Phonetic Alphabet

This is the standard ‘NATO’ phonetic alphabet, standard across emergency services, navies, armies and air forces across the western world. The sharp-eyed amongst you will note that ‘J’ is for Juliett with two ‘t’s. This is no typo - it’s purposefully spelled this way for countries where a single ‘t’ would make it silent.

It is printed using Victorian wood blocks in a Gothic face together with Monotype Grotesque series 15 from around 1914 for the heading, and Monotype Headline Bold - Monotype’s take on Stephenson Blake’s Grotesque No9.

The poster is an A3 version of the popular A4 poster, and is handy for home-workers not so familiar with the phonetic alphabet, and require a quick reference on the office wall.

It is available in either blue/ black or red / black. Copies of this limited edition poster are available here.

Long Live the Great English Vortex

The poster was something of a private project put together recently, using vintage wood letter that has been accumulating here at the Vortex over a period of years. Now, with critical mass attained, it was time to print a Vorticist poster. This is the result.

It is printed using a variety of wooden letter type - some of it Victorian, and most of it Edwardian!

It is one of 19 copies. It is printed on A3 card (which is a challenge when using a printing press originally built for foolscap). Due to the complexity of this project, I had to put the poster through the press about seven times. In the process there was some ‘wastage’, which means we only have 16 copies that survived.

Copies of this limited edition poster are available here.

BUY BLAST

This is a letterpress advertising poster for BLAST, the Vorticist periodical of 1914. It is a modern print, but made up from advertising copy written by Wyndham Lewis at the time (see the advertisement in the Egoist, April 1914 for example).

This poster uses a variety of typefaces specific to pre-WW1, including Victorian wood letter in Gothic, Egyptian and French Clarendon faces, together with Stephenson Blake Latin Expanded, and Monotype Sans Serif series 15. No Anachronisms here - this is a totally authentic poster for 1914 - as if Leveridge and Co (the original printeres of BLAST) had printed it themselves!

It is one of around 20 copies. It is printed on A3 card, which looks great in a chunky black frame.

Copies of this limited edition poster are available here.