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Groups > alt.sys.pdp10 > #9988
| From | Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> |
|---|---|
| Newsgroups | alt.sys.pdp10, comp.fonts |
| Subject | the history of the Hershey fonts (was Re: reprints of old AI memos) |
| Date | 2026-09-02 15:55 -0300 |
| Organization | Primarily biological and memetic |
| Message-ID | <87mrtz5vqv.fsf_-_@debian> (permalink) |
| References | (16 earlier) <874igb7fmv.fsf_-_@debian> <7wwlt6rhw6.fsf@junk.nocrew.org> <874iga5jgr.fsf@debian> <7wld9l5xtc.fsf_-_@junk.nocrew.org> <mddfqzsd57w.fsf@panix5.panix.com> |
Cross-posted to 2 groups.
Rich Alderson <news@alderson.users.panix.com> writes:
>> Kragen Javier Sitaker wrote:
>>> Lars Brinkhoff <lars.spam@nocrew.org> writes:
>>>> No, the fonts are pixelated at around 200 DPI.
>>> I wonder where they came from?
>
> The Hershey fonts were originally designed for computer output on
> microfilm (COM) which entailed using a cathode ray tube to expose
> photographic negatives. Dr. Hershey designed them as an alternative
> to the use of the entirely mechanical Varityper. Since he was working
> in a US Navy lab, his work was automatically in the public domain.
I see this was unclear, but what I meant to ask is whether the 200-dpi
XGP fonts Brinkhoff is using are derived from the Hershey fonts, or
whether they come from some other source, such as someone creating a new
font on ITS with FED.
The story of the Hershey fonts is indeed fascinating, and Dr. Hershey’s
achievements were remarkable. I wrote a 4200-word article about Hershey
fonts that may be of interest to those who aren’t familiar with the
details. It draws from my reading of the following sources:
- _Calligraphy for Computers_, by Hershey
- _A Contribution to Computer Typesetting Techniques_, by Wolcott and
Hilsenrath
- Patrick Michael Doyle’s master’s thesis
- “A computer system for scientific typography”, by Hershey
- HERSHEY.DOC in GhostScript
- GNU plotutils
- Pete Holzmann’s original mod.sources posts containing the Hershey
fonts in the James Hurt Format (JHF)
- “The Last Bit: Missionaries Lag No More”, about Pete Holzmann
- “Exploring Dr. Hershey’s Typography”, by David M. MacMillan and
Rollande Kandall
- “Cartography and Typography with True BASIC”, by Hershey
- Frank Grießhammer’s TypeCon speech about Hershey fonts
- Kamal Mostafa’s hershey-fonts C library
- The hersheypy Python library by Usenet’s own Lawrence D’Oliveiro
- Paul Bourke’s exploration of the JHF format
If there are some of these you haven’t read, the article may be of
interest to you. It is hershey-fonts.md in the pavnotes2
repository:
git clone http://canonical.org/~kragen/sw/pavnotes2.git
Kragen
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boxing all integers (was Re: Resources to learn common lisp?) Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-08-29 17:52 -0300
Re: boxing all integers (was Re: Resources to learn common lisp?) Lars Brinkhoff <lars.spam@nocrew.org> - 2026-08-30 06:43 +0000
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-08-30 13:11 -0300
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Lars Brinkhoff <lars.spam@nocrew.org> - 2026-08-31 05:14 +0000
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers) Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-31 06:54 +0000
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-08-31 13:43 -0300
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-08-31 13:56 -0300
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2026-08-31 13:34 -0700
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Rich Alderson <news@alderson.users.panix.com> - 2026-08-31 18:12 -0400
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-01 15:12 +0000
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Lars Brinkhoff <lars.spam@nocrew.org> - 2026-09-01 05:59 +0000
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-09-02 15:23 -0300
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers) Lars Brinkhoff <lars.spam@nocrew.org> - 2026-09-01 05:45 +0000
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers) Lars Brinkhoff <lars.spam@nocrew.org> - 2026-09-01 07:07 +0000
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers) Rich Alderson <news@alderson.users.panix.com> - 2026-09-01 17:36 -0400
the history of the Hershey fonts (was Re: reprints of old AI memos) Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-09-02 15:55 -0300
Re: the history of the Hershey fonts (was Re: reprints of old AI memos) Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-02 21:31 +0000
Re: the history of the Hershey fonts (was Re: reprints of old AI memos) Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-09-03 09:59 -0300
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers) Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-09-02 16:35 -0300
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers) Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-02 21:50 +0000
PDF file compactness (was Re: reprints of old AI memos) Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-09-03 12:06 -0300
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers) Lars Brinkhoff <lars.spam@nocrew.org> - 2026-09-03 05:42 +0000
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers) Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-09-03 12:50 -0300
origin of XGP fonts (was Re: reprints of old AI memos) Kragen Javier Sitaker <kragen@canonical.org> - 2026-09-28 10:44 -0300
Re: origin of XGP fonts (was Re: reprints of old AI memos) Peter Flass <Peter@Iron-Spring.com> - 2026-09-28 07:33 -0700
Re: origin of XGP fonts (was Re: reprints of old AI memos) Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson <johann@myrkraverk.invalid> - 2026-09-28 22:53 +0800
Re: reprints of old AI memos (was Re: boxing all integers)f Lars Brinkhoff <lars.spam@nocrew.org> - 2026-09-06 08:40 +0000
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