Block Letters, Brush Letters

I can't face the topic I should be writing about (guess which one), so instead, I'm going to talk about some old lettering.




This type of brush lettering cries out "mid-20th-century" to me. The best-known typeface in this vein is Brush Script, but I've always felt that it was not quite right:


The Wm. H. Block lettering is a nonconnecting script, so that's part of the difference. It doesn't slant, either. Overall, it has a much more urbane, horizontal feeling that really seems as though it was done with a brush, while Brush Script has never felt brushy enough to me.

The Block lettering fits into the Cartoon Modern aesthetic that developed around the same time. It makes me smile, and that's something I value right at the moment.