Posters of the 18th and 19th century weren't made with fonts (except perhaps for bodies of small type). I doubt anyone manufactured fonts of the required size, and they would have been ruinously expensive. Well into the 20th century, posters were hand designed, including all the writing. (Take a look at silent film posters, for example). Stencil fonts might have been used to make posters where only a few were needed. If you want to get into the later 20th century, no typography is too crude, because it had to be eye catching.
Now, this is not the Adobe store, and they are offered for a fee, but I think it's hard to beat the HP Lovecraft Historical Society font collection, created specifically for making old fashioned typography for props. HPLHS Fonts – The HPLHS Store.
For your era, avoid sans serif and black letter fonts. Thin serif fonts might be used a lot. There may well be substantial differences in style between USA and UK.
Also, this might interest you - an 1895 poster for The Importance Of Being Earnest. The Importance of Being Earnest | V&A Explore The Collections (vam.ac.uk). You can see all the larger type was drawn by hand because it is not regular.
2
Replies
AdChoices