The condensed letters are distinguished with a strong thick/thin contrast and they adhere to an ‘orthodox’ construction without any odd letterforms; even S is of a ‘normal’ shape. Curves are flattened inside the counters and in round letters such as C, D, G, O and Q, while outside curves are only slightly flattened. Other peculiarities include the conspicuously thicker terminal strokes of C, G and S, and the round apex of A, a common letterform at the time. The bold strokes and the high contrast (the latter a peculiarity for a sanserif at the time) recall some of Nebiolo’s best sellers such as Quirinus and Hastile, both released towards the end of the 1930s. 

Courtesy of Luca Lattuga

Serie 704 was released by the Xilografia Milanese (Milan) in various body sizes ranging from 3 to 40 lines (roughly 36–500 points). The company’s only known specimen book, printed in the late 1930s, consists of pages displaying nine typefaces each with one line per type – mostly condensed sanserifs. There are also pages with photographs of type cabinets, which must have been a top seller for the company.

Courtesy of Luca Lattuga

The AM Serie 704 digital revival is faithful to the original, except for a few details. ‘G and C,’ says the designer, ‘had almost the same shape because G lacked the horizontal bar, and for that reason a horizontal bar was added. The ampersand, being much smaller than the letters, was adapted to the height of the capitals’. Finally, in order to make AM Serie 704 fully usable and efficient, the character set was expanded and the letters underwent some optical adjustments.