Re: Alphabet

[Mr. Fannin:]

> Y'know, I hate to do this, but I found this thread from five years ago
> (12/21/00):
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/misc.transport.road/browse_frm/thread/b33a9776e9014c3b
>
> It's less credible than the other source, but has a more specific date:
> 1945.

The information about the transition from the old unrounded B.P.R.
series to the present F.H.W.A. series is broken up among a number of
different threads. I will attempt a brief recapitulation.

* The unrounded series were originally specified as a national
standard in the A.A.S.H.O. signing manual in 1927. One appendix of
this manual gave a listing of fabrication drawings for signs shown in
the manual and for the alphabet series. This was the period equivalent
of a table of contents for modern 'Standard Highway Signs'. However, I
have never seen a copy of the drawings themselves, nor have I found
anyone else who has, although I have corresponded with someone who
claims to have acquired a glass plate negative for one drawing.

* Experimentation with rounded letters began almost as soon as the
unrounded series became the national standard. Some rounded letters
were diagrammed in the 1935 'M.U.T.C.D.' as an option. They had an
aspect ratio which was a good match with Series C or D, and less good
with Series B or E.

* By 1943, draft rounded alphabet series were available and were used
to fabricate guide signs for the Pentagon road network, which was built
at approximately the same time as the Pentagon itself as a
B.P.R.-administered project. Details of the signing, including
pattern-accurate drawings of the signs themselves, were given in
'Proceedings of the Highway Research Board'.

* In 1945, the B.P.R. published a 'Standard Alphabets for Highway
Signs' document which contained fabrication drawings for the rounded
letters in their accepted final form. This included all of the series
from Series A to Series F, but not Series E Modified and the lowercase
alphabet, which were developed separately by the then California
Division of Highways (now Caltrans).

* In 1948, A.A.S.H.O. released the first 'M.U.T.C.D.' revision which
specified the modern rounded alphabet series.

* In California, Series E Modified (uppercase only) was initially used
on ground-mounted signs only, which were button-reflectorized. The
lowercase alphabet was used with Series D on nonreflectorized
overhead-mounted signs which were externally illuminated. The Series D
letters were 1 1/2 times as tall as the loop height of the lowercase
letters; the modern freeway guide sign alphabet (Series E Modified plus
lowercase, now usually called just Series E Modified) has a
capital/lowercase loop height ratio of 1 1/3:1. (The forms of
Clearview which are now generally used have an even lower ratio.)
Caltrans engineers prepared reports on the guide sign typefaces and
freeway illumination which were subsequently published in 'Proceedings
of the Highway Research Board'. The key publication dealing with sign
lettering appeared in 1950 and reported work which had been going on
more or less since World War II ended. The practice of coupling Series
D with the lowercase alphabet on freeway guide signs ended at
approximately the same time as publication of the Interstate signing
manual, in 1958.

.