Mister Courtesy and Friends

Meet Mister Courtesy, the smiley-faced man with a bow tie and funny cap, who might make a better Mr. T. He was once the official brand character for the Tradewell grocery store chain which had a large presence in the Northwest in the 1950s until mid-1980s. Though long ago retired, Mister Courtesy was once a distinguished resident in the stores—seen on grocery bags, in newspaper advertisements, and on every plastic employee badge—often surrounded by what appears to be a halo of Futura type. I rescued this badge for a quarter's ransom, where it sat in a pile of odds & ends on a flea market table. His smiling face now rests comfortably on my bookshelf amongst some type and lettering books. I could think of worse places to retire I guess.

This advertisement was published in the Shelton-Mason County Journal in 1959. The earlier stores of that era could be spotted from space by a gigantic condensed slab-serifed T—the size of a two-story house—as can be seen in this photo from my local Wedgwood neighborhood blog.

The slab-serif type was also used in other signage for the Tradewell stores and appears to me as if it might have originated from a newspaper advertisement or circular, likely set by a job printer. 
::Source: Vintage Everyday

The Typographic Character Trademark Defined

Finding Mister T, as I prefer to call him, got me thinking the other day about the many character trademarks designed from letterforms. These marks became widespread in the early 1920s, particularly in Germany, where designers preferred the modern, bold strokes popularized by poster designers of the day. As advertising increased in the 1940s and 50s, so did character trademarks. However, most of them were designed as actual cartoon mascots, instead of those made with letterforms. As a result, I feel the term trademark character is unfair and much too confusing. It does not appropriately distinguish the typographic version, so I prefer to add the term anthrotypes to this graphic lexicon, which seems a more perfect analogy to describe these little typographic mascots. They are anthropomorphic characters constructed of letterforms, designed to humanize and establish appealing personalities for business. These little anthrotypes, (OR trademark characters if you prefer) are also another reminder of just how closely the letter structure is identified with the human form. When we speak of the letter's anatomy, we often describe the legs, arms, shoulders, and spine to identify it. Naturally, the letter's K and R are most frequently used anthrotypes, because they essentially have two legs already. Others are constructed with combinations of letters—usually with the initials of the company name. I've included some of these endearing little lettermen (and letterwomen in one example) from various resources on my bookshelves. Captions and credits follow at end. 

From top L to R: 1 | Watt A. G. (electric lamps), 1922, British Trademarks of the 1920s & 30s, John Mendenhall

2 | The O-P Craft Company, Inc. (Household decorating kits), 1922, Trademarks of the 40s & 50s, Eric Baker and Tyler Blik

3 | J.H. Pelt A.G. (Clothing), 1934, Early Modernism, Swiss & Austrian Trademarks 1920-1950, John Mendenhall

4 | Gasum (musical instruments) designed by Karl Schulpig, 1923, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

5 | C. Bolle Co. (Dairy), designed by Karl Schulpig, 1923, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

6 | Chemischen Fabrik Oberschöneweide (chemical company), designed by Karl Schulpig, 1921, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

7 | George Mason & Co. Ltd. (sauces and jellies), 1934, British Trademarks of the 1920s & 30s, John Mendenhall

8 | Arabia Kaffee-Tee (imported coffee and tea), 1932, Early Modernism, Swiss & Austrian Trademarks 1920-1950, John Mendenhall

9 | Patcraft, Inc. (cotton rugs & carpets), 1953, Trademarks of the 40s & 50s, Eric Baker and Tyler Blik

10 | Thüringer Mützenfabrik (hats), 1921, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

11 | Krisp-Pak, Inc. (soup mix and salad greens), 1956, Trademarks of the 40s & 50s, Eric Baker and Tyler Blik

12 | Kapman Aktiebolag, (handtools), 1963, Sweden, Character Trademarks, John Mendenhall 

13 | G. Kruegrer Brewing Co., (beer and ale), 1935, Trademarks of the 20s & 30s, Eric Baker and Tyler Blik

14 | Master Vibrator Co. (space heaters), 1956, Trademarks of the 40s & 50s, Eric Baker and Tyler Blik

15 | Roma Wine Co. (wines), 1943, Character Trademarks, John Mendenhall 

16 | Reica S. A. (industrial products), 1928, Early Modernism, Swiss & Austrian Trademarks 1920-1950, John Mendenhall

17 | Runnymede Mills, Inc., (hosiery), 1955, Trademarks of the 40s & 50s, Eric Baker and Tyler Blik

18 | Richmond Radiator Co. Inc. (bath fixtures), 1936, Trademarks of the 20s & 30s, Eric Baker and Tyler Blik

19 | Weiner-Feinkost (fruit & vegetable juices), 1928, Early Modernism, Swiss & Austrian Trademarks 1920-1950, John Mendenhall

20 | Mensing Co. (men's clothing), 1924, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

21 | Frankendruck Inc. (printer), 1925, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

