Recta
Reber R41 · Aldo Novarese · 1959
Aldo Novarese's 1959 grotesque for the Nebiolo foundry in Turin, revived here across three widths and seven weights with matching italics, making available the full scope of the original design that production costs once made impossible.
About
Drawn by Novarese for Fonderia Nebiolo just one year after the debuts of Neue Haas Grotesk and Univers, Recta occupied the Italian counterpart to those Swiss and French giants, earning a reputation as the definitive Italian grotesque of its era. Its distinguishing quality is a softness of stroke with humanist inflection held in tension against the clean, rational forms of the grotesque tradition. The revival by Reber R41 realises the expanded family Novarese originally envisioned, offering Tonda, Stretta and Strettissima widths each with full weight ranges and italics.
Classification
A European grotesque sans-serif designed at the height of the mid-century Swiss/International style boom, sharing formal characteristics with Helvetica and Univers while retaining a softer, humanist touch in its stroke quality.