LIFE Mtli / / /1,,/ Ii II II

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "LIFE Mtli / / /1,,/ Ii II II"

Transcription

1 I0 LIFE Mtli / / /1,,/ / / Ii II II

2 OF " ^ft

3 A

4 Copyright i8i PIIOtMCttCI-1Ug, Inc. Lthtuiy of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data RonSthalgr, ESIVaM Life witft Letters as they turned photogenic Inclules t 1. Phototypesetting Histoiy. z. Lype-setting Histoiy. I. Title. TRioto. R ' ISBN (pbl) AACRz 7 Publishetsimultaneously in Canada by Saunders of Thronto, Ltd., Don Mills, Ontario Printed in the United States of America

5 A

6 [fwl/fi7rl7a(s&f/jjffffilffs!

7 Many skilled hands have shared in. the preparation and the printing of these pages. Special recognition and appreciation are due not only to those on the staff of Photo -Lettering who ditijently executed the Arbtn composition, the camera work, the pltoto-letteritig tnuth of the art, optical effects, & assembty but also to those whose thougs screened the author from other tasks white writing &production were in prngress. Appreciation; above all, goes toalovat wife who after afulififty years among thejoys and the tribulations ofalifewith letters has provided muck assistance in bringing together into writtenform. these memorable experiences. A

8

9 A TO HAROLD HORMAN PHOTO-LETFERINGS DISTINGUISHED PIONEER

10 3000 B.C. LEGACY OF SAQRA; IN THE ELEVENTH ROOM; AN HISTORIC BREAK WITH TRADITION. PAGE I A.D.900 THE BANKS OF THE DANUBE; THE YELLOW BRICK PAVEMENT; ON MAY TWENTY-FOURTH. PAGE IN THE BEST OF COMPANY; LAPIDARY FMKTUR: JOHANN GUTENBERG; THE RIGHT MAN IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. PAGE Contents OTFMAR'S CLOCK; MR. BURRAGE INVENTS PER- PETUAL MOTION; "ITS A LINE 0' TYPE." PAGE YOUTHFUL JOURNALISTS; THUNDERING IN THE BASEMENT; PRIVATE PRESSES LEAD THE WAY; THE BIG BAD WOLF; ART NOUVEAU & JUGEND- STIL; BIRTH OF THE MIGHTY ATF. PAGE THREE BY FIVE FERVOR; TROOP 9; MR. PFOHL BUYS FIVE; OPENING THE BIG-LITTLE PRINT SHOP; 75 IN U.S. SILVER; EXTRA! EXTRA! PAGE THE LORD IS RISEN; POCONO LAKE; ROOM, 22; THE INVINCIBLE EAGLE; 300 COMMIJNIPAW; MR. BULLEN: DEATH IN WHITENSVILLE. PAGE NINE SALEM SQUARE NORTH; BITTER LESSON FROM THE PTA; EARLY TO RISE; MR. SCOGGIN; LUNCH AT THE ZINZENDOp $2297 IN THE TILL AND ON TO CHAPEL HILL PAGE BAD NEWS IN THE TAR HEEL; YOU DONt HAVE TO EAT THE WHOLE PIE; MR. TALLY RECALLS; SONG OF SONGS; PHYSICS AND PSYCH. PAGE ABOUT $77; BITTEN BY BAUHAIJS; JUJITSU ON SECOND AVENUE; THE VOICE WITH A SMILE; TWO CRASHES; GROVE PARK; THE PRESIDENTS SUITE- GREENWICH VILLAGE; STICK & BOWLER; BALTIMORE; HAROLD HORMAN; CLOUD 9. p.29 Viii

11 TO THE 171H! VANGOGI-!, TOULOUSE-LAUTREC; RUTHERFORD; OF GEARS, CAMS, SOLENOIDS & PROBLEMS: AN X-Y MOVEMENT IN THE DARK MOTHER SENT ME OVER TO GET YOU. PACE QUICKER BY AIR; PHILADELPHIA; AMERICAN BANKNOTE; DAY OF DECISION: RESCUE COMES AT THE TOLL 806TH; PHOTO-LETTERING INC; QUARRANTA; WORLD SERIES: CARD GAME WITH FATEFUL STAKES: 9-POUND FANFARE PAGE 43 12/28/36 BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS; TO JWT FIRST: PONDS; WITH THE FINESSE OF HAND LET- TERING: THE FAITHFUL FIVE. PAGE TRAGEDY STRIKES; NINE OUNCES; SLIMMING THE MODELS; UPHILL ALL THE WAY: RAILROAD GOTHIC: GOOD TO THE LAST DROP: POLAND; WORKHORSES MERITORIOUS. PAGE PHILLIPSE MANOR & CROTON; PEARL HARBOR; TO COUNTERFEIT OR NOT TO COUNTERFEIT; HITLER'S DOPPELGANGER; OFFICE OF EMER- GENCY MANAGEMENT; OFFICE OF WAR INFOR- MATION: DAWN OF THE TYPE DIRECTOR. PAGE TOMMY THOMPSON; NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW NOR SLEET NOR GLOOM: ON COLUMBUS DAY; ALL LETTERERS WELCOME; COAST-TO-COAST; A5-FOOT WORIENCH: MURRAYHILL2. PAGE LONG-PLAYING LETTERS; THE '50 LOOK; WITH PAUL STANDARD: THE ALPHABET GALLERY; AND SEND THE BILL TO FORTUNE: FRINGES OF TIME: THE RED HOT LETTERERS; QUICK BROWN FOX AND THE OOZYJELLYFISH; OMINOUS TV. PAGE IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE; QUEEN WILHELMINA; DESIGNER HERMANN ZAPF; MAXIMILIEN VOX; ÉCOLE DE LURS. PAGE BICYCLE SIMPLICITY; THE YMCA CAFETERIA: DISAPPOINTMENT IN CHICAGO; STROBE LIGHT ON CREAKY FLOORS: 40X40X40. PAGE84 12/25 COLORFUL CHRISTMAS KEEPSAKES: DEEP DEEP DOWN IN THE VAULTS OF BUDAPEST. PAGE THIRTEEN BY THIRTEEN AND STRAWBERRY RED; THE BALCONY GOES WITH IT; UPSTAIRS DOWN- STAIRS; A NOSTALGIC PARTING. PAGE THE SEVENTEEN FOOT WELCOME;-BUSY NIGHT OWLS; PHOSPHOROUS TRIUMPHANT! PAGE BORDERING ON STEP & REPEAT: SUNDAY ROTO; FROM PETER ROGET 'S MODEL: PEANUTS. PAGE XENOTYPES, POPTYPES, POW, AMERICANA, TYGH- TYPE, PSYCHE DELETYPES, ART DECO, ULTRAS, NOSTALGIA; RENAULT THE WINNER; ALL FOR LOVE; SPECTRAKROME COLORS THE FUTURE; COSMOGRAPHS IN ORBIT; LOOKING BACKTO '13: MISS CONNOR AND MR. RASPBERRY: HOISTING OLD GLORY: BLUM'S ALMANAC. PAGE A GUEST BOOK; HAPPY HOMECOMING FOR THE RUTHERFORDS; BLUE-BLOOD SURGERY. PAGE HALLMARK; REFINING THE KEYBOARD; THE TELEPHONE CALL; AVANT GARDE PAGE PHOTO-LETTERING 'S LEGACY TO THE FUTURE; ALPHABET CRITIQUING: CARTOONISTS & TYPE DESIGNERS; LETTER GEOMETRY; MR. LINCOLN; TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS: FITTING WHAT'S FIT TO PRINT; VICTOR BORGE & 'WAS I AN IDIOT!?" GHOTE AND GHEAUPHTHEIGHTTEOUGH. P.118 A PICTURE ALBUM OF HIGHLIGHTS IN A LIFE WITH LETTERS. PAGE 141 INDEX. PAGE 190 ix A

12 Introduction CHANGE OF VOICE The voice of the author as he tells the story is represented visually in the text by the type NARRATOR with matching small caps and italics: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGI-IIJIçLMNoPQftsTuvwxYz abcdefghijlumnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQJ(STUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuuw.vyz Voices of others quoted in the text are identified by a slightly obliqued derivative of NARRATOR in which the vowel e and several low frequency consonants have been redesigned to suggestachange ofvoice: ABCDEFGHIJIçLMNOpQRTuvwxyz abcdefghijkjmnopqj'stuvwxy NARRATOR was designed for Life with Letters by the author in collaboration w th the staff of Photo-Lettering. Its use is not restricted.

13 THE TASKOF MAKING MANY BOOKS FROM A SINGLE MANUSCRIPT has Challenged man's ingenuity for hundreds ofyears. No matter how skilled an author maybe, his words are but a faint whisper until amplified by print. Only print can effectively multiply the written word; butthis multiplication cannotbe achieved bythe waving of a magic wand. No indeed. Before the middle ofthe fifteenth century every letter in every word on every page of every book was slowly copied by gifted scribes laboring long monotonous hours at dreary writing desks. Then came typesetting. No longer was it necessary to copy each word by hand. Instead, raised letters molded on the tops of slender metal blocks about the size of a small match, billions of them, were hand assembled into words, lines and pages; inked; printed; and carefully separated again for reuse. Setting type manually - assembling and distributing these slender metal spikes, then tediously reassembling and redistributing them over and over and over again continued for more than four centuries, straight through the industrial revolution when other crafts were reaping the benefits of ingenious labor-saving aids. Not until the invention of the Linotype in 1886 did typesetting's first revolution get underway. This step toward labor-saving was followed some fifty years later by pioneeringin quite another direction. At first the new direction received little attention. Then in the late 30s itgained a measure ofcredibility, and still more in the'40s and thereafter. Today, this early effort is seen as the tiny sparkthat ignited the fillfledged photo-typesetting revolution which, at last, has brought the assembly of letters into step with the times, and perhaps even beyond. No attempt is made here to record the minute technicalities of these sweeping changes. Such particulars have been ably recorded by others. This is the story, rather, ofwhatitwas like to live through typesetting's most exciting and challenging period: what it was like, day after day, to live with letters as the revolution ofmolten metal reached maturity only to be eclipsed by the revolution of photo; and to have been in the thickofit all for nearly "three score and ten:' It is the story of only one set of circumstances ftom one person's point of view, but it is a story influenced profoundly and at every turn by the grandeur and power of the twenty-six shapes that shaped history. Edward Rondthaler

14

15 A CDEFGH JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 3000 B.C. jf YOU'D LIKE ME TO SHOW YOU themostsignijlcant invention of Western Civilization, then get ready for a big surprise. We woni search in the vaults of any patent office or snoop through the Pentagon's secret files. No indeed. Well make our way to legendary Cairo with itsjibbeh-robed millions crowding the ancient streets. Well hail one of the tattered lithe sailboats that taxi up and down the Nile and ask its wrinkled helmsman to take us to Saqqara. The wind on the Nile is very obliging. It usually comes j±om the Mediterranean and blows steadily against the river current, making it easy for sailboats to navigate in either direction, drifting down with the natural flow, or pushing upstream as a warm breeze tills the sail. Saqqara is three or four hours upriver j±orp Cairo, sailtime, and the peaceful silence of this mode of travel is seldom broken by more than a pleasant lap of water against the bow planking. Every few miles the tempo of life along the shore drops back a thousand years, bringing us slowly into tune with what lies just ahead. Our boatman pulls ashore where a trail leads to the tomb of King Orris. We walkwestward a coupleofmiles leaving behind the lush banks ofthe Nile, and pass quickly into the burning Sahara sands, desolate and forbidding. Here again history leaps backwards, and when we reach the tomb we're more than 3000 years B.C. The first ten rooms are notvery different from those in any number of ancient tombs. Colorful drawings and hieroglyphic writings in picturecharacters record the exploits of King Orris, showing battles won, enemies subdued, and riches piled upon riches. There are pictures ofhorses, servants, captives with hands tied behind their backs, grain, fruit, jewels, pots, and countless other paraphernalia. But the eleventh room is different. Instead of covering the walls of the King's final resting place with royal decorations, the artist broke tradition and drew a rabbit,-water, a knife, a sheaf of cloth, and enclosed all four within an oval. The oval (correctly called a cartouclie) is all-important. It tells the reader that the word-signs within it are to be read acrophonically that only the first sound of each word is to be pronounced. In ancient Egyptian these sounds probably resembled our 0-sound for rabbit, our N-sound for water (Nile), I for knife, and S for cloth. Putting the four together in the same order as pictured we find ourselves pronouncing the name of the King - ONIS - and face to face with an early concept that served as the forerunner ofphonetic writing!

