Timely Tutoring in Topics, Tastes and Trends of Typography from Bradbury Thompson

Westvaco Inspirations for Printers may be one of the most influential and highly prized series of paper promotions ever produced in the 20th century. The leaders at Westvaco, formerly named the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, believed their paper promotions should be an educational living record of advertising design and commercial art. What they often produced was something so entirely modern, that many issues still look contemporary seven decades later. Bradbury Thompson (1911-1995) was a key figure in their success. Beginning in 1939, he was responsible for the design and art direction of over sixty of the Westvaco Inspirations issues. Undaunted by minimal resources and budgets, he sourced out historic, public domain images and combined them with modernist effects. He relied on classic typography for the most part, but once went so far as to design a conceptual version of an U&lc alphabet he called Alphabet 26 which premiered in Westavaco Insprirations No. 180 in 1950. One of Thompsons' seldom seen art direction triumphs, issue No.129, is available here. This 16 page issue from 1941 is "A Primer of Typography, Including Timely Tutoring in Topics, Tastes and Trends." Thompson personally designed the front, back and 1st page spread. Other contributors were Charles Sheeler and Stow Wengenroth.

La Typographie

This first volume of La Typographie, on the techniques of book and graphic arts, was published in Paris in 1930 by Henry Babou under the direction of Marcel Valotaire. This cover photo by Jacques Evers is one of 30 photogravure plates of his work. I first discovered this beautiful French journal in the Wolfsonian archive at the University of Florida Digital Collections, however the title page seen just below was sourced here. 

These beautiful photogravure prints seen above of Evers photos are the only images available from the Wolfsonian Archives, however I was delighted to learn the entire book is made available from the International Monotype Memory Project (IMMP.) In their link to a black & white PDF (which appears to be from a reproduction), you can download this entire book complete with text (in French), photos and illustrations on the production of a fine press book;)

Intelligent Designer: Erik Nitsche

Swiss-born graphic designer and illustrator, Erik Nitsche (1908-1998) is primarily identified with the remarkably modern work he produced for the defense contractor, the General Dynamics corporation in the 1950s and 60s, along with a series of smartly designed science and technology history books. All of this influential work sealed his position as one of the pioneering graphic designers of the last century. Previous to these achievements, Nitsche produced scores of advertisements for fashion and pharmaceutical clients in New York, and publishers such as Town and Country, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Arts & Decoration, House & Garden and Fortune magazines. His achievements in designing album covers for Decca Records were some of the most inventive of the modern era. Discovering this 1946 magazine advertisement for Holzer alligator handbags, found here, further impressed me with his range of talent and capability. Below is one of Nitsche's early cover designs for a 1933 issue of Der Querschnitt, (The Cross-Section), an art and literary journal which ceased publication during the rise of the Third Reich in Germany. 

Source: ZVAB

This undated Home & Food cover design is another fine example of the range of Nitsche's limitless talent. With exception of the toxic letter E, which should be banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency, his horticultural lettering appears as charming and fresh today as it was at the time it was first produced decades ago. Duly noted is the dripping hose.

     Nitsche lived until age ninety and enjoyed a long and successful career with clients as diverse as handbag designers to military submarines. Long after the age when most people retire, he continued to paint, design postage stamps, childrens' books and build a collection of avant-garde toy designs. For further reading, drop in at Typotheque to read Steven Heller's great essay, Erik Nitsche: The Reluctant Modernist. 

Volumes of Seasons' Readings

Celebrating faux books and the holiday spirit on this eve of Christmas with another edition of Seasons' Readings from the Letterology stacks. This book/menu from Miss Frank E. Buttolph's Menu collection held at the New York Public Library, opens to display the menu for the annual dinner for the University Law School class of '02, held at the Hotel Marlborough in 1900. Learn more about the colorful Miss Buttolph and her fabulous menus here.

This sweet, but abbreviated volume of good wishes from Aunt Viola promises to be a very quick read. She wasn't much for sentiments I guess.

 Another cheery bookish greeting with candles found here. 

Personally dedicated Volumes of Joy from this eBay dealer to you.

From the self-help section of St. Nick's personal library. 

And a favorite repeat from last year which is filed under "from me to you" in the Letterology Library. Happy seasons' readings all! I'm out of here for a few days. 

Holiday Cookbookery

Today's feature is a sampling of some festive holiday cookbook covers to suit every appetite.

The "real" Duncan Hines demonstrates how to carve a turkey in his 1950s cookbook.

Plan your meat menu for every day of the year. 

Is there any other kind? Why the scary-looking title?

The 1954 holiday cookbook courtesy of The Gas Company of Chicago. 

1955 Peter Pauper's edition of the Merrie Christmas Cook Book with charming illustrations and cover design by Ruth McCrea.

The 1965 edition of Suzanne Huntley's The Twelve Days of Christmas Cookbook, designed and illustrated by Milton Glaser. All of these featured holiday cookbooks and more are from Steven Daniel's fine cookbookery collection found here.

This cookbook list would be entirely incomplete without the most popular cookbook ever sold, The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer (1877-1962). The dust jacket of the 1931 first edition, was designed by her daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker. It features the patron saint of cooking, St. Martha of Bethany, who allegedly fended off the dragon, Tarasque with a mop—my kind of saint! This cookbook which has brought joy to many (including myself), for more than 80 years is a remarkable story, which can be read in greater detail here. In short, Rombauer self-financed the printing of her first cookbook from a $6000 legacy received after her husband's death. Within two years, her investment was returned, which was a remarkable accomplishment, considering she was self-marketing the books while the looming economic decline of the Great Depression was on the horizon. 
     This first edition with a remarkably clean dust jacket is currently being offered by James Jaffe Rare Books, and is enclosed in a cloth folding box. If you are looking for the last minute gift for that special someone, it can be yours for $40,000. Book Patrol recently reported that even first editions without dust jackets are currently on the market at $5000 which you can see here. As Jaffe Rare Books remarked in their description, Rombauer was "acutely aware of the economic depression into which she is casting her book." On the front flap of the dust jacket she wrote, "The Zeitgeist is reflected in the Chapter of Leftovers and in many other practical suggestions." 

Image source: Book Patrol

This well-used edition of Joy of Cooking belongs to my good friend Jacqueline Snider. That permanent "brand", she tells me—seen on the back cover—is what her husband, Chris, calls their official "Snider Family Crest". Safe and joyous cooking people ;)

The Bagology Archives

The scientific study of bags and the people who use them; or who are generally left holding them—has a long history—just like the study of letters and the people who frequently use them. Bagology, the first advertising journal for the bag industry, began publishing in 1901 in order to promote the sales of paper, burlap and cotton bags for the Cleveland Akron Bag Company in Ohio. After the many mergers of mills and bag companies which took place after the early part of the 20th century, The Chase Bag Company, soon took over publication of Bagology. It continued marketing the advertising journal to clients well into the late 1940s. The three holiday-themed issues seen here are from the Magazine Art archives.

A typical Chase flour bag from the 1930s. Source: eBay

The original bag factory proudly displays the Bagology motto to this day. The term Bagology was originally coined "to elevate the production of bags to the level of science" according to the source of this image at the Billy Chronicles. The original factory in Goshen, Indiana is now a shopping center of trade for artists and merchants.

The Bagology work crew circa 1920s practicing a little letterology on break time. They evidently had little time to care for proper kerning. 

Source: Garrett Scott, Bookseller