Blackletter Etje 3 is a regular weight, narrow, very high contrast, italic, normal x-height font.
Keywords: posters, headlines, book covers, title cards, brand marks, gothic, baroque, dramatic, antique, theatrical, historical flavor, dramatic display, manuscript feel, ornamental tone, spiky, angular, calligraphic, flourished, irregular.
A sharply angled, calligraphic display face with broken-looking strokes and pronounced nib logic. Forms lean strongly to the right and alternate between thick wedge-like stems and hairline connectors, creating a crisp, faceted rhythm. Uppercase letters show pointed terminals and occasional blade-like serifs, while lowercase forms are narrow with compact counters and brisk entry/exit strokes. The texture is intentionally uneven and hand-cut in feel, with subtle jitter in curves and stroke edges that keeps the silhouettes lively.
Best suited for headlines and short passages where its angular texture and high-contrast strokes can be appreciated—posters, title sequences, album or book covers, and branded wordmarks with a gothic or historical angle. It can work for pull quotes or section openers, but extended body text may feel busy due to tight counters and frequent sharp joins.
The font conveys a gothic, ceremonial mood—dramatic and slightly menacing, but also ornate and classical. Its sharpness and contrast suggest medieval manuscript influence filtered through expressive penwork, giving text a theatrical, storybook gravitas.
The design appears intended to evoke blackletter tradition with a hand-drawn, pen-and-ink personality—prioritizing expressive silhouettes, sharp terminals, and ornate rhythm over neutrality. It aims to deliver immediate historical and dramatic flavor in display settings.
Spacing and widths vary noticeably across letters, reinforcing a hand-rendered cadence rather than a strictly typographic one. Numerals and capitals read best at larger sizes where the thin internal strokes and small counters don’t fill in; in longer lines the texture becomes dense and visually energetic.