Scrambled Egg Decorating 101

In this DIY culinary clip narrated by Joe Emminger, artist Julie Paschkis dishes up a delectable hand lettered recipe for a perfectly scrambled egg. One serving guaranteed to please the whole family! 

Disclaimer : No eggs were harmed in the making of this video.

Say it With Rocks

Rocks and pebbles are for geologists and letterologists alike. Spreading the letter love of found type on this Valentine's Day! oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Daily Doodles

Do More of What Make you Happy, the delightful daily doodles of self-taught Tokyo artist, Mogu Takahashi. This sentimental platitude is a nice reminder for all of us to attempt to embrace throughout the year. I hope Takahashi's daily doodles give her as much joy as they do me. See so much more of Takahashi's daily doodles and sketchbooks here. And look for a wee bit more of me in this space in weeks ahead...

Playing With Fire

Happy 4th! Be safe out there folks ;)
:: Early 20th century Miller's Firework's ephemera from the Library Company of Philadelphia.

The Biggest Catch of Fish Lettering

Although several nice versions of this Prichard & Knoll trade card with novelty fish lettering were produced in the later 19th century, you might say they are now endangered. These two came from the same dealer and recently sold at auction for handsome sums. They are equally nice, however the first card has much finer detail held in the rainbow trout artwork and fish lettering. It was printed by Stahl & Jaeger Artistic Lithographers in NYC. The second card has the name reversed and several alternate letters, along with some clever wave-like handlettered text with flourishes below the fish which add to its appeal. They each have an eel ampersand. 
     Directly below is another unrelated trade card from 1871 with similar novelty lettering of fish. This particular card from Fisher Ice Boxes and Refrigerators of Chicago, found here, is sporting an amphibious eel for the letter S. Although this Fisher card is nowhere near as elaborate as the two above, the artist did provide some level of detail to the three-colored fish. I guess the imaginative art of fish lettering requires a fine line and some reel angling, just like fishing.

The art of fish lettering actually goes back much further than I had ever imagined. To track its amphibious influences required some further fishing of my own. Much to my surprise, I discovered this decorated initial S from a 7th or 8th century manuscript. The scribe likely had fun creating this with the aid of a compass. 
     For a completely different take, there is this contemporary Golden Fish alphabet created with goldfish tails by Lauren Nash. 

Dutch designer Monique Goossens uses actual fish called "sprats" to create her amphibious alphabet. And a bolder version you might want to wrap in newspaper from Handmade Font. Refrigerate after serving.

  

The Greatest Cake on Earth

This edible oversized cake is nearly too sweet for words. It is a remarkable replica of one of the 20th century's greatest Russian children's books, Tsirk (Circus) written by Samuil Marshak and illustrated by Vladimir Lebedev. It is also the culinary creation of Eleanor Ionis of Ella's Cakes. In the publishing world, this book facsimile might be considered an infringement of intellectual property, but in this instance, she has artistic license to thrill. No detail was overlooked, including the headbands and page leaves. And just as every book has a story, this "greatest cake on earth" is no exception. 
     To honor the publication of a long-awaited book catalog and exhibition of early 20th century Soviet children's books, this magnificent cake was recently presented to book collector and author of the catalog, Pamela K. Harer by her husband, family and friends. Long an avid collector and scholar of early 19th and 20th century children's books, Pamela Harer has spent years researching and assembling this prized collection of Soviet children's literature, and beginning this week, her curated collection will be on display until October 24, 2014 at the Allen Library, University of Washington, Special Collections in Seattle. Both her collection and breadth of knowledge about these spectacular books are an achievement few others have gained, making it a highly recommended visit. Earlier this week I had a brief opportunity to see the exhibition, and I promise to report on it in much greater detail in coming weeks.

Like any great book, this one was devoured from beginning to end and will not be on display at the library. A 1928 edition of Tsirk (Circus) will do nicely in it's place however.

The poster for Harer's exhibition "From the Lowly Lubok to Soviet Realism" also features Lebedev's cover illustration. Below is a photo of Pamela Harer staring in stunned surprise at the presentation of her wondrous cake.

Space-Age Packaging Design

With the rise of science-fiction novels and movies in the post-industrial age and the allure of space travel decades later, it is no wonder we all became fascinated with the anthropomorphic robot. The robot represented an optimistic future which would relieve the factory worker and provide us with more leisure time. After WWII, it was the toy robot which helped pave the way to economic recovery in Japan and the US, when toy manufacturers quickly seized the opportunity to meet a demand for this funny little tin man. The robot future was securely sealed when Japanese manufacturers introduced the first battery operated robot in 1955, and they continue to be on the march today. Robots purchased for under $5 even fifty years ago, now bring as much as $25,000 to $50,000 at auction when in their original packaging.
     Judging from the early robot package designs offered up at Morphy's Auction house this past February, the vision of space-age exploration was still being invented. More than likely, the packages were illustrated by nameless artists envisioning the future toy, sight unseen. As the package example above illustrates, the robot has little resemblance to the actual tin toy inside, however it is not without its charm and personality. Sidenote: No wonder his "eyes light up" when he sees that $110 price tag. What a steal! It just sold at auction for nearly $600. 