22 | Bernhard Kass Inc. (children's clothing?), 1925, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

23 | Havengo Tobacco (tobacco), 1924, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

24 | Sitos Hats (hatmaker), designed by Wilhelm Deffke, 1923, The New American Logo, Gerry Rosentsweig 

25 | California Literacy (proposed logo), designed by Irene Yap, 1992, The New American Logo, Gerry Rosentsweig

26 | Deutscher Sparkassen Und Giroverband (savings bank), 1925, German Trademarks, Leslie Carbarga

27 | John Evans Design (design studio), designed by John Evans, 1993, The New American Logo, Gerry Rosentsweig

Ghost Sighting

Source: National Fairground Archive of The University of Sheffield

A ghost sighting of a rare 1889 two-color handbill advertising Professor Pepper's popular Phantasmagoria at the Royal Polytechnic, featuring some frightfully spirited letterforms. Pictorial spooks and skeletons in costume, menacingly spell out ghost in all caps to announce a new revival of Pepper's popular performance. 
     Pepper's ghost, as the illusion came to be called, was popularized by John Henry Pepper (1821-1900), a London scientist and showman. His ghost conjuring illusion was part science; part theater, and used rear projection in a darkened room, hidden from the audience view, to call forth ghostly apparitions on a glass plate. When the lantern's light was cast on an actor in the hidden room, it reflected their image as a translucent figure on the plate of glass. Below are two woodcut images from the collection of Richard Balzer, which help to illustrate the illusion.  

This broadside, from Richard Balzer, advertises Professor Pepper's earlier 1870 sideshow.

Victorian audiences never tired of their fascination with the afterworld. Fairground showmen from traveling sideshows continued to flourish in England throughout the late 19th century. These showmen were quick to pick up on Pepper's popular ghost illusion and attracted audiences by creating colorful hand lettered banners and ornately carved and painted entrances to their sideshows. The first image below is of the Biddall's Ghost illusion exhibit from 1880. The other is of the interior of the Clark's Ghost Show exhibit from 1890.

Source of photos: National Fairground Archives of The University of Sheffield.

Even today, this same principle of Pepper's ghost trickery has continued to entertain audiences in cabarets, sideshows, museums, concert halls, sports stadiums, haunted houses and theme parks. At the 2006 Grammy Awards, Madonna was projected onto stage in a "live" performance. Last year at the Coachella Music Festival, a projection of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur was displayed in a performance with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Even Hallmark had to get in on the act last year when they released some Pepper's Ghost collectibles for Halloween. By pressing the cap on a small bottle, a transparent "My Pet Ghost" appears with a recorded saying. Now that is scary!

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.

Mid-Century Modern RadioGraphix

Some of the finest examples of mid-20th century design and typography can be found on the transistor radios and stereos of the day. Typical was the airstream script lettering echoing the car culture typography of the 1950's and 60's. One exception to this was the Zenith crest with the familiar lightening bolt Z, as seen above. The faux chrome crest on this Zenith radio grill is more classical in style, but the iconic Z modernizes the logo considerably and suggests a space-age spirit. I think the Zenith logo stands with a foothold placed firmly in both halves of the 20th century. 
::From the Letterology Archives. 

This most impressive "stereo" mark appeared on The Echo Stereo 1112A, a combination radio and record player from the early 1960's, made by Tesla in Czechoslovakia. This image is from an exhibit in the Technical Museum in Brno, Czech Republic. See the entire stereo cabinet here. The image is from geonetix's flickrstream.

The neon signage of the "Elektro" shop in Vienna, Austria is another highly characterized mid-century modern script. It could easily have been an identity for a transistor radio or stereo of the day. See many more examples of awesome Viennese storefront signs with stunning typography here, all kindly provided from the flickrstream of phospho. 

The Studebaker transistor from seychelles88 flickrstream. This would be very stylin' along with the 1959 Studebaker Lark.

Digital print of a nice Motorola transistor radio for sale on Etsy from Kristin Korpos. I really heart the radio wave Motorola logo mark on the speaker grill. 

A retro red RCA Victor radio from masochismtango's flickrstream. 

Olympic Six transistor radio from Radio Archive's flickrstream.

Dang tubes! 1931 Wireless Made Easy. From alan98's flickrstream.

Typographic Endangerment

Q: What's wrong with these pictures? A: the lettering in each of them is all in danger of vanishing someday. Fortunately, typographical preservationist Molly Woodward of the Vernacular Typography site is dedicated to creating a digital archive of lettering and signage images from around the world and reaching out to the people responsible for creating them. To achieve this, she established a Kickstarter initiative with a goal of $5000 to be reached by today; March 2nd. Well, I'm a little late to the party, but she has fortunately exceeded her goal so far. Even so, I encourage anyone to become a backer and donate even $5 to her noble efforts. I suppose someone has to preserve all the endangered environmental type of the world. It's an endless task.


To learn more about her project, watch the video below.