16 Here in this tomb at the edge ofthe barren Sahara we meet the dawn of an idea that led to the most important invention of Western Man: the development ofa system ofgraphic symbols to represent individual phonetic sounds a single symbol for a single sound, rather than a picture for a whole word. Today we take it for granted that symbols - letters - can be strung together one after another to make a written word just as sounds are put together to make a spoken word. We take it for granted that ifeach letter represents a single sound, then our hands can write for our eyes to read any word that our ears can hear. Five thousand years ago this brilliant idea wasjust beginning to come to life. Later in.phoenicia and elsewhere along the eastern Mediterranean it blossomed into complete alphabets that doubled man's power ofcommunication and gave him the ability to write anything he could say. It gave him a permanent, accurate, visual record of speech. The phonetic alphabet, along with its equally remarkable numerals, is the major man-made miracle that underlies our Western Civilization. It serves as areliable way to pass lmowledge from generation to generation; to teach; to broaden the knowledge ofthe learned, and to transmit information and ideas from the learned to the unlearned efficiently and accurately. Without interchangeable phonetic symbols the West could never have overtaken the headstart of ancient Eastern Civilization. In the Orient, China's long adherence to dead-end pictographic writing cramped its progress for 5000 years, ever widening the gap with the West. A short dispatch with vast significance was recently issued by the offical Peking news agency: LtHE CEwtac CO)JIJJJIEE HF the PiEeptVs EPUuLjC F CHINA ANNO UNCED THIS ThenN j u THAT PHONETIC 19nItiN tain4 THE TJtAI3ITIONAC ROMAN ACPHAUET SOON!3E INtt%ODt4Cfl3 1NTP YUNAN PQOVINCE' Ifa similar dispatch had been issued in3000 B.C. we'd be li v ing in a world very different from the one we now see around us. Our science, technology, education, art, ethics, political and economic systems, race relationships, and probably our religion and philosophy would all have strong Oriental overtones. It is fascinating to picture what the world would be like if both East and West had shared in the use of phonetic symbols. Nothing man-made has been more influential than letters: their magic keeps speech from vanishing into thin air; their magic passes on to us the speech, the knowledge, the wisdom of earlier generations. Deeply implanted in letters is the magic that makes speech stand still. A.D. 900 TODAY WE USE OUR 26 LETTERS as ifthey were part oforiginal Creation like gravity or day and night. That's a high compliment to pay a manmade idea. The old Saqqara scribe would be surprised and pleased. In reality our particular 26 letters are not very ancient. Our capitals date backonly 2000 years. Creek and Hebrew letters are much older. But let me tell you a delightful story about a newer alphabet - Cyrillic - now used chiefly in Russia, Bulgaria, and parts ofyugoslavia. Just a thousand years ago a Greek king married a Bulgarian princess who, upon moving to Athens, became fascinated with the way in which

17 the Greeks could write with letters. When her two sons, Cyril and Methodius, were old enough she encouraged them to develop a set of letters for the Slavic sounds so that her people in Bulgaria could have this wonderful means of recording their words. This the young men did, and under the auspices ofthe Eastern O?thodox Church they brought alphabetic writing to Bulgaria. Later the letters followed the Church into Bohemia and eventually into Russia, and Cyril and Methodius were honored by being sainted. The shape ofcyrillic letters as seen today in Russian newspapers has changed quite a bit ifom the drawings of a thousand years ago, but that made them no less exciting when I first encountered them in Bulgaria. My wife and I had learned the sounds of Cyrillic characters in preparation for this great moment - our first face-to-face meeting with an unfamiliar alphabet. As the plane ji-om Budapest moved southeastward it passed high over the Danube River, the natural boundary between Roumania and Bulgaria. I looked out of the window and in imagination saw our familiar Roman letters on the Roumanian side, and across the river in Bulgaria the exciting new Cyrillic shapes we'd soon be seeing in Sofia. A short taxi ride whisked us ftom the airport to our hotel on the outskirts of the city. After getting settled we took a battered old trolley downtown and got off at an impressive building bearing a Cyrillic inscription that I carefully deciphered. It was the municipal library. On the far wings were enormous poster-pictures of Lenin and, I suppose, some other important Communist. Over the main entrance hung a smaller poster of two bearded old patriarchs. I liked to think that these were Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, but knew very well that in an atheistic country no pictures of saints would be displayed in public. We walked on to the central square, a small version ofmoscow's wellknown Red Square. Many posters of Communist greats decorated the buildings and some were even lying on the yellow brick pavement, an ancient pavement given to a princess as a wedding present! The square itselfwas almost empty. This puzzled us, but we were even more puzzled to see crowds ofyoung people pouring into the main boulevard beyond. Something was about to happen and we climbed to a porch nearby to take some pictures. Here we could see far down the boulevard. It was packed with young people of high school and college age. Suddenly a stem voice blared an order through a loudspeaker. This was followed by stirring liturgical music, and the throng moved forward in orderly fashion twenty-five abreast - I counted them. Many of the marchers wore semi-athletic uniforms, some carried flags, but there was no clue to the meaning ofit all. Before long an elderly man who had overheard us talking sidled up and asked in very broken English, (Aie M1j F$'M )IMesic'l?)' We assured him that we were and he told us how, back in the '20s, he had gone to college in Ohio. As soon as I could break in politely I asked what the parade was all about. t H, THia ia juat TH3 psactice," he said. ((He)KT TueaauLi fa TH3 big ceieb5iattth. OLL9 pneaieih, CnhIblMai T$aiRIi AH6 ma atnvv null Be in TH3 qbaila-at)lha Tc Vesaee THe MACH. I wpe L44uxe g4iug T Be HeBe 4n Tueadji q. Unfortunately that was the day we were leaving for Moscow. "But what is next Tuesday?' I asked him. 44ec Tueaanq! - ujhti THJIT& M)J'-1 TH3 TIueHTM- F4)WITH!" And when he realized that the date meant nothing to me, ((THRTa 1H3 aaq are celeaxate TH3 begil4nig or rh3 )ITpwlb37F!" ABCDEFG 3 44

18 0 Pfioto9raphs f thc parnde iffbefrunton page z4z Then we heard the whole magnificent stow. The end of the school year calls for a week of celebration a celebration focused on the gift of education. The great symbol of Slavic education, unuerlying it all and making it all possible is, of course, the Cyrillic Alphabet. In Bulgaria the alphabet is only a thousand years old young enough not to be taken for granted; new enough to be revered, appreciated, treasured, and given the worthiest of honors. Up the street came a banner carried proudly by several marchers showing Cyril and Methodius dressed in their clerical robes and flanked, behold, by Karl Marx and other notable communists! The sun set but the march continued, and as our self-appointed guide led us back through the park on the way to the hotel he pointed out stalls where new boob would be displayed during Alphabet Week, and where special benches were set up under the trees for quiet reading and meditation. On Tuesday morning we were up at sunrise and watched the youngsters assemble for the great parade. At a newsstand i picked up one of the morning papers and there, on the front page in heroic size, was a drawing of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius holding high a red circle in which were the Bulgarian equivalent of our letters "AB"! 1450 ONE OF THE NICE THINGS aboutgetting excited over letters isthatyou're always in the best Of Company. If your hobby is tennis you can revel in the pleasure of sharing an enthusiasm along with the champions of the game: Bill Cage, Don Budge, Rod Laver,John Newcombe and even Bill Tilden, or at least with his memory. If your hobby is stamp collecting you're of one mind with a number of distinguished philatelists: King Farouk, King George V, Cardinal Spellman, Bjorn Lydersen, and Franklin Roosevelt, all of whom have amassed great stamp collections. But if the alphabet is your hobby you're in the best company of all: Aristotle, Plato, Shakespeare, Gutenberg, King James, Samuel Johnson, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, A. Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Zapf, Eugene Ettenberg, Norman Cousins, Tom Wicker, Winston Churchill, and Franklin Roosevelt too all of them and many other greats have shown their expertise in using the alphabet superbly. I well remember my first contact with Johann Gutenberg. Although he was not of my generation I've often felt a closeness to him, but never closer than on the night of October 14, I was in the City of Gutenberg, otherwise known as Mainz on the Rhine. We arrived by river boat from Coblenz, and by the time we'd settled in the hotel it was night and very dark The city had not JitIly recovered from war damage, as evidenced by a major lack of street lighting. But inspired by the thrill of this first night in the cradle oftypesetting where in 1450 Gutenberg cast his first type - I set out on a midnight walk, able to see very little and not having the slightest idea where I was going. At one point my path was blocked by a wall or what might have been the pedestal ofa monument, I do not know; but when I reached up I could feel some letters carved in stone and as my fingers traced them slowly one by one it seemed to me that they were spelling out in the old rectangular shapes of German fraktur letters the word "Gutenberg"! I didn't go back next morning to verify it. For me that was a face-to-face visit with the great inventor of movable type, and I'm not one to run the riskofspoiling it with daylight. 4