Space-age Wordspacing

Sometimes, I believe we take lettering and typography rules much too seriously. These space-age package designs are a true folk art, and were just as theatrical as the mechanical marvels they portrayed. The Japanese artists who hand-lettered much of the English text on the early box designs, gave little forethought to word and letterspacing or alignment, because they probably didn't even speak the language. They ventured where few lettering artists had gone before, bringing a whole new meaning to the term outer space. Graduated italic titles with airstream strokes characterized space-age travel; dramatic lightening bolt lettering symbolized electricity; and rivets and gears suggested the perfect industrial machine-age toy. 

The "Non Stop Robot" is fun for the entire family...until the batteries die out. And I'm still waiting for all that extra leisure time.

A Velveteen Rabbit

For sale 

Velveteen rabbit. Needs good home. Ears permanently flopped and has obvious signs of being well-loved. Smartly attired, yet missing red buttons and one torn suspender. Reads at four year-old level, and comes with own book. Inquire within.

Pranks and Pratfalls

With April Fools Day today, I have to parade my old fake pencil and spilled ink pratfall once again. I never tire of it. The "Pirate Pencil" is from The Lovely and Strange Etsy shop, where you can find an eclectic collection of dime store novelties from the 1950s. "Lucky Tat-oos", Re-lighting Candles, and my favorite, the Hindu Magic Book are all there! I've already dropped some coins on all of these. Half the fun is the old toy, but the packaging artwork, lettering/type and printing, with the liberal interpretation of registration alignment is the best. My fake joke rubber pencil I once owned as a child is long lost, but the "Pirate Pencil" covers for it nicely. To accompany it, I dragged my "trick ink" bottle down from the Letterology attic again. It always makes me smile ; )

    

Press Kit

Source: Ink on Paper

The "Cub", an adorable little toy printing press from the Superior Marking Equipment Company (SEMCO) of Chicago, was marketed to young children for a good part of the early 20th century. It, along with many other rotary press models like it, had all the markings of a great educational tool for young boys and girls alike. Various model press kits included tiny rubber type, spacers, ink, adhesive back picture dies, tweezers for handling type, an inking brush, ink ribbon, mounting slugs, the rotary press and paper. Instruction manuals encouraged kids to print up handbills and postcards to advertise their yardwork and baby-sitting services, and to write and publish home, school and club activities in newspapers. These toy rotary presses actually worked as advertised, yet required a great degree of perseverance and tireless dedication on the part of the budding young printer. This was not a toy for the high-strung or overactive child, as they would quickly grow weary and impatient. The process was not terribly difficult; it was just tedious. 

Photo source: eBay

Working with delicate pieces of rubber type smaller than the size of a chocolate chip, and not nearly as tasty—young composers with nimble fingers would have to ply the letters apart and sandwich them into place with tweezers.

Source: Modern Mechanix

This 1951 ad for the Cub model Superior press appeared in Popular Science magazine. These rotary presses were often the first introduction to relief printing for many, and helped to determine the direction of countless careers in the printing trade. 

For those determined young typesetters and printers who could manage the tools, SEMCO offered cold cash prize money for inventive and artfully crafted printing examples. Neatness counted...as did "artistic taste in selection and arrangement of type faces and pictures, grammar, spelling and appropriateness of copy."  A junior pressman in training was cut no slack. 

The bi-monthly Swiftset Rotary Printers' Journal was a subscription newsletter published by the Superior Marking Equipment Co. This sample copy below was included in my own "Cub" Superior press kit, given to me by a good friend. A subscription could be had for 25¢ per year in 1951. 

Yes kids. Type can "talk". 

The 1951 instruction manual included an order form for these affordable "picture dies". Each picture set was 50¢, while assorted type fonts cost between 50¢ and $1. The "Cub" press price was $2.25 and the largest model, the "Ace", was $8 with all postage paid. 
     I admit, I'm somewhat tempted to fire up my own little "Cub" press at times, though the rubber tires on either side of the drum have hardened considerably. Many of these toy presses can still be found in reasonable condition and price on auction sites and elsewhere. Some even come with printed job work from previous owners such as this fun discovery. Somewhere there must be a rotary toy printer group willing to participate in an invitational postcard print-off show sometime. If not, it's time there was. Meanwhile, this PRESS RELEASE: A television advertisement from the early 1960s showcases another style of toy printer modeled on a litho press. Made by toy manufacturer, Ideal, it originally cost $11.44 when first released.