tl;dr: Marcin Wichary traces the history of "Gorton," an ugly, monoline sans-serif font originally created around 1894 by UK lens-maker Taylor, Taylor & Hobson for pantograph engraving machines, then licensed to George Gorton Machine Co. in Wisconsin. Despite having no clear designer, inconsistent naming, and amateurish letterforms, Gorton spread worldwide onto keyboards, elevators, intercoms, military equipment, and even Apollo spacecraft—thanks to its durability when carved into metal or plastic. The author documents its ubiquity in Manhattan through 100 miles of walks and 600 photos, arguing it's the city's hardest-working font, though it's slowly disappearing as signage gets modernized.