19 And then there's a little story I value because it says so much in just two words: The high school son of a friend of mine was filling out his college application blank. To the question "What person has had the greatest influence on your educatioñ7'he answered, 7Ohann Gutenberg." As WE TURN THE CALENDAR BACK TO 1450 we see that Gutenberg was the right man in the right place at the right time. The legacy of Saqqara had reached a bottleneck: there was far greater demand for books than scribes "With pen in hand" could ever satisfy. Printing from large wooden blocks was not new, indeed we have reason to believe that some earlier dreamer had experimented with small interchangeable wooden blocks supporting single letters, but it wasjohann Gutenberg who brought that dream into reality. Albrecht Boiza, grandson of the inventor of an early printing press, stated it correctly: a Ideas are Often to befound when their time is ripe; to announce them to the world is usuallynot difficult, but to find the means to transform them into reality needs a great mäni' Gutenberg was that man. As a craftsman skilled in the use of goldsmith's tools he perfected the technique for cutting a raised letter on the end of a punch or rectangular metal rod. The rod was then hardened and the raised letter hammered (or punched) into a small bar ofcopperwhich formed the matrix or base of a rectangular mold into which hot lead was poured to cast type lead duplicates of the letter originally cut on the punch. By changing the matrix, various letters could be cast in the same adjustable mold. The genius in these miniature castings that we call type is not just that they support a raised letter, but that they secure its position and determine its spacing as well. Combining these three features in a single casting was an achievement of such magnitude that it remained unchallenged for centuries. Gutenberg's brilliance, however, was not welcomed by the scribes of his day. Like many inventors he was a threat to the status quo, and cautiously carried on his workbehind closed doors. To keep the enterprise solvent he found it necessary to imitate manuscript letters so perfectly that buyers rarely suspected his books ofibeing printed from type. It has been suggested, tongue in cheekof course, that Gutenberg was our first counterfeiter. A more worthy appraisal is to credit him with a keen awareness of public prejudice against novelty in so highly regarded an art as the making ofbooks. When finally the idea of printing from type was accepted, then and only then could type be less imitative of the scribes' letterforms. Shapes became more legible, more compatible with metal casting and the elimination of most ligatures (two letters linked together on the same block) drastically reduced the number ofdifferent characters required. More than three and half centuries passed by with no significant change in the printing industry. Then the giant began to stir. Between 1800 and 1875 the speed of printing presses increased from 250 impressions per hour to 12,000. Papermaking was mechanized. Bookbinding machines were introduced. Electrotypes, stereotypes, collotype, Senefelder's lithographic press, mechanical type casting devices, and aids to punch cutting and matrix making all came into being. Yet typesetting itself the very heart of the printed word remained unchanged. Progress in typesetting methods had scarcely moved an inch since It An excellent description 4the art 4puneft cutting and Vpe casting is given in Chaptei-3 of Wasteit Cltappews AM en Histo.y of the Printed Want pubuslvdareda. Xnapf, mo 1'- PUNCH I4LATRLX CAST TYPE - ununun1irutrr.ttnithiutititnt. igs in Do= ccu Itguton iatgrn WMIM=JUMOM qwuttpio4 lugunt gltbrrahunwr:ii into knit uabreinittiotübuttuwrsiair AfEw lines (inrcdncedsite)fnnn Gutenberg's fatuous Bible pnnietbts.co. Full size reproductions eon beftnaid in 'Host libraries. One 4the original Bibles 'nov be seen in the Jr. Morgan Lihran in New Toils. Et in moran ad digitos It flguratio 'Cis parurn adrniitt exit mittce ut aut poftit:auc debea to tarn dedlinationem uint indp This specimen shows how radically type design changed in its first twen! years, and how Gutenberg's liberal use of connected pairs 4 letters (internist to simulate manuscript writing) geve wee to fewer pain and greater legibility

20 was still a totally manual operation; still so drearily slow that the average compositor spent most of a week setting and distributing a single newspaper page. After 400 years, the typesettter not the scribe was now the industry's.botflenecic It's easy to picture the urgent drive for a more mechanized method of typesetting. NewYorknewspaper publishers offered prizes totalling half a million dollars tax free and uninflated to any inventor who could save even 25% of the work ofhand composition. This challenge brought 127 different proposals for composing machines. The Patent Office was inundated. We are told that the complexity of these inventions caused one examiner to lose his mind. The laurels in this frantic race to speed the assembly of letters go to the son ofa German school teacher in a tiny village some fifty miles east of Heidelberg. Ottmar Mergenthaler, at the age of thirteen, showed his aptitude for mechanics by repairing the clock in the village's church tower after the official clocicmaker had given up the task as hopeless. Probably as a result ofthis feat the boy was apprenticed to a watchmaker for four years, then made his way to America where he worked in a model-making establishment building workable miniatures of inventions to be submitted to the Patent Office. The inventors he met, the models he builtfor them, and the stories he.heard about the urgent need for keyboard typesettingfired young Ottmar's imagination. For a man in his twenties he approached this challenge with rinarkable maturity: "Watchmaking had taught me precision," he later said, "I learned to temper a spring to thejinest degree, to combine the constituents of metal alloys in exact proportion. I learned to cut out thejlnest teeth, to make pins, toborejewels withjlrm, steady pressure. I realized that if movement was to work it must be considered as a whole, that each part had to be perfect in itselfandhamionize with evryother." That sobering statement is one that most inventors would do well to remember. So many get carried away with half-inventions, usually the easy half, hoping that some magic will take care of the rest. As a little boy I was fortunate in making friends with a carpenter at the college where my father taught. Mr. Burrage had seen manyyears go by, and considered himself not only a master carpenter but an inventor. I guess he found me a better listener than most of his adult friends, so I had the benefit of his confidence. He told me about a perpetual motion machine he was making at home, and offered to show it to me on that great day when he would start it. But the invitation never came. Thus I learned that it's better not to set a firm date for the completion of one's invention. Another time he said he'd invented a wonderflil new washing machine that would boost the American standard of living. His description seemed to indicate that the mechanism was hand operated. The only washing machines I'd seen were all electrically powered, even in so primitive a year as It was very brash ofme, but I asked Mr. Burrage if he thought many people would buy a washing machine that wasn't electric. I'll never forget his answer: "Let a man getup an hour earlyand do his wife washing before he goes to work" That wasthe trouble with most ofthe prdposed typesetting machines. In practice they neither made the work easier nor faster. A pair of nimble hands were far more reliable. Some machines just set the type without distributing it. One of them required seven operators to equal the work of two ordinary compositors.

21 Mergenthaler took a back door approach: he tuned the problem upside down. Whereas Gutenberg had made a single costly matrix from which multiple pieces of type could be cast, Mqrgenthaler did precisely the opposite: he brought down the cost ofthe matrix to the point where multiple matrices could be set side by side and afhll line oftype produced at one casting. Of course it wasn't just that simple: there's much more to Mergenthaler's machine than that But at the heart of the solution lay the ability to produce a 6-cent matrix ofgood quality. It was the watchmaker's precision plus dogged determination that each part be not only perfect within itselfbut harmonize with every other part that led, onjuly 2,1886, to a successful demonstration in the composing room of The New York Tribune. On that occasion the famous publisher, Whitlaw Reid, seeing the machine cast complete lines, exclaimed "Why that's a line o' type!" and the name LINOTYPE was born LOOKING BACK. ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS we find that the appeal of printing, particularly the excitement of newspaper publishin g, often filtered down to the amateur level. Thousands upon thousands ofboys set up small presées in bedrooms or barns and began to print newspapers. My father was among them. He joined with a friend, Andrew Patterson, and together they published The Enterprise. It was printed whenever the spirit moved them. The first of four pages, about half the size of a post card, usually carried some factual reporting on a timely story like the Sunday School picnic last month, or the recovery of a lost dog. Page two followed with names ofthe proprietors and their tides spelled out in fall; subscription rates (io issues forio); "exchanges" with other boy-printed papers and, if lucky, perhaps a small ad donated by the local bather in trade for a haircut Page three was a mixture ofriddles, jokes, and possibly a word puzzle. Page four could be the classified section ifthe proprietors had friends who swapped stamps, marbles, birds' eggs, etc; otherwise it was likely to list the various printing services offered by the establishment. Circulation was rarely more than twenty-five, including parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, nearby neighbors, and a few out-oftown subscribers. The latter could have exotic addresses like Alaska or Nicaragua if a missionary friend ofthe family's happened to be stationed there. It was a rare editor who could resist the temptation to comment, in print, on the publication's pride in having worldwide circulation. In typesetting, of course, everything is reversed as in a mirror. This reversal applies not only to the letters and words themselves, but to the position ofthe page on the press. Since many amateur papers are printed two pages at a time the inside pair are likely to be reversed: page one will have its opening on the lefthand side rather than on the right. But it never mattered; what was important was that thousands ofboys were getting a three-dimensional "feel" for letters and for words a feel that is somehow more tangible than pen or typewriter. Recently I've been told that typesetting in rehabilitation centers has remarkable therapeutic value, and that in our schools some of the teachers are using three dimensional letters in the early grades. Schools today certainly need to find some way to teach our children how to read and write but more about that later. This is Ottmar Mergent hater's.nexpenstve inati. The fetter rto(tf may 6eseen sunk into the matrix faa ontfiec'tside; thetflichaessofffwnietat tetn,ntjws the wie(tfroccupiel - - by the (etter in a word; the v-thamtet has a sawtooth coding that eh r. autcnnatic strttutto,t after casting.!e= selsm /1

22 EMP-Mmmoor Snp(ès from the n4bscr pc pflss ire shown at the top of page 144 TTT TT.,t4 ' rai MY OWN INITIATION into the wonders of print came at the age of five from an unplanned visit to the Winston-Salem JournaL Uncle Bob had written something for the paper and suggested that we deliver it together. Up in the editorial office you could hear the press thundering down in the basement, so we went to investigate. No brilliant sunrise, no snowcapped mountain nor starry sky ever captured a boy's eye with more power than those whirling cylinders on that big rotary press spewing out papers faster*han I could count even faster than Uncle Bob could. My escort got the message. On Christmas morning when I opened the biggest package, it was a printing press! and I was hooked for life.. The press was a bantam rubber type affair made to looka little like the Journal's big rotary press except, of course, that it did not thunder in the basement It had speed but not much else. Except ink. The ink was equally tenacious on paper, clothes, and face. Theodore, my brother six years older, comforted me with the observation that a boy's skin changes every seven years so I'd lookbetterby the time I went to high school. Setting type at the age of five is slow and tedious, hardly more than a word or two an hour; so I was delighted when my father brought home one ofthe old Oliver typewriters from the college. He really gave it to the whole family, but since I pampered it with loving affection the Oliver soon became my typewriter. Some of the keys were broken, the most serious being e. But I found that by striking c and drawing a stroke through it I could get a very respectable e. Sometime later I discovered that a hyphen struck directly over the c produced a beautiful e without using a pencil at all. The Oliver didn't make for high volume bookproducton which was my true goal, but it was a valued pastime for rainy days. Mother hoped it would help my spelling but I could see she was disappointed with my book on camping where scrambled eggs were spelled "slcamlx." In those days the heads of small colleges must have been an easy markfor salesmen ofduplicatingmachines, Dad was forever buying new gadgets to cut down the institution's printing bills; and I became the ultimate recipient of anything that wouldn't work meaning most of the new purchases. My collection of decrepit college duplicators may have looked like a scrap yard to some fastidious adults, but it served very well to move me onward and upward in the world of print. The rotary rubber type press had a short revival in third grade when Frank Shafiher and I issued a daily paper after school. It was a paper of minimum news and editorial content, but that was of no moment since the only reason for publishing was to make deliveries by pony Franks pony a sort ofpaul Revere operation that ended disgracefully when our mothers caught us offbounds riding up busy Main Street Then on my tenth birthday Grandfather Boring in Philadelphia, who had a marvelous way of knowing precisely what a boy was longing for, gave me a Baltimorean press with lead type and a 2 x3 ½"chase. The type was only half normal height-to-paper, but it printed well and the ink was controllable. I could now retire the Oliver and all the limping duplicators. I was a real printer, at last This must have impressed my parents. On the following Christmas the big package was a new3x5"kelsey press with what could be found of the old type and cases that my dad and his partner used back in 1885.

