This study compares typeface design between the grotesque and the modern sanserif to describe the difference in their letterform. Typefaces used for the study are : Akzidenz Grotesk (Berthold, 1898), Venus (Bauer, 1907), Grotesque 215 (Monotype, 1926), Kabel (Klingspor, 1927), Futura (Bauer, l927), Gill Sans (Monotype, 1928). It proves two main tendencies; the first is that the cap-height, ascender, and descender of modern sanserifs are longer than those of grotesques, and the second is that the letter-width of modern sanserifs is various while that of grotesques is comparatively equal. These characteristics seem to be related with their backgrounds : grotesques follows the letterform hand-written in bills of the 19th century, and modern sanserifs are constructed with geometric shapes based on the traditional Roman letterforms.
