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.

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.

  

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.

Now Playing: The American Sign Printer

Letterology is typically not in the habit of making product reviews, but I'm making an exception today, and giving two thumbs-up for this dramatic production of the American Sign Printer kit by the Superior Marking Equipment Company of Chicago. Originally staged in the 1940s, the colorful art direction and cast of characters built a suspenseful yet familiar plot: young child with lofty ambitions of becoming a successful sign maker, quickly has hopes dashed by diminished expectations. "This American troupe's patriotic production must have been directed by the 'Inferior' Marking Equipment Company", cried some of the blistering reviews. In comparison to the mighty opening credits in the first act, the shrinking performance was considered uninspired and featureless. Unfortunately, even with its large cast of 26 characters and a parade of extras (along with one lone star), nothing could save this play from a short shelf life. Now, nearly 70 years later, the revival of the American Sign Printer is a real sleeper of a hit. It's now playing in limited release. Get one here and here while supplies last!  

Disclaimer: Letterology receives no funding nor commercial loot from independent dealers, and only offers reviews and recommendations as a public service ;)
  

Okay, they deserve one gratuitous star for casting an outline face. Done!

Blackletter in Fall Colors

Letterology is on Fall break again this week as I am preparing for the opening of the Camp Stories, Illustrated exhibit at the University of Puget Sound Collins Library in Tacoma, this coming Saturday. Instead, I bring you re-runs of some of my favorites from the Letterology attic. Thanks for your patience!

I'm so behind the times, this post is now two years old. It could have been last week, as it is still just as relevant. This cover was originally published for the Fall 2011 issue of T Magazine, a supplement of the Sunday New York Times. Los Angeles landscape designer, Judy Kameon and photographer Erik Otsea created this living Autumnal blackletter T, and I couldn't help but notice how much it resembles an elder gothic cousin; the rustic old growth T below. I've included a family snapshot of other extended members of this woodsy gothic alphabet whose roots go way, way back. ;^)

:: Rustic Old Growth Gothic Alphabet via the Letterology Archives.

Ghost Writing

When I was ten years old in Mrs. Rogers 4th grade class, I was a member of the Scholastic Book Club. Illustrated catalogs would occasionally arrive from the book company featuring cheap paperback books on science, space exploration, adventure, elephant jokes, and sappy teen novels. Most of the covers were pretty goofy, however some were exceptionally nice with illustrated mid-century patterns. Surely it was a great source of income for many accomplished illustrators at that time. I'm not sure exactly why I was particularly attracted to this Spooky Magic book, but I suspect it was the wacky type with the googlie eyeballs on the cover. A real deal at 45 cents!

Source of 1963 Scholastic Books order form and lots more: Tattered and Lost Ephemera.

Inside there were lots of amusing science and magic experiments, but none delighted me more than the chapter on ghost writing. It was a magic trick for secret lettering and could easily be performed at home with a fresh lemon, a paintbrush, paper, a candle, and matches. Was Scholastic Books encouraging child endangerment or was it spooky science? You decide! 

Being a bit of an arty nerd, I decided to make a haunted Halloween house, just so I could show all my friends this really neato trick I could do with spooky ghost lettering. I set up a table and chairs in a small hall closet where I could close the door and burn a candle in the dark (kids, don't do this at home), to expose the ghost lettering for a line of bemused and probably confused friends.  

Despite my lack of parental supervision, I didn't burn down the house. I guess it was a mild success. I must have earned my arty nerd badge for life, as I still enjoy this ploy. I hadn't thought about ghost lettering in years, but had a momentary flashback when I saw the Spooky Magic book here, where you can learn many more spooky magic tricks.

I had to try this trick once again at home. It's science-errific! For more Scholastic Books' flashbacks check out this fun Flickr set.

Arty Nerd Badge. Get yours here!

Killer B's

It's Spring and time to bring out some of my favorite killer B's that have been hibernating in my archives for too long. The first B was illustrated by stamp engraver Martin Mörck for the Bucamel wine label. Designed by Mucho of Barcelona for Bodega Tierras de Orgaz. 

An 8x10" pen illustration of a rustic B found on Etsy. Signed "Coyne" 1975, and just one letter of an entire rustic alphabet set featured there last year. 

B Signage
::From Brown Dress with White Dots. No credits listed.

Specimen de Caracteres, circa 1920.

::From Ampersanden's Flickrstream 

U&lc magazine, Volume 20, No.2, 1993. Design credits thank Woody Pirtle, John Klotnia and Ivette Montes de Oca of Pentagram Design for their contributions to this issue, but no specific mention of the cover designer. This issue has many articles about book collecting, book jacket design, 20th century type specimen books, and newly released childrens' books.

::Image via Berlintypes Flickrstream

Circus matchbox label from Russia. 

Doh! I've just been informed this B is actually a cyrillic killer V. Regardless, it delights me just the same.

::via 68-east design

Greeting card and screenprinted poster by Anthony Oram.

Honeycomb B from Jessica Hische's Daily Drop Cap killer promotion.

B in lights by Jeff Rogers. 

Illustration on book cover by Paul Thurby. Available as a print here.

A rustic pastoral B to celebrate Spring. I can almost see the bees humming.

::via Wasianed's flickrstream

B. Blumenthal & Company button gauge from the Button Art Museum.