The roots of the Akzidenz-Grotesk® typeface date back as early as 1880. The designs are rumored to have been a derivative of the Walbaum or Didot serif fonts. When the serifs are removed from these designs, the proportions are very similar to those of Akzidenz-Grotesk. The Akzidenz-Grotesk family is actually a collection of numerous grotesque typefaces from different designers, unified to create a complete family.
Akzidenz-Grotesk History
Once unified as a single family, Akzidenz-Grotesk remained unchanged until Berthold’s Günter Gerhard Lange enhanced the family by adding an additional 33 styles. The revisions and extensions preserved the original 19th century details while adding additional versatility to the family.
Berthold added to the family once again in 2006, releasing Akzidenz-Grotesk Pro in the OpenType® format. With the release came Central European, Baltic, Turkish, Danish and Esperanto character sets. Cyrillic and Greek characters were added in 2007.
Other variations of Akzidenz-Grotesk have been created since its inception, including Akzidenz-Grotesk Book, Akzidenz-Grotesk Book Rounded, Akzidenz-Grotesk Old Face and Akzidenz-Grotesk Next.
Reference:
Typedia - Akzidenz-Grotesk
Akzidenz-Grotesk Usage
The initial design of Azidenz-Grotesk was used in scientific publications by the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in the 1800s.
The American Red Cross uses Akzidenz-Grotesk in logos and printed materials.
Akzidenz-Grotesk is commonly mistaken for the Helvetica® and Univers® designs. All three typefaces are grotesque sans serifs; however, differences lie in subtle proportional and weight changes.
