Deberny et Peignot, “Banjo”, 1932

Banjo was launched by Deberny et Peignot around 1932; it is attributed to Maximilien Vox, although he never claimed it. Its originality consists of the device of two widths for each letter, one normal, the other wide. A brochure promoting Europe appeared in 1934 under the title L'Europe et les fantaisies Acier, Banjo, Film, satellites de l’Europe. Banjo is highlighted in these terms: “To compete with the drawn letter, typography lacked the flexibility of being able to use letters of variable width and alternations of wide and narrow in the same character. This is why here is Banjo, the face with two widths… A laughing face, with an amusing fantasy, and with which we can, literally, play: Banjo is “the smile of Europe”.

In truth, Acier, Banjo or Film are not directly inspired by Europe. Acier has only a distant family resemblance, as does Film. Banjo is the result of previous experiments by Maximilien Vox (similar to those which led to Stephenson & Blake’s Vogue) on a face with two widths which conveniently result in a geometric sans. They correspond to the desire on the part of Deberny et Peignot to expand the market for “inscription antiques”, which was particularly flourishing in the 1930s. It was a posteriori that the company reunites the three types by designating them as “satellites” of Europe.