23 THE YEARS BETWEEN MY FATHERS PRINTING ADVENTURES AND MYOWN were rough ones for the unsuccessful ihvehtorsbftypesettingmathines as well as for many of the small type foundries allover America. Inventors are loath to abandon their pet ideas no matter how bleak the outlook. Ottmar Mergenthaler's machine, it must be remembered, was not an instant success. There were a hundred thousand typesetters lined up against it. The quality of the Linotype's product was legible but by no means measured up to good hand setting. The physical appearance of the machine, moreover, was uncommonly clumsy and provided typesetters with a natural butt for snide remarks between juicy shots at the cuspidor. Even though a thousand Linotypes were clicking awayjust six years after the famous NewYorkTribune demonstration, many inventors convinced themselves that the field was still open. Indeed, the Linotype was novel enough in 1893 to create a sensation at the Chicago World Fair. Translated into family life this meant that until the end of the century inventors were assuring their wives that down in the basement was the machine that would eclipse Mr. Merganthaler's, and bring riches to their home just as soon as a few details were finished. That position was not totally invalid. It was not until 1899 thattolbert Lanston's Monotype reached commercial acceptability. For fifty years thereafter it easily eclipsed the Linotype in quality bookcomposition. Perhaps a good contestant doesn't quitthe race when the front runner crosses the finish line, but inventor Rene Dacheau of Belgium kept running long after the spectators had left the stadium. In 1912 he finally unveiled his complicated "Pantotype" which set foundry type automatically but it was far far too late. The immediate impact of the Linotype was largely in America. In England the pace was slower. Several very influential private presses were being established, the first of which was William Morris' Kelmscott Press in The long range objective ofprivate presses was to upgrade the quality of book printing and perhaps printing in general by demonstrating how today's printers could adapt and build on the enormous heritage of fine book printing handed down from the distant past. Most of these small enterprises had at least one distinctive typeface privately designed, cut, and castfor its own use. Needless to say they were all hand set. In every case the face was ofa conservative style and based on letter forms developed three or four hundred years earlier. While none of the presses produced more th?n a few titles in very limited editions, the exquisite quality of typographic design, composition, pressmanship, paper and binding made a lasting impact on the printing industry, and may to some extent explain why mechanical typesetting did not make greater inroads on hand composition. Private presses may well have been responsible for the appeal of Monotype's better quality in book composition a middle ground between hand setting and Linotype. America, too, had its share of those who stood up for traditional excellence. In 1893 Daniel B. Updike established the Merrymount Press in Boston. Bruce Rogers and William Rudge are also remembered for the finest in craftsmanship. Ben Franklin, printer, would have been proud of the unswerving integrity and high level of scholarship that these eminent printers brought to the industry. drsignesfr, Wuaam Mo,ts flit h4s ptivate ptcu. Ee A

24 Meanwhile typefounders in Continental Europe were looking for a bulwark against the day when Mr. Merganthaler's Big Bad Wolf would RZ Cc BM?f dg b tap on the door. They plunged headlong into Art Nouveau designs, or.jugeridstil as the avant garde was called in Germany. It was a free-for-all Ad Ub Cc Ud c FT ag for type designers and they made the most of it. Two volumes of the %a 13b Cc Dd EC misleadingly named Petzendotfer Atlas published about 1904 give abundant evidence of the scores of exotic faces produced by thriving little ad MCC Do ae &I Ug European typefoundries at the turn of the century. Their frantic effort undoubtedly delayed the mechanical onslaught, and has left for us a Eta Bb Cc lid EE treasure chest ofhighly imaginative designs. As for the little foundries in our own country, they were a nervous wreck after the 1886 bombshell. The handwriting was on the wall. Whisfling in the dark cured nothing. Since most of the foundries were run for profit rather than love of letters it took only a few years until the moneyminded owners began to talk consolidation. Thus the great American Type Founders Company came into being as the amalgamation of more than twenty small establishments. The basic idea was a sound one: if foundry type was to have a profitable future, everything possible would have to be done to give it the advantage of standardization, efficient manufacture, and a strong selling organization. ATF worked as well as anything could. In due time each foundry sent its punches, mats, and casters to the jersey City headquarters. Most foundries had at least one face that wasvery popular, and when these winners were all put together and promoted by a vigorous team of salesmen working out of eleven branches - not just offices but real buildings spread from Chicago to Dallas and from Seattle to Boston it represented a lot ofpower. In at least one case the amalgamation didn't pan out quite the way it was planned on paper. Barnhart Brothers & Spindler probably had the best type designs of any, and the new consolidation hoped to make the most ofthese prestigious faces. But when the movers drove their wagons up to the foundry on Monroe Street in Chicago they found something they weren't prepared for. Many of the casting machines and hundreds of the mats had some little peculiarity known only to the gray haired operators who over the years had developed a feel for each machine and each matrix. Some of the casters were, of necessity, canted off balance with little wedges "because they work better that way' Many a matrix needed to be shimmed up or run hotter or cooler to minimize defects. It was a maze of minute but very important exceptions recorded only in the agingminds ofthose who had lived with them a potential nightmare for the big operation in.jersey City. The movers were faced with some tough decisions on that day and wisely chose to leave BB&S where it was, to stop advertising the faces even though they were highly prestigious, and to hope that demand for them would subside about the same time the old operators passed away. Steve Watts, sales manager for ATF, told me that story many years ago, and followed it with another that is appropriate here even though it comes from a later period. Steve shared my love for alphabets, but he and I had an even closer bond that dated back to 1919 when he set type in the Scoggin Print Shop in Winston-Salem just a few months before Mr. Scoggin became the apple ofmy eye. The second story came from an old keeper of the mats injersey City who told it to Steve on retirement: During World War II some highly motivated Washington clerk sent a memo to ATF ordering it to sell, at premium junk prices, all mats that

25 A had not been used for ten years. The brass was needed for war production. That was agreeable to the ATF officials who by that time were far more wedded to dollars than to sentiment. Sp the memo was dispatched with official blessingto the keeper fthe mats. The keeper, however, was cutfrom avery different cloth. He knew the history ofeach matrix. It was like sending his own children to the guillotine. So for the next few weekends he stealthily carried, one by one, the old packages of historically significant matrices into a corner ofthe basement and built up a barricade of boxes to hide them. When the junk dealer arrived some nondescript brass was loaded into the truck, all requirements satisfied and, as Steve himself major, wryly observed, 'the Army had plenty of its own brass that should have been melted downjlrst." The consolidated ATF made its bow with the 1896 catalog, followed by another in Ten years later the big 12-pound red bookgave evidence of a thriving organization. By a stroke of luck I got a copy of the bookwhen I was ten, in It was my bible from that day forward. In our house reading the comics on Sunday was forbidden. But the ban did not extend to the ATF catalog, and a long sermon in church was the standard prelude to a happy afternoon on the livingroom floor absorbing page after page ofthis fascinatingbook, memorizing type names, ranges, prices, and font schemes, dreaming ofthe day when I could send an order to that big factory injersey City, the factory with 662 windows and the glamorous address "300 Communipaw Avenue' Little did I suspect that within a few years I'd be opening the heavy front door at 300 Communipaw and stepping inside. Flit' 1915 THE 3x5 KELSEY PRESS was a great success. I had to give up my idea of printing books because books had too many words. But a newspaper was within reach. This time it was Vol. I No.1 ofthe NEWS. I liked that name for three excellent reasons: It would.not be confused with any other Winston-Salem paper; seven letters was not too long for the width of the page, and I had just enough bold type to set it I didn't know it at the time but since all my type was pre-1886 it was not sized to the American point system, the industry standard since then. The body type of which I had a reasonable supply was probably "small pica' It was a simple legible letter somethin'like Montecelld. I had two sizes of Old English and two scripts, one of which was a sloped Spencerian with sharp kerned wings sticking out from the letters, and double wings on the lowercase f the kind ofthing that's a prized collector's item today. Then I had brass rules, ornamental brass dashes, long and short braces, fists, paragraph marks, fractions, 1-and 2-em dashes, 3-and 4-em quads with nicks that matched the small pica type, and plenty of ornamental dingbats which, of course, I greatly overused. Such primitive equipment seems pretty remote today, but in 1915 it was just a step behind the times. I had no composing stickto hold in my hand as I set the type - indeed, being entirely self-taught, I had never heard of one; but, thanks to Kelsey, the chase on the 3x5 press had a solid back, so it served as a typesetter's stick when propped up on one corner or held in my lap. Looking back I wonder how lever managed to compose a frill page, but at the age often an overwhelming desire to print makes trifles out of such inconveniences. TypicaL U9CS Cf The News printeifoitthe 3x5 Ke(stypreas are shon',t on the bottom Of 1 44.

26 Rejnolluction ofathuwing 4thntercarfysakmn is on Pa9c OUR HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1811 by the Moravian silversmith and watchmaker John Volger. There were numerous evidences of his craftsmanship on the door handles and other hardware. In the late 1950s it was completely restored, and visitors to the Old Salem restoration in Winston-Salem are now guided through its rooms by costumed hostesses. I have searched for some remaining evidence of the fourth estate, but there is none: not even the printers ink spilled on the floor many years ago by a young publisher. Back in 1811 my room was of normal size; but when plumbing came to Salem a third ofit was sliced offto make a bathroom, and another third for the hallway leading thereto. Yet cramped quarters never mattered to a youthful printer, and I managed to pack into 9x9 feet the editorial offices and pressroom of THE NEWS and a bed. The enterprise also operated as a job shop under the name "Footprint Shop." I never liked the name, but an adult neighbor suggested it and I thought it must be good. After more than sixty years I still can't see any brilliance in it. Job printing became the chief source of income. It must have averaged somewhere around 15 a month. That would have been four dozen visiting cards printed in Old English. They were the most popular item. The going rate for boy-printed cards was 5C a dozen. Since there were no Fair Trade laws at that time I could undercut the market by charging 3 ½C, and justified it with this rationale: 3½ would look like a real bargain compared with my competitor's 5', and I hoped that most ofmypotential clients would be tempted to order two dozen to avoid the fractional loss accompanying single dozen; so I'd be 2Q ahead. As a matter Of fact it always worked out that way; the only trouble was that I'd forgotten to figure in the cost.ofthe blankcards. By far the biggest order came from Viola, our cook, who wanted twenty-five copies of a sentimental poem she'd cut out of a newspaper. I had no paper for anything so large, but took courage in hand and went up to the Crist & Keehln print shop where Blum 's Almanac was printed. Old Mr. Crist was hand setting the almanac but he recognized me, appreciated my predicament, and carefully cut the paper to size. Then I asked how much it would be, and got a surprise answer that taught me a lot: "Nothingfor the paper; a niclçelfor the time:' During the month it took to set Violas poem I pondered what Mr. Crist had said: "Nothingjbr the paper; a nickelfor the time." Could time be worth more than paper? It didn't seem quite right. I kept wondering how this fitted in with my hope of35 or 40 cents for printing the poem. That hope, however, had yet a greater hurdle to cross. When the job was finished but before ii: was delivered my mother asked me what I planned to charge Viola. When I timidly suggested forty cents she said it was too large a part ofviola's salary, that I'd better make it twenty-five. Money surprises, however, were not always of that kind. As a tenderfoot scout doing my bit to help Troop 9 reach its wartime quota of Liberty Bond sales, I hesitantly approached Mr. Herbert Pfohl, hoping he would buy one. He bought five! Mr. Pfohi has been gone for a long time, but I still have the deepest gratitude for the courage he gave to that shy little salesman. He knew precisely what he was doing. He knew only too well that what he was teaching me had far greater potential for growth than the bonds. 12

