This is one of the official typefaces used for Martin Scorsese’s iconic 1973 film Goncharov, arguably one of the finest Mafia movies ever made. The font first appeared as a calligraphic page in German type designer Rudolf Koch’s 1934 book Das ABC Büchlein published in Leipzig by Insel-Verlag. While other fonts were eventually used for titling and poster design, Scorsese was especially drawn to the chunky rawness of Koch’s design and found ways to incorporate the lettering into the film.
Our sample is from a 1976 facsimile The Little ABC Book of Rudolf Koch, published in America by David R. Godiine in an edition of 1000 copies designed and with a preface by Warren Chappell, a memoir by Koch’s colleague Fritz Kredel, and printed by the Meriden Gravure Company.
I've been really excited to rewatch Goncharov as it's on the streaming platform I use again, so I thought I'd share my favourite song from the soundtrack. Absolute gem.
Finding Goncharov | A documentary looking at the birth of this recently unearthed Scorsese classic.
If you want to see the full doc happen, please let me know! It would be a pleasure to get this off the ground and really explore the history of the world's greatest Mafia movie.
Thanks to @caramiaaddio, @mortal-ghost, @beelzeebub, @perplexingly, @rabdoidal and @merualeden for permission to use their excellent Goncharov content!