1905, Heinz Keune)

• Rundgotisch (1909; others say 1902-1903)

• Salzmann Antiqua (1913, Max Salzmann)

• Salzmann Fraktur + Kräftige Salzmann Fraktur (1911, Max Salzmann)

• Salzmann Kursiv (1911, Max Salzmann)

• Salzmannschrift + Salzmannschrift halbfette + schmale Salzmannschrift (1910, Max Salzmann)

• Saskia (1931, Jan Tschichold)

• Schelter Antiqua (1906) Revived in 2020 by Oliver Weiss as Schelter Antiqua WF.

• * Leipziger Lateinschrift (1907) a variant of Schelter Antiqua.

• * Tauchnitz-Antiqua (1907) a variant of Schelter Antiqua.

• Schelter Kursiv (1906)

• Schlanke Grotesk (1886)

• Schlanke Grotesk (1886)

• Schmale Anker Romanisch (1908), a German Romanesque.

• Schmale fette Edelgotisch und Zierat (1907)

• Schmale fette Schelterantiqua (1908)

• Schmale Medieäval (1840) Rived in 2020 by Ralph M. Unger as Schmale Mediaeval.

• Schmale Steinschrift (1898)

• Schul-Fraktur (1886) + Fette (1890) + Schmale fette (1918) Digitization by Delbanco as DS-Schulfraktur (2001).

• Shakespere Mediäval (1927–1929, Georg Belwe)

• Shieldface A (1881) caps only

• Shieldface Combinationpieces (1881), ornamental

• Silhouette Border Series 63 (1884)

• Tauperle (1928)

• Titan + Titan Gnom (1915)

• Walgunde mit Zieraten (1908, Eduard Lautenbach)

• Watteau-Schrift + Watteau Schmuck (1913), aka Kartenschrift Watteau, a non-connected script.

• Wieland (1926, Georg Belwe)

• Zierschrift 1328 (1889)

• Zierschrift 1400 (1889) The foundry claimed by the twentieth century to have been one of the first to offer general-purpose sans-serif typefaces with lower-case, as early as 1825. This was repeated by some authors, but is now known to be untrue: Wolfgang Homola dates it to 1882 based on a study of Schelter & Giesecke specimens.

Press Manufacturing
Beginning in 1827 Schelter & Giesecke manufactured letterpress presses, cylinder proof presses and platen presses; and after World War I also of web-fed, letterpress and flexo printing presses.

The Leipzig house of foundry co-owner Georg Giesecke, designed by Berlin architect Max Hasak, survives and is listed.