Lettering For The Trades

Lovely lettering sample book published in Rotterdam in 1900 for signpainters, stonecutters, lithographers and architects. Kindly shared on Piet Schreuder's Flickrstream.   

Lettres

Lettres by Jean Loisy, published in 1948 by Arts et Métiers Graphiques in France, and kindly provided by Michael Newhouse on Flickr. I love this cover design at top, but am seriously angsting over the lack of kerning in between that last pair of lettres. Many more interior pages filled with inspirational hand-lettering examples from 60+ years ago can be seen on his Flickr site.  

A Look Back to the Future of Type

The Book Border ornaments seen above, appeared in an 1891 issue of the New Zealand newsletter, Typo, a monthly journal and literary review published by Robert Coupland Harding, considered by many to be New Zealand's first and most eminent typographer. The book borders were originally designed by Harding and produced by the Johnson foundry of Philadelphia in 1879. Soon after, they received worldwide recognition by job printers and typographers who would customize them by inserting their own type inside the book borders.
      Typo was first published in 1887, and lasted just one decade. Harding was a scholar and critic of typography and printing, and did most of the writing for each issue while composing them at the case. He was among the first to argue the merits of a standardized system of measurement for typefounding and papermaking, and soon gained international praise for his reviews of new type designs and specimen books. 
      Harding was considered a visionary by many, and was very concerned about the future of the printing craft at the threshold of the 20th century. The Linotype and Monotype machines were replacing typesetters at that time and he had no love for the typewriter "which had dislodged calligraphy" he claimed. "The typewriter of today is only a germ of greater things to come" he wrote in an 1894 issue of Typo, and "there would be no place for the typefounder at the close of the 20th century". His suggestion that "a pile of thousands of sheets will be printed (from type-written or other copy) by a single electric flash" was by no means an incredible one. He believed the large printing houses would likely become silent factories by the middle of the 19th century, without type, presses or ink. Despite his many dim predictions for the future of the printing craft, he still felt confident that moveable type would remain. No doubt he'd be very pleased to see the current resurgence of the letterpress printing craft if he were alive today, however he might be very surprised to learn we are not all reading and writing in shorthand as he falsely forecasted. The time-honored roman character lives on, in every typestyle imaginable—and so many others that are not.

Imre Reiner Redux

Another dynamic lettering set from a 1947 book by Imre Reiner (1900-1987), generously served up from Newhouse Design's Flickr set. You can also see a much longer Letterology post on designer Reiner here. 

Anyone For Pie?

With all the fresh fruit in season, I thought I would share some pie-related ephemera. What could be more inspiring than pie or type?
(A type pie?) I don't know the history of these small cards, as I only have 10 of them, but they must be part of a larger set of collectible advertising trade cards. The flip side of each card has a nice pattern, but no pie recipe as one might expect. If anyone else might know the story of these beautifully hand-lettered Jack Horner trade cards, please enlighten me. I'm accepting peach pie recipes too! 
::Via the Letterology Archives

This Ain't No Hi-Fi Type

"As the city with the world's largest needle, it's no wonder Seattle has such a strong love affair with vinyl!" So say the sellers of quality used vinyl; Jive Time Records in Seattle, who celebrate music and the designers who package it. If you still have a stereo, I suggest you put a long-playing record on it right now, kick back and visit Jive Time's Cover Gallery activity center where you can shuffle the Stereo Stack of many of the magnificent stereo type banners like those you see above. In the words of the banners themselves: "it's a kaleidoscope-wonderland of hi-fidelity and dual-dynamic vibrancy". Banner artists take note!
      But wait, there is so much more! Project Thirty-Three is Jive Time's shrine to the crazy geometric shapes on album covers and the brilliant designers that made so much of this music come to life. Below are some mostly typographic covers from this gallery: 

Pete King Percussion. Sorry, no design credit.

Admiral Stereo and the Amazing Phantom 3rd Channel. No design credit!

Your Keys to Success, Olivetti, 1968. Design hero not credited, but the resemblance to this 1964 Olivetti poster by Walter Ballmer is probably not coincidence.

Polkas Eddie Zima Style. Design hero not credited.

While you're browsing, don't miss the many gems at Jive Time's Symphonie Fantastique gallery. Here is a sneak preview below:

Haydn Symphony No. 94 in G Major. Designed by the modernist master Erik Nitsche.

Festino with a great design, but again, no credit.

Prokofieff Suites. No credit sadly, but looks very much like the work of Joseph Low.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Designed by the distinguished Alex Steinweiss.

Next stop, highlights from Jive Time's DeFace Value vinyl section:

It's the popular paisley white album. As found by Jive Time's Records.

Not-so-plain Jane. Altered and submitted by John Carroll.  

The Partridge Family Notebook doodles. As found by Jive Time Records.

Neil should have had a leading part in Hair. Altered and submitted to Deface Value by Alex Coxen.

Last stop, the Record Needles, Jive Time Records homage to Century 21 and the beloved Space Needle: 

No design credit on either of these Needle LPs sadly.

If all this isn't enough, you can inspect the Technical Spectacle gallery of vintage stereo system test record covers; take a walk on the wild side at Abbey Road Rage; or trip on over to Groove is in the Art. Gotta love the vinyl. Thanks Jive Time!
::Via It's Nice That

Just my Type of Book

Just My Type from Pentagram on Vimeo.

Released in the UK last Fall, Just My Type, by Simon Garfield will be released tomorrow, September 1st, in the US. I love this book (cover design; not so much). It is indeed a great read—like a pleasant walk through the long corridor of type history! Maria Popova over at Brain Pickings, just included it in a great post on her list of the 10 Essential Books on Typography. You can also read more about it in my earlier Letterology post here which has some cool links.

500 Years of Printing at a Glance

Five Hundred Years of Printing, by S.H. Steinberg, Pelican Books, 1974 edition. A great resource on type, printing and book design. 
:: Via Things Magazine where there is a nice archive of Pelican book covers categorized by decade.

Trade Card Deficit

From Joe Freedman.

From Jonathan Bulkley.

From Joe Freedman.

From Joe Freedman.

From Joe Freedman.

From Joe Freedman.

From Joe Freedman.

From George Fox.

From Duke University Digital Collections.

Belongs to Jonathan Bulkley.

Belongs to George Fox.
19th century trade cards and advertisements for wood engravers and designers seen over at Sheaff : Ephemera. Except where noted, they personally belong to Dick Sheaff. 
      With so few marketing options available for shopkeepers in the 19th C, the trade card was considered an essential form of advertising. Designers were just as compelled to create sharp examples of typography and printing then as they are today—much of it hand lettered and illustrated to promote their skills. American cards were intended to be more colorful than some of the European cards and they soon became quite collectable. These ornate trade cards eventually evolved into the business card as we know it today. I fear the business card may now soon go the way of the trade card as more and more marketing is moving online. Yet I doubt it will disappear altogether, as I believe a smartly designed and printed business card can be one of the most effective tools for promoting a small business today. The key word here is smart.