27 There were onlyten scouts in our troop, but three ofthe ten published competing newspapers.johnny Blair's was the most ambitious. He was three years older, an avid reader, silver tongued, an excellent speller, and was studying Latin in high school. We all assumed, of course; that any respectable editor had to be goodin Latin - and that's where Johnny excelled. My Latin was pretty poor. It was limited to what Miss Claudia Winkler taught me when I was quarantined for whooping cough: two lines ofthe Lord's Prayer and' All Gaul is divided into three parts"...gallia est ornnis divisa in partes tres. Johnny's erudition ultimately led to. better things: hebecame a successfulbookpublisher. HenryPfohl, on the other hand, was my age and in my academic bracket He lived at the far end ofchurch Street where he and his brother Joe published The Salem News. Their paper was bigger than mine but poorly printed because they had only battered type and not much of it. They often filled the pages with electrotypes of old ads picked out of a dump behind thejournal office. I thought that was a lazy way to get out a paper, and was elated when their mother high handedly suppressed an entire issue because one ofthe electrotypes showed the bust ofa woman wearing a corset Censorship was tough in the South in those days. But the time came when Henry and Joe had the last laugh. I'd just begun to print Vol. I No.9 ofrhe NEWS when suddenly the main casting of my press broke. The type was.set but I had no way to print it. There was nothing to do but go humbly to the competition and askto use their facilities. This they granted provided my entire front page was devoted to an expression of gratitude for their generosity. I remember the headline well: BROKEN PRESS. Thus ended publication ofthe NEWS. I made bigger and better plans for another press, a Kelsey 5 x8 with a stronger main casting; but $18 was a long way off for a boy ofmy age. It must have been at least a year later when Dad took me to Lynchburg where he was checking final proofs for the college catalog. Seeing the presses and type in the big J. P. Bell plant rekindled all my love for printing. We ate lunch with Mr. Bell and I told him about THE NEWS. I couldn't tell him about the broken press; I was too ashamed of it. Then back home one day the mailman delivered a post card saying that a box addressed to me had arrived at the freight office. Sam, the college driver, hitched up the horses, Rich and Hugh, and tookme up to the freight depot. We brought back a 73-pound box from the J. P. Bell Company. When I opened it I couldn't believe my eyes: five full-size California job cases filled with well used but very useful type. Twelve point Typewriter, 24- and 36-point Elzevir, and 10- and 12-point Ionic! I.. had the type but no press. The competition had the press but almost no type. What did we do? We followed the example ofamerican Type Founders and consolidated. Mr. Johnson, our Sunday School teacher, suggested a name that was sure to be a winner, and from September 14,1918 until we left for college in 1924 the Big-Little Print Shop made its mark as a thriving enterprise. Fortunately the Ladies' Aid Society was closing its tea room and no longer needed the little one-room building alongside our house. It was perfect for the Big-Little Print Shop and we moved right in. What made it even more fun was a show window right on Main Street. Halloween was approaching and World War I was coming to an end; we foresaw that both of these events would test our ingenuity and ability as newspaper publishers. Halloween would be observed with a big display of moving imusti hut nl ABCDEFGHI JKLMNOFQR STUVWXYZ& abcdefghi jklmnopqrstuvwxyz ACDEF Big-Little Print Shop lpcwi-itzr EIzevir Ionic _a

28 lr 6airm Nems PEACE ARMISTICE IS SIGNED FRIENDS Non-Kaiser in Holland. 321Z At even' opportunity we used our prized ragravinqp of President Wilson and the 5a9. flu detoned liennan Kalser was catted "Ex-Katser" by the Sig dailies, but wefdt our rea4à deserved something off the beaten track. ghosts and blinking lights in the window. It strained our resources of 6- volt motors and pillowcases, but drew a crowd of at least twenty youngsters, and the final act with a gasoline sand lamp narrowly missed burning up the whole place. But the public image of the Big-Little Print Shop was well launched and our youthful fans were asking for more shows on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Too much Halloween planning nearly caught us unprepared for our big chance at a news scoop. The influenza epidemic was rampant and all schools were closed. That meant full time in the print shop. Toward the last of October rumors circulated that the war was about to end, and the Sunday edition of the journal left the whole city in suspense. Winston- Salem had no Monday morning paper because it would have to be typeset on Sunday night and Sunday was "a day of rest:' Charlotte followed a less straight laced policy and copies of the Monday morning Charlotte Observer arrived in town on the 9:10 train. If the war was over the Observer would, of course, carry the news. If not, it would at least have a good story about what had happened. We were up early and prepared the presses oftue SALEM NEWS for a scoop. By prearrangement Dad went uptown to get a copy of the Charlotte paper. He left twoyoungeditors wailing anxiouslybythe telephone. Finally the call came through: "Washington Says No Peace with Kaiser bn Throne."A short three-line dispatch filled in some details. We rushed next door to set it up in 36-point Elzevir and 12-point Ionic. On the back of our two-page extra we printed "A Prayer for Time of War" which was standing by as boilerplate filler in case of such an emergency. (We'd set it up previously for my grandfather who used it as a partial reprint of one of his sermons.) Henry went up Main Street and I went up Liberty, both of us shouting at the top of our lungs "Extra, Extra, 1C!"Just before reaching the center of town we ran out of copies and raced backto print more; but when we returned with ifesh supplies the Twin City Sentinel was on the stands and our scoop had come to an end. What music it would be today to hear a boy any boy come down the street shouting "Eta, Extra, 1 0" The end of the war on November 11th was anti-climactic for us. Extras ofbothjournal and. Sentinel were on the streets long before sunrise. It was a school day, and that delayed our extra until afternoon. The one consolation was that Irving Cobb the Will Rogers of that time was to give a humorous lecture at the college that evening. When he heard of our extra he insisted on buying a copy and spoke in glowing tents about THE SALEM NEWS during his performance. Perhaps that was one of the earliest of all commercials. The war had ended in Europe, but not in Winston-Salem. For several days thejournal and Sentinel battled each other over the question of which paper was first to announce the end of hostilities. This fracas fascinated us. To see the two giants clawing at each other added a new and exciting dimension to publishing. The Sentinel had been first on the street, but in anticipation of the great event its headline "War Ends" and a rehash of stale news had all been type set the day before, so the pressman merely threw a switch when the expected announcement licked in over the telegraph. The journal, on the other hand, carried official dispatches ifom Washington with November 11 datelines. We took sides. Our support went solidly to thejournal The Sentinel's trick, we felt, was unworthy and totally irresponsible.

29 No print shop was really anygood without a paper cutter. The nearest thing to a bona fide cutter in the Kelsey catalog was a "card cutter:' It would be called a trimmer today the kind that an artist regularly uses for trimming single sheets. We couldn't see how it would ever cut stacks of paper, but being the cheapest thing available we weren't too fussy aboutwhether or not it would meet our needs. Ithad a 20-inch blade and cost $12. The balance in our treasury stood at a little over three dollars. Those Liberty Bonds we'd been selling for Uncle Sam gave us the idea that we might be able to raise money for the cutter in the same way that President Wilson raised it for General Pershing. I talked to my dad about our plan, and after studying the financial condition ofthe Big-Little Print Shop he agreed that it would be appropriate to follow Uncle Sam's example and float a bond issue. We needed nine dollars, but Dad warned us that if we borrowed too heavily the bondholders might get together and take over the business. He said that other organizations had faced similar situations and solved it in a very simple way: Ifthey needed $9 they printed $19 worth ofbonds, sold nine of them and kept ten in the company safe. The company didn't have to buy its share of the bonds, it just kept them tucked away ready to outvote any bondholders who ganged up and tried to take over. It sounded justrightand we were readyto go ahead. After long deliberation and careful mathematics we decided that a 75 bond would be easier to sell than one for a dollar it looked like more of a bargain. To raise nine dollars and hold our control we would need to print 25 bonds: sell twelve and keepthirteen hidden awaybetween mymattress and the bedsprings. The interest was to be 4% which called for three coupons at i each "payable at the offices ofthe Big-Little Print Shop on the first day ofmarch, July and November One more comment from Dad: Would the cutter save us enough money so we could pay backthe nine dollars next November? Some more mathematics. That would be 18' a week, but we thought we could make it. After all, it was the very cheapest cutter and the description in the catalog was so convincing. Dad dictated the copy for the bonds: "75 payable in United States Silver... secured by the equipment and goodwill of the Big-Little Print Shop... "Each bond was to bear a number and to our great surprise must carry the official signatures of the president and treasurer. The treasurer must also sign each coupon. This presented a problem because we had no officers and both regarded the other as equal. But, as always, we found a good solution: the president's name would appear only once, the treasurer's four times; that made everything equal so we flipped a coin and decided who was who. When interest came due in March the twelve pennies were ready, but no one clipped a coupon. Not one. After a few days of waiting we printed a memo in 10-point Ronaldson reminding our bondholders that their interest was ready. The memo ended"...ifyou are too old to come in we will bring the money to you:' This effort at fulfilling our obligation was intercepted by my mother who felt that reminding bondholders of their antiquity would not enhance the stature of our enterprise. At maturity no one wanted to part with a bond in exchange for 78C. In retrospect I wonder how far above par the bonds were rated by their holders at that time. And today, if one of those little red, blue and brown debentures showed up on Wall Street I suspect the bidding for it would be bullish. Print Shop 4 Silver Bond $.75 DUE November let Interest Payable arch uly 1st rid Noveber letm' 1st AT Mi THE SIssy i..-s.i..,. s;.. The bans was foists into three panels similar to Li&rtv Bonds. ISis is the outsise panel. The insist panels are shown ott page A

30 /HH 4> OUR MUSICAL INTERESTS gradually began to take time away from the print shop. In those days there was no organized music in the schools. It sprang up spontaneously. There were plenty of music teachers in town, butthey all taught piano orviolin. Nobody ever taught wind instruments; nevertheless, if you were a Moravian boy you somehow learned to play one. There was no jazz. There were orchestras and bands, the most noted ofwhich was the enormous300-piece Easterband that divided into eight sections and marched all over the city very early on Easter morning, playing hymn tunes chorales we called them at street corners; waking people and calling them to the outdoor sunrise service on Salem Square at the Moravian church. Large crowds attended. Forty thousand one Easter quite a congregation for a city whose total population exceeded that by only a few thousand. My grandfather held the service. He had an "Easter morning voice" that could be heard by everybody; it needed no artificial amplification, and none Was available in those days. As the time for the service approached we all stood quietly in the cool pre-sunrise air waiting for the clockin the steeple to strike five. Then the church door opened, Grandfather stepped out, raised his hand, and proclaimed 'the Lord is risen!" 'the Lord is risen indeed!" answered the congregation. Then the band, all 300 ofus, began to play the first chorale: "flail, all hail victorious Lord and Saviour, Thou hast burst the bonds ofdeath.. Henry's father was in charge of the band. From one Easter to the next he would spend most of his evenings at home sitting at his big roll top desk, wearing a green eye shade, copying the chorale music into little portable manuals for each instrument He did it all by hand with waterproof ink on waterproof paper, transposing into B-flat for trumpets and clarinets, E-flat for altos, F for.homs, etc. Henry played trumpet and played it very well. I played either flute, bassoon or sometimes oboe, all of which were so uncommon in our town that if I played them poorly nobody knew the difference. There were other musical groups besides the Easter band: the church band that played at funerals and also "announced the day" on special festival Sundays; the secular band that played overtures and marches in the town square on summer evenings; and the Sunday School orchestra. There was the high school orchestra; the high school band and, best of all, the Salem College orchestra. We played in everything. High school boys weren't supposed to play in the college orchestra, but wind instruments were needed and no college girl ever thought of playing anything but piano, violin, viola, cello, harp or triangle it wasn't ladylike As THE SUMMER OF 1920 APPROACHED Henry and I began to devise ways that might lead to the fulfillment of two great dreams: to visit the American Type Founders Company inlersey City, and to attend a performance of the great Goldman Band in NewYork. My mother's Philadelphia relatives were Moravian, but they had Quaker backgrounds and always said "thee" and "thy" rather than "you" and "your:' Fortunately for me they had a cottage in the woodsy Quaker resort known as Pocono Lake Preserve near Delaware Water Gap. We had been invited there for several summers, but fifteen was old enough

