Jonathan Hoefler of the famed font shop Hoefler & Frere-Jones was kind enough to shed some light on the odd lettering shown above, where what seems to be a random "A" jumps above the baseline. The source is the plaque on the Central Park statue dedicated Balto, a sled dog involved in the 1925 delivery of diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska. Jonathan guesses that the style is the legacy of a late 19th century attempt to evoke the "imperial lettering" found in old Roman inscriptions, and says that if you like the style, you might enjoy Matthew Carter's Mantinia typeface.
