Linotype Hieroglyphes is a family of symbol typefaces inspired by ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Together, the family consists of 136 characters. All of the symbols are rendered in outlines, which appear to have been hand drawn, just as Egyptian scribes wrote their characters on papyrus thousands of years ago. Earlier in the 20th Century, the Frankfurt type foundry D. Stempel AG revived the design of these characters as a commercial typeface. They then cast these letters into lead, and sold the typeface around the world, bringing this ancient writing system into modern use. In 1996, the Linotype Design Studio digitized this important historical reference. The symbols in Linotype Hieroglyphes One represent people going about their daily activities, e.g., spear throwing, harp playing, and farming. Linotype Hieroglyphes Two's symbols represent birds in various stages of flight. Some of the characters in Linotype Hieroglyphes Two are more complex than Linotype Hieroglyphes One's, and show several hieroglyphic elements in one character. Hieroglyphics, or picture writing, was one of the writing systems used by the ancient Egyptians. Its characters were both representations of syllables and pictograms in there own right. Words could therefore be depicted either by individual symbols or a combination thereof. Both fonts in the Linotype Hieroglyphes are included in Take Type 4 collection from Linotype GmbH.