31 to apply for a job as dining camp waiter in exchange for meals, and as tennis court marker in exchange for a tent More in self defense, I suppose, than out ofgenerosity the Preserve management gave each workingboy a weekly laundry allowanceof3sc. Ifyoufriled to use it all by the end of the summer you cowdnt collect any of it Beyond that a boy was on his own to swing an ax, a paintbrush, rake, or hammer for anybody, who thought he was worth 37½C an hour. For some reason that I cannot remember Henry and I were not going tomake the train trip north together. I had traveled quite a bit, but Henry had never been outside North Carolina; so his mother gave him explicit instructions about sleeping in an upper berth, tipping the Pullman porter, and carrying his bag down the long platform into the enormous Washington Terminal. There on his left he would see the big Washington Terminal Restaurant. Henry, of course, had never eaten in a restaurant before, but his mother told him how a waiter would take his order, and after he had eaten he should leave, a tip - a nickel in those happy days was normal for aboy. Everything went just as he had been told. He came into the giant Washington Terminal and there was the Terminal Restaurant sign. Taking courage in hand he went in and sat down at a table. The waiter took his order and the food was served. The problem that loomed larger with every mouthful of shredded wheat was how the tip should be presented without appearing to be inexperienced. The Pullman porter had had his hand out; would this be the same? After removing the dishes the waiter placed a silver finger bowl partly filled with water in font of Henry who had never before seen such a refinement He looked into it Should he drink it? What was it? Then he saw the Washington Terminal initials "WT" engraved on the bottom. What could they mean? Suddenly the light dawned Waiter's Tip and he dropped in the nickel. You have to be a mighty fine boy to tell that story on yourself Henry was all ofthat, and much much more. Little did we dream as we trimmed off branches, raked leaves and split logs at various summer cottages tucked away among the trees around four-mile Pocono Lake that the Mr. Roberts whose wood pile we were stacking was a judge in the Supreme Court in Washington, that Dr. Clay was the eminent archeologist at Yale, that Mr. Knnard was vice president of Bell Telephone in the days when a vice president was next to the top, or that the reason Dr. Baecher's fingers were eaten away was that he was one of the dedicated physicians responsible for the early development of x-ray. It was manyyears later that Mrs. Ross told me why she gave me a standing order to trim the high branches from her trees between three and five o'clock every Thursday afternoon. It was not, as I supposed, to let in more sunlight, but rather so that she could invite guests to tea with some assurance that they would be entertained with Grand Opera whistled from the tree tops. Quaker Meeting was held every Sunday afternoon behind Joseph Elkington's cottage. We sat on the pine needles under the tall evergreens, but during that hour of meditation I could never keep my mind on spiritual things. I was too worried about what I would do with my life, or even what! could do with it. I had a very bad stammer and that seemed to rule out almost everything, except perhaps printing or music. All my relatives on both sides for generations back were either ministers or teachers; and here I was, the one who could not be. In 17 A

32 On Sunday evenings around a campfire the Quakers liked to sing hymns. None of them played instruments except mandolins, and those very poorly. But Henry had brought his trumpet and I my flute, so together we provided some sort of support for the singing. They always wanted to end with "Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh..." and with trumpet playing lead and flute on the alto part an octave up you can imagine how we shuddered. Even so, they loved it. Quakers do. Letters home to our parents gradually broke the news that we were becoming financially independent and able to subsidize a visit to New York. Approval was forthcoming provided we stayed at the 23rd Street YMCA. So one day near the end ofaugust we tookthe Lackawanna train to Hoboken, the ferryto 23rd Street, and walked across to the YMCA near Seventh Avenue. The clerkwas very nice but fifteen was too young to get a room. So he sent us to the Travelers Hotel at Ninth Avenue. There the desk clerk, an old scrooge, gave us Room 22. But we fooled him. He couldni have put us in a better spot: outside our Window all night long elevated trains zoomed by a thrill that ranked just below the Goldman Band and the American Type Founders. When Mr. Goldman raised his baton for the first note of Sousa's "Invincible Eagle March"we were on the front row center in the Columbia University Mall. That morning at the big musical establishment of Carl Fisher in Cooper Square we'd seen wind instruments that staggered the imagination. My favorites were bassoons, a bass flute, and several piccolos in both C and D. Henry was over in the brass section with Aida trumpets six feet long. We asked a clerkabout the Goldman concert that night and he said it was probably sold out but that there was just a bare chance that he might be able to scrape up a couple of tickets ifwe really wanted to go. This he did, and graciously refused to take any money for them. I felt so obligated that I bought a flute swab the cheapest thing in the store. All evening long at the concert we kept trying to find an usher or someone who would accept the tickets. It was our first lesson in real slicknewyorksalesmanship. Next morning we boarded the ferry from Liberty Street to the Jersey City train. The ride to Communipaw Avenue was scarcely two minutes, but it ended up impressively. There, opposite the station, was the enormous factory with its 662 windows! We stood on the platform, entranced, thinking about all the type inside. Then, business cards in hand, walked across the street and through the big door. Our cards were set in ATF type; we thought that might help. Maybe it did. At any rate they treated us royally; I doubt if many fifteen-year-old printers from North Carolina came that way, and certainly very few who knew the catalog prices and font schemes better than most ofthe salesmen. First we were taken up to see Mr. Bullen who, we would learn in later years, was Henry Lewis Bullen the Great Old Man of typophilia. Mr. Bullen showed us around the library. Some of the books were very old and he said they were among the first ever printed. He took down book after bookand tried to help us appreciate the history of Garamond type. He showed how each successive designer had changed the details a little but kept the flavor intact, and how the new ATF Garamond was the best of all. I really couldn't see much difference, but I knew he was trying to tell us something important and that I should listen and remember what he said. As I look back I'm sure that Mr. Bullen would have been pleased to know that I was at least trying to understand because he, no

33 doubt, hoped to pass on to tomorrow's typographers a little of the joy and excitement he had found in a long life with letters. Mr. Bullen took us to lunch in what must have been the executive dining room. Ifthe opportunity preèiftd itselfwe planned to buy a font of 18-point Caslon Shaded. We wanted to walk out of the building with new type in our hands. Henry bravely injected Caslon Shaded into the conversation but Mr. Bullen said itwas afteak, made for those who could not appreciate Caslon the way Caslon designed it. We retreated fast. After lunch somebody showed us pattern making and the Benton punch cutting machines. These were over our heads. But not what was in the next room. Here row upon row of noisy casters were banging out long processions of shiny little blocks with letters on them. Our ears were deafened, but our eyes were glued to the letters and our hearts thumped with joy. I'd never heard about Saqqara or Saint Cyril or even Gutenberg, but there was something supernatural about those blocks and the letters on them. In a way they were like Meccano, but more human. With Meccano's gears and shafts, pulleys, angle plates, nuts, bolts and spanners you could build all kinds of wonderful mechanical things machinery that worked and did things. But type was different. When you built things with type it said something; and people knew what it said. Meccano was for hands. Maybe type was for heads. My father had told me that many of our Presidents were once boy printers. Three years after our visit ATF issued its 1923 catalog. It was big, but not as big as Some more years passed and Mr. Bullen's library was given to Columbia University. The Communipaw Avenue factory moved to smaller quarters in Elizabeth. The 1934 catalog was a bare shadow of former ones. The imposing branch offices closed one after another and the NewYorkoffice moved to a low rent block on Broadway. In the mid fifties ATE made an attempt to develop a photographic typesetter. It had just enough promise to give a thread of hope. But not quite. The Wall Street money men, whose respectfor alphabets is limited to numerals, were bearing down. At some point a sewing machine company took control and the ATE at Elizabeth was chopped into three pieces. One piece went to Tennessee, another to Pennsylvania, and the third to Massachusetts. All these insults heaped one by one on my boyhood idol were hard to take. But the worst blow was still to come. In 1974 three of my gifted associates, George Sohn, Vincent Pacella, and John Prentki were asked to go with me to Whitinsville, Massachusetts to see if there was anything we could do to prolong the life of the ATE Phototypesetter. As I walked over the creaky planks through the dim hallways leading to the dying patient I realized that these same hallways had seen the death of the great New England woolen industry just a generation before. There was nothing we could do. Nothing. It was a repeat of the story Steve Watts had told about Barnhart Brothers & Spindler. Except that now it was photographic. One man was left; only. one. Tucked away in his memory were all the little adjustments and minute compromises that had to be made to compensate for inaccuracies in cameras, drawings, lineup guages and a multitude of checks and balances. Yet here I was, the boy who wide-eyed and radiant had visited the great Communipaw plant, now called on to perform the last rites for my revered but stricken giant who had failed to respond to the photographic fountain of youth the typesetting fountain of youth that I, with energy and enthusiasm, had helped nurture from its infancy. 19

34 flhiiiz;; FOR THE REST OF OUR YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL we divided our time not just between printing and music, but between printing and music and girls. And not always in that order. We had moved the shop up to a semi-basement corner room in the historic Inspector's House where the college had its offices. The quarters were quite cramped, but we had no choice, and the move was not without its good points. With it came avery elite address: Nine Salem Square North, and a hundred or more smiling college girls passed the window every hour. So it wasn't all bad. Our small Kelsey presses were retired in favor of an ancient Columbian 6 x9 treadle press without throwoff bought from a barber in Mocksyule for $40. It was a vicious little finger-catcher unless you were very fast, and I bear one ofits mementoes to this day. For $20 we bought a real 24-inch paper cutter, just too short to cut 25 x38. The last foot of operating handle was missing and the backstop drive screw had vanished, but itwas ajoy to be able to cut a fhll ream-500 sheets of17x22 inch paper with one throw of the blade. Our type now occupied twenty or more California cases which pretty well filled two old open frames. Ten point Caslon 540 was the workhorse. We kept it on top of the frame in a pair of news cases. For $25 we added what must have been the original Gordon press, also without throw-off, made back in the days when somebody thought 9x13 would be a popular size. Operating it with a tenth horsepower motor made it bump along at 1300 impressions per hour. By far the best piece of equipment was an almost new Boston stapler. It should be clear from this list that the Big-Little Print Shop was by no means a shrinking enterprise in spite of the fact that production had declined indirect proportion to the excess of charm passing outside the window. Whether the window attraction had anything to do with the story about to be told will never be known. Mrs. Fred Bahnson had given us copy for the Parent-Teachers Association annual report. It was a long, tough job of typesetting andve decided that Henry should be left free to turn out other work. I set the first page and estimated that the fall report would fill ten or eleven. We had enough type for only one page at a time, so day after day and week after week I went through the routine of setting a single page, proofreading it, printing it, and distributing the type. Finally I got the hundred copies printed, bound, and delivered and gave a sigh of relief Within an hour the telephone rang. It was Mrs. Bahnson's voice saying, 'Edward, I have read through this booklet. YouVe made eighty-three spelling mistakes. You will have to print it over?'that's howl learned to spell. And to keep my eyes strictly on the type case As HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION CAME CLOSERthe specter ofmoney for college grew bigger and bigger. Even so it was not the mountainous specter that high school seniors face today. Most teachers in 1923 taught because they wanted to teach. They were not in it for the money there was no money in teaching and they knew it. No respectable teacher would have traded his independence and the dignity of his profession for the indignity ofcollective bargaining. L 20

