Dewey Decimal is a contemporary reimagining of Documentary, a proportional typewriter style for the Friden Justowriter teleprinter, with characters fit onto four predefined widths measuring 2, 3, 4, or 5 steps at 1/32″ size. The large x-height, coupled with unfurling enclosed spaces, result in wide apertures that breathe fresh air into a self-contained Neo-classical construction.
Documentary appear to be adapted from Chauncey H. Griffith’s Excelsior, exhibiting its telltale beaked “g” ear and agape “a”. Excelsior in turn, borrows more than a little from Linn Boyd and Morris Fuller Benton’s Century Expanded.
The generous apertures and the soaring roof of lowercase “a” are carried over into Dewey Decimal, but the new family diverges in its approach to the detailing. Despite Documentary only offering one style, Helland has developed the source material into a full family. Drawing from his own experience, as well as Documentary’s ancestors, the letterforms are infused with contemporary aptitude and individualized penchant.
From the outset drawn for a system of coarse units, a monospaced variant was a natural addition to the family. The Mono compresses the widest characters from Dewey Decimal, and broadens the narrowest. Combining the two creates a desirable dissonance between almost- and fully monospaced.
