Text face from an old sci-fi book (and display face if possible)

Question

I found this on a copy of Venus on the Half-Shell by Kilgore Trout (actually written by Philip José Farmer). I'm curious to know what the sans-serif text face is, I find it quite readable. I'm also intrigued by the display face if someone know what it is (almost look like Gill Sans Ultra Bold or a very bold Futura to me).

Comments

MetroMedium looks similar to the text face. Also there are heavy Futura versions that look like the headings. But you'd need to examine all the dates to get a perfect match! :)

Answer 1

Like James said, I believe this is a version of Metro No. 2, but with the 2-story ‘a’ alternate which was standard in the first version of Metro. This shape can now be found in Metro Nova which includes all the alternates from both versions. Here is a sample of Metro Nova with all the right stylistic alternates switched on to achieve the same look:

This is an interesting use! If you have a larger image and are willing to take a photo of the cover and some other pages I'd love to add it to Fonts In Use.

Comments

This looks pretty much spot on. Thanks for the in-depth answer, wasn't an easy one. The `g` on the page looks a little more squashed but it could just be the point size difference.

Unfortunately the copy I ordered doesn't have that lovely page. I got the UK version which has a this exact intro (and cover) but typeset differently. I found that image here: http://awfullibrarybooks.net/venus-on-the-half-shell/

You'll need to get hold of someone with the 1975 DELL version I believe (and not the UK Star version). Hope it helps.

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Thanks. The headline might be Tempo Black.