Umbra
Umbra is a sans-serif display typeface designed in 1935 by R. Hunter Middleton for the Ludlow Typograph company. It is an adaptation of the uppercase light weight of his earlier typeface Tempo. The name Umbra refers to its shadow effect, in which the actual letter shape consists of negative space and is defined solely by its black dimensional shadow.
Umbra
- Name
- Umbra
- Field
- sans-serif typeface · geometric typeface
- Period
- 1935
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
getty · 500472737 · gnd · 300075235 · wikidata · Q7881373
In this article
Overview
Overview
Several other typefaces were created in similar style around the same time, including shadowed weights of Gill Sans. Nebiolo's Ombra, part of their Semplicità family, is very similar.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Umbra • Style — Display • Creationdate — 1935 • Creator — R. Hunter Middleton • Foundry — Ludlow • Sample — * Illustration — Umbra sample text
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 300075235, Umbra.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7881373: Umbra
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Umbra (typeface), revision 1311795376 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 300075235, Umbra.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- UmaswatiAuthor
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- Umberto PiersantiAuthor
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- Umer ShareefAuthor
- Umihana ČuvidinaAuthor
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- Umm JamilAuthor
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