35 'Teaching;' said by my brother Theodore after forty years in the classroom, "is a life of giving."this philosophy, along with spartan dormitory quarters and simple sustenance, usually brought a college education within financial reach of any young than who really wanted it. The question was not Whether he could scrape together the funds to go to college, but whether he could measure up to its academic rigors once he was there. You were on your own. It was your responsibility to learn to exercise your brain. No guidance counselors, no automobiles, no grading on the curve, no Spring vacations, and no fishing, tennis or back-packing courses; The one blessing was that if you had had four years of Latin in high school you didn't have to take any more in college. Henry and I took it for granted that we'd go to Chapel Hill, as the University of North Carolina was called. But we began to think it might be fun to stay out a year and earn some money. We could run the print shop and see what full time work was like. Our thoughts of ultimately becoming musicians were very nebulous, but the outlook for a printing career was much clearer. We'd even picked a name for our dreamed-of establishment: "The Caslon Shop:' It would be tops in every way new presses, new type, a sharp blade on the cutter, everything running properly and only top quality work. So became our practice year. It would teach us something put some dollars in our pockets, and give us a taste of what life would be like as a printer. How better could our nineteenth year be spent? After a summer of painfully translating the fifth and sixth books of Virgil required for entrance to the University, cramming an extra year of French into sixweeks, and tellingourhigh school classmates including my beloved goodbye as she and they boarded the train for college, we returned from the railroad station ready to get down to business. On the way backl daringly deposited a news release with the social editor ofthe Journal. It began, "Dorothy Mae Reid, charming daughter of Mr. and Mrs. FrankL. Reid, left yesterday for Asheville..."The dispatch appeared next day in the paper minus the word "charming Thus I learned that the press is not a satisfactory place to publicize one's amorous infatuation. The Indian atop the Capitol in Washington is better. There on an earlier trip I had outmaneuvered the guards, climbed up into the great dome, scaled the last forbidden barricade, scrambled up to the very peak, right under the Indian, and inscribed forever and eternity the initials D MR. Advice from our favorite printer, Ben Franklin, now tooktop priority: "Early to bed, Early to rise....at 7:30 each morning the Big-Little Print Shop was humming. Word got around and jobs came in; not because of the 7:30 start but because, I suppose, so many people wanted us to succeed. I began to discover that when you're pushing out jobs nine, ten, or perhaps even twelve:hours a day your love for type is not all romance. But to be sure that I didn't lose the glamor rd stop occasionally and stare at a case frill of type to remind myself that those letters were born in Jersey City. They'd come out of the same kind of noisy casters that I'd seen. Put together in one way they could express inspiring and uplifting ideas. Put together in another way they could be evil, harmful, cruel. That led me to wonder if different type designs had different tones of voice, like people: harsh tones, soft tones, loving tones, moving tones, convincing exhilarating tones. Its easy to suppose that they do, but do they Accortjng than tmthoruvfruml on the si,etves of the New York Publfr Lthrarv, the,omanilc,ftthv 'ale 'milan CM4 atop the capitol has, alas, cf,ange3iuuo a swnbo& Spüit 4rrreKrnn (weañng a cfirceptiwf l v bi4ian.u$x headtrvs,). 21

36 banc1uet iw really? Over and above the words they say, do the designs themselves affect people's thinking? I could never decide; and that's one factor that led me, later on, to choose psychology as my college major. Most of the local printers welcomed us into the trade. We needed advice, paper, and sometimes type. There were no coffee breaks in 1923, but during lunch hour you could go uptown and find Mr. Scoggin eating a sandwich back by his flatbed press. He was always ready to talk type and discuss the American Type Founders catalog. Once I innocently mentioned something about 16-point type and Mr. Scoggin said he'd give me a dollar for every 16-point line I could find in any type catalog. I'd been taught not to bet, but this was too much of an opportunity, so I turned to Mercantile Gothic on page 693 ofthe ATF catalog and won the dollar. To salve my conscience I didn't take it, but settled for afe' ounces ofprititer's flameproofcleaning fluid considerably safer than the highly flammable gasoline we'd been using to clean the ink tables in the semibasement room ofthe ancient and irreplaceable Inspector's House. Winston-Salem had a new hotel named, of course, the Robert E. Lee. The North Carolina Printers Association was scheduled to hold its convention there in February. Mr. Scoggin and some of the printers invited us to a 40-cent lunch in the Zinzendorf Hotel to make plans for the great event. We took this to mean that the Big-Little Print Shop had won its spurs. That called for a haircut before appearing in the lobby. The group assigned us the task of printing the banquet invitation, and Mr. Scoggin offered the use of his new Parsons type which had a long descending that looked stunning in the word "Banquet." Each printer was given a panel on the mezzanine of the Robert E. Lee where he could show his best work and win his colleagues' plaudits. We put the blue on blue invitation squarely in the middle of our board and surrounded it with brown on brown and green on green letterheads printed on 9-cents -a-pound bond paper. It was our hope that some day in The Caslon Shop we'd be printing on 34-cent Housatonic Bond, but my career as a pressman never got beyond 9-cent sulphite. I still have a little prickofnostalgia when I pass over the bridge in Connecticut where the Merritt Parkway crosses the Housatonic River. On-the-spot estimating was always embarrassing. It happened regularly when you picked up ajob, or even when somebody brought one in. Always. There was no way to get around it You'd look at the copy and make a mental guess ofwhat it ought to cost; but that wasn't very professional, would probably have sounded too high, and you certainly needed to justify the price. So you'd begin writing down estimates of the composition, paper, presswork, ink, distribution, folding and binding if any. All the while you were keeping each item very low because the customer was watchingyou, yet trying to keep it high enough to add up to the total you'd guessed at If you thought you weren't going to reach that total or sometimes even if you knew you were you'd add on what we called "4 x" which mystified the customer but didn't give away your secret It was our shorthand for what we called "the nuisance of doing the job;' and the client didn't have nerve enough to ask you what 4x meant because down in his heart he knew he shouldift have been peeping atyour figures. Years later I learned that in real life this problem is regularly encountered by all estimators, but they have learned to face it without embarrassment Indeed they have the courage to give it a much bolder name than our 4 x. It is the plus in "cost-plus:' 22

37 By the end of our nine month stint in the print shop we were headed for what might have developed into a serious career. One orderftom the Hanes Knitting Mills came to almost 700,000 2-color impressions. Another for Arista Mills totalled a million inspection slips. But the time had come to go to Chapel Hill, and the Big-Little Print Shop's bank account stood at an impressive $2297. In an economy boasting 9-cent bond paper, 40-cent lunches in a private dining room at the Zinzendorj and $60 tuition at Chapel Hill, $2297 would go a long way. Amongthe lessons learnedthere's one I've often passed along. Whenever I see a boy considering a year of work between high school and college I pat him on the back and say, "Go to it. It will help you become mature enough to appreciate college. You'll get a little taste of what life will be like afterwards. You'll be more confident, better able to make thoughtful decisions. It should teach you thrift and put a few dollars in your pocket:' Show me a better way for an 18-year-old to use twelve months. I heartily recommend that if at all possible he be his own boss during that year. He should leave no stone unturned to find something to do where he has full responsibility PERHAPS BECAUSE WE WERE A YEAR OLDERHenry and I were not nearly so lost in college as most of the other Freshmen. We were scared stiff, of course, but found that ifyou did precisely what you were expected to do, college was not very different from running the print shop. You were given an assignment, and delivery had to be made on time. We were accustomed to both requirements. Allow a little leeway and you could probably meet the schedule. There didn't seem to be much more to it than that, and our report cards at the end ofthe term supported that view. Before leaving Winston-Salem we'd been told by several adults not by our parents of course that when we returned at Christmas we'd be smoking and drinking. I only half believed it, but kept waiting for that moment to arrive. I'm still waiting. We were proud to be a part ofthe University. "The University ofnorth Carolina" had such a distinguished sound. Walking across the campus I'd sometimes whisper to myself 'I'm a student atthe University ofnorth Carolina." It made me feel an inch taller. But one morning The Daily Tar Heel brought grevious news. Benjamin Duke had offered $80,000,000 to the University if it would change its name to Duke University. In history class we were all agog with fear for the future of our beloved U.N.C. Henry and I had gone through a similar experience once before: our ancientbut proud Winston-Salem High School hadburned to the ground and the new one was named, to our lasting sorrow, R.J. Reynolds High School. Eighty million dollars was an almost inconceivable amount of money in those days; it would be nearly a billion today. Dr. Wagstaff came into the classroom and sized up the situation. "Gentlemen," he said, "I thinlçl know what's onyourmind. I predict that the Univrsityof North Carolina will never change its name."and it never did. Mr. Duke offered the money to Trinity College in Durham. I imagine the trustees must have had some misgivings about what Saint Peter would say to them for scuttling the name Trinity in favor of tobaccostained Duke, but it's possible that the magnificent Duke University Chapel helped square accounts. I"The %VeW' at the certterof the campus. A symbol aj the Univemttv A. 491

38 D &bv&r $O'bJ 10 gep &&LZTVS p f 21/C 4fl WRI9WKJe B P Tè A cw \rsyao't t IDIBAJEO' UAPF P2TZ GHGAi1 T,DhtYO& Henry and I had never done much singingbefore we came to college, but it was assumed that Moravian boys would be good singers, so when word came around that the Glee Cub was going to Kansas City we joined up. It was an exciting trip. A wonderful long train ride through Asheville, Louisville, and across the Mississippi. One of the baritones was George Stephens who ultimately became a printer-publisher and a friend for life. At heart George was a naturalist and loved to explore the trails in his native North Carolina mountains. After college he ingeniously mixed pleasure with business by authoring and publishing wildflower and tree identification manuals, maps and guidebooks for the Great Smokies at a Lime when these mountains were relatively remote and inaccessible. His press, moreover, played an active role in keeping alive for limited use the remarkable alphabet developed by Cherokee Indians more than a hundred and fifty years ago. For his many contributions to the cultural advancement ofwestern North Carolina he was, in later life, honored by the University and his beloved city of Asheville, but in Glee Club days we knew him chiefly as an upperclassman who did not look on inexperienced freshmen with disdain. By the time we returned from Kansas City Henry and I were growling a pretty good bass, and that led to a totally unexpected source ofincome. Hymn singing at the tri-weekly chapel services was so weak that some alumnus who remembered the good old days presented the Music Department with a fifty dollarbill to increase the volume. Freshman attendance at chapel was compulsory, but by joining the paid octette you jülfllled your attendance requirement and earned a dollar a month, almost five percent of your food costs. It all helped. I did no printing in Chapel Hill. Henry set type occasionally at the distinguished little Chapel Hill Weekly quoted from time to time in the New York dailies. I wish I'd had the experience of setting type for that paper. Had I then the same appreciation for weeklies as now, I'd have followed Henry into the composingroom and made myselfuseflil. It was William Allen White, revered editor oftheemporia (Kansas)Gazette who, sixty years ago, opened many eyes with his discerning editorial about weeklies: "When the girl at the glove-counter marries the boy in the wholesale house, the news of their wedding is goodfor aforty-line wedding notice, and the forty lines in the country paper gives them selfrespect. When in due course we know that their baby is a twelve-pounder named Grover or Theodore or Woodrow, we have that neighborly feeling that breeds real democracy. When we read of death in that home we can mourn with them that mourn... Therefore, men and bretheren, when you are riding through this vale of tears upon the California Limited, and bychance pickup a country newspaper... don't throw down the contemptible little rag with the verdict that there is nothing in it. But know this, and know it well; jfyou could take the clayfrom your eyes and read the little paper as it is written, you wouldjind all of God's beautijiil, sorrowing, struggling, aspiring world in it, and what you saw would make you touch the little sheet with reverent hands:' That's why I wisl-.r I'd set type for the ChapelHill Weekly. It would have been an honor to have helped transform into print the words ofa worthy editor - one who closely approached the eloquence of Editor White - and to have used the craftsmanship ofmy own fingers to that end. So I missed a chance to broaden my horizon. But the second term of Freshman history helped make up for it. Dr. Anscombe, a Quaker from 24

