this made me smile #59

Gill Sans Peeled, originally uploaded by kevinmccauley.

This restaurant is on my street a couple blocks from me here in NYC. When I first saw it the type I just thought it was just a really bad typeface chosen by the signmaker during the 70s — from a distance it just looks ugly and misshapen. But upon closer inspection it looks like a peeling Gill Sans (referring to the bottom 'Ristorante' of course — the top lettering was always ugly I'm afraid) that's been exposed to the elements for 30 years. What makes it cool to me is not only that it's peeling, but it's the negative space around the letters that has peeled, rather than the letters themselves. Looks like a type aesthetic that V Magazine might try.