Gill Sans

In 1913 Edward Johnstone designed the iconic typeface used on the London Underground. Eric Gill was involved in that project and later created Gill Sans - the typeface used for the Pug Ditch F.C. letterhead - and claimed it to be the perfect legible typeface. It is a sans serif face based on classic roman proportions, and quite distinct from other sans faces. It became the standard typeface for the LNER railway; it was chosen for Penguin book covers; the BBC used it as their corporate face, along with British Rail and the Monotype Corporation.
Jobbing printers used Gill Sans extensively during the years either side of World War II. It became ubiquitous and appeared stale despite its obvious beauty and excellence. During the 1950s and 1960s the herd stampeded towards Univers and Helvetica, neither of which have the 'readability' possessed by Gill Sans and which is so essential for extended text.