39 England, taught the course. Somehow you knew he was a great teacher and a great person. We had that vividly confirmed on final exam. The exam consisted of five questions to be answered in three hours. I allotted thirty minutes to each, leaving half an hour for revisions. When time was called Henry woke up in shockbecause he'd finished only two questions. Dr. Anscombe walked down to his desk, picked up Henry's quiz book, read a few pages and closed it. We all wondered what he was going to say. Henry was probably the best student in the class, but 40 on the final would fail him. None of us wanted that. Yet Dr. Anscombe had to be fair to those who had answered all five. After a moment's thought he said, "Gentlemen, you're witnessing in capsulejbrm a real-life equivalent ofmany of the historic situations we have studied this term. Important decisions are rarelyeasy decisions. There are rarely clear-cut simple answers. Every one of you knows that Henry is a good student. This course, I hope, showed you that there are memorable occasions when blind adherence to the letter of the law negates the spirit of the law. That great spiritualguidebook the NewTestament, tells us, in effect, thatyou don't have to eat the whole pie to know it's good. laccept this paper and will judge it on quality, not ajuantity" He gave him A on the course. And I thinkwe all gave Dr. Anscombe an A on the course too. As I look back it seems to me that in my youth I came into contact with an unusual number of adults who passed along gems of wisdom thdi turned into valuable guideposts later on. I hope that somebody is passing out such gems to the rising generation, and that the rising generation is not too absorbed with TV to take them in THE NEXT YEAR Henry changed direction, went up to Pennsylvania and attended Moravian College in Bethlehem. My year was unsettled, but I completed most of my college courses through the mail while living at home. Ayear of university experience had matured me abit In a routine way I had always appreciated my home surroundings, my parents, my brother, and my younger sisters Elizabeth and Jane; but after a taste of Chapel Hill home became more meaningful, more valuable. Most of all I began to realize the dedicated job that Mother and Dad had done and were still doing in rescuing Salem College from a troubled past The Civil War and indecisive leadership thereafter had plunged the institution deeply into debt and in 1909 my parents were called from Bethlehem's Moravian College to nurse the southern institution backto health. What they did in those trying years at Salem has never been told more vividly than by Mr.Tally who became superintendent of grounds under an earlier administration. Before his retirement he was asked by one of the teachers, Elizabeth Zachary, to comment on the changes he had seen since These she recorded verbatim, and gave them to my parents for their private treasury ofmemories: "When he first come here he found some of the things back in the seventies. For instances thefirin' like. The house girls had to git up and go through the dormitories and make fires in wood stoves and coal stoves. The big move he made was putting in this modem big steam plant. Another good move he made was: he come here andfound sixty head of hogs and twenty-five head of cattle and the good move he made was to git rid of this which was very much ofan improvement. 25

40 26 'And then the sanitary condition of the place: when he come here the place was a multitude offlies. Then where you saw a million flies, now' you hardly see afly. 'the ne4 move would be where he tore down seventeen old constructed buildings. Since that time he has put up seven new buildings: Boiler House and Laundry, South Hall extension, and then would come the Alice Clewell, then come the Infirmary next, and of course the three who went up on the same time: the Adademy, the Louisa Bitting Building, and the Practice House. He did which made 50% better improvement in the old buildings and paintin'and plumbin'and hotwatersystem. Each thing was done as the money come up these things was worked in. 'You teachers can workup the school part. Ofcourse with the old set of teachers we had it was different. Now with the more modem teachers, it's better. It's more automatic, more system about it. 16 much easier to handle. For instance, we go to pull offa play; everything is more organfte and goes offwith much better satisfaction, without any comznotion. "Improvement over the laundry. Hefound the condition of the laundry just one stepfrom paddlin' the clothes on the brook. The one step forward he found was that they het the water outdoors in lttles and poured the hot water in tubs and used wash boards. It wentfr-om that to electric washing machines, steam-heatin' or boilin' the clothes with steam, and electric mangles which we are usin' now. "We onced used to keep horses on the place. Well, they done then the jàrmin', gardenin', all the haulin'such asfreight, trunk, coal. Where now we have a truckwhere we can do three orfour times the servfce we could do that day with a team. Then there is all the carriage work They used the carriage a sight. They would take my team in the middle of hayin and you had to hay-while the sun shined. Sometimes the team would be at carriagefor three orfour days and the hay lay on thejleld. "It much easier now to keep your he 1p. It's veryhard to train new help more than any would think Well, Charlie worked with me four year, awayjburyear, and lie's been back now twenty-one year. That's the main one. But there's 011ie too. "I been here thirty-three year, and Miss Anna been here sixteen year bejbre that. Ikjnda thought over everything and I think that's about all." IfElizabeth Zachary had questioned Miss Anna the response might not have been as colorfully worded, but she would have opened a flood ofmemories about Mother's countless (and unsubsidized) contributions to the College's welfare: buying the edibles, planning the menus, hiring and supervising the kitchen staff the housekeeping staff, the laundry. staff, and keeping it all running smoothly; entertaining dignitaries and often parents, serving as mother to three hundred girls, raising her own four children, and teaching Sunday School every Sunday. Those are just the highlights. Miss Anna and Mr. Tally weren't alone in seeing what Mother and Dad were doing for the College. Over in Chapel Hill the University trustees knew about them too and, after the untimely death of President E. K. Graham, asked Dad to take Over the reins of the University. He turned the oflér down the highest scholastic position in the State and it was years later that I learned of the enormous devotion and loyalty prompting that decision: 'there were others who couldfill the job at Chapel Hill, but the Church had no one elsefor Salem College." It sure didn't.

41 THE SUMMER OF 1926 brought the two inseparable pals together again in the print shop and playing in the orchestras. An odd set ofcircumstances gave us a chance to go to Dayton to sing in the baritone section of A picture the great Westminster Choir, and be students in the first class of the of the lyesbninstzr Choir Westminster Choir School, which has since become the Westminster Choir College in Princeton. With less than sixty in the school and choir we were a very close knit group totally free from the bickering and jealousies that infect so many performers. This was due to the leadership and example ofour dedicated director, Dr. John Finley Williamson. Every day we were lifted by his inspirational Christ-like magnetism. He was an idealist, a perfectionist, an inspirer and motivator of young people, and with undaunted spirit and vigor pursued his goal of developing choir directors dedicated to raising the spiritual quality and artistic level of church music. It is important to remember that widespread music appreciation today is largely the result of recent aids to ear training: radio, long plying records, and music in the schools. Near the bottom of musical merit in 1926 were volunteer church choirs, and these Dr. Williamson sought to raise to a meaningful role in worship. It was a worthy objective, and thousands ofexcellentvolunteer choirs in churches today can trace their roots backto the influence of Dr. Williamson and Westminster. To spread this message the choir toured for two months each year, singing almost every night in cities and towns from Wisconsin to Texas to Georgia to Masssachusetts and back to Dayton. We sang the best of church music in Carnegie Hall, with the Cincinnati Symphony, in Albany Cathedral, in a tiny Texas oil town, in churches, colleges, auditoriums, and even to a select and influential audience in the DuPont greenhouse in Wilmington. It was a priceless experience both intellectually and spiritually. It made Henry a minister of music, and it almost made me a church musician or some kind of fill time church worker. But after two years I knew that I could never make the grade musically, and that I'd better do what I could do well: Print. I remember telling this to Dr. Williamson. He concealed his disappointment, but I knew I was bringing pain to this great teacher who had given me his best and who meant more to me than any teacher in my life. I was sorry to fail him, to turn my back on the hopes and expectations he had for me; but I knew that my role could be only with the visual word, not with the audible one THE FINAL YEAR AT CHAPEL HILL was fill to the brim. It combined much ofmyjunior and all ofmy Senior work. I selected physics as a minor and psychology as a major and delighted in them both. In psychology I signed up for a year of specialized research aimed at finding the answer to a question that had been in the back of my mind since Big-Little Print Shop days: Do different type faces really affect people in different ways? The research, however, had a far more practical objective: paving the way for ajob in NewYork. I would have preferred going to California but Dorothy, the girl I had met in ninth grade high school algebra class, was now in NewYork, a student at the Presbyterian Hospital School ofnursing. That magnet I could not resist. - * wdi be fl'und on poge

42 One thing bothered me about psychological tests. It still bothers me, unless they've improved them a lot since A good test is intended to measure involuntary or instinctive responses to a particular stimulus; but tests are not designed or administered in a way that keeps you from knowing that you're being tested. Merely the fact that you know you're being given a test puts you on the defensive. To measure an involuntary response the one who's being tested must not know he's being tested; otherwise his response will be consciously controlled and perhaps willfilly distorted. At the very least I intended to demonstrate that it was possible to design and administer a test in which the subject did not know he was being tested, or certainly not what he was being tested for. As I looked at the few experiments conducted on typefaces I was unimpressed. People with many degrees after their names had held up cards printed in different types, had asked the subjects which was easiest to read, had counted the eye fixations and come up with some fancy answers. I thought I could do better than that, and I think I did. I was determined that the person being tested should not know what he was being tested for. So I wrote a paragraph of strong selling copy that did not identify any particular product and could be applied, I thought, equally well to thumb tacks, to bulldozers, to anything and everything. I hoped to set this copy in ten different typefaces and print each setting on a separate sheet ofpaper. Armed with this material I would go from room to room through the dormitories showing only one of the settings to the student in that particular room, asking him what he thought it advertised. In each successive room I would show a different typeface, so that by the time I had entered ten rooms I would have received one answer to each of the ten typefaces. Even if students talked to each other about "that funny thing Ed brought around" they would never suspect that they had read the message printed in a different typeface than seen by the other students. I hoped at least that the answers given for the sheets printed in heavy Sphinx would be significantly different from those given for the sheets in Old English. Before spending any money on typesetting however, my strategy called for writing letters to twenty New York typographers - on Department of Psychology letterheads with Department of Psychology postage inviting comments on the project The real objective, not mentioned in the letter, was to introduce myselfto possible employers in NewYork. It worked well and I got several replies. Melbert Cary at Continental Typefounders offered to set the ten versions in their newest typefaces at cost - a cost gladly borne by the Department of Psychology! That's the nearest lever came to getting a grant of any kind. So I moved ahead with the research, got 40 responses to each typeface, could draw no significant conclusions, passed the course, graduated on my twenty-fourth birthday and, scared stiff, headed for NewYorlç guitar in hand and addresses of six unwittingly snared Itypographers in my pocket. 28

43 ART DIRECTOR HARRY ROBERTS at the old Montague Lee Company on the l2th floor of2l6 East45th Street was my best prospect. I made straight for hini. He asked me how much money I'd brought to NewYoric About $77How long could I live on it? Eight weeks. Would I take ajob without pay for eight weeks and prove my ability? Indeed I would! And that's how I got my foot in the door just three months before the Wall Street crash of October Every daywas exciting. I lived in a $2-a-weekroom at70 Saint Nicholas Place, an address that sounded sumptuous to my parents who knew nothing about the rental figure or my salary. The trip downtown each morning on the Ninth Avenue elevated included a thrilling swing around the high banked curves at 110th Street, and the many newspapers piled high on the stands fascinated me. I began to feel that I was part of the whole gigantic New York publishing business. When an ad I'd designed appeared in the Times it was news to write home about, and proof-of-achievement to show atthe Presbyterian Hospital School ofnursing. Bauhaus typography was new in America. Montague Lee had imported the first Futura; Kurt yolk was getting Erbar; Kabel would soon come in on the ships. I was sent down to the docks to expedite Naudin and Naudin Italic through customs. Everything was moving fast and Mr. Roberts was my teacher par excellence. He had good reason to be: he planned a trip to Spain just as soon as I could be trusted with some responsibility which, it turned out, was the following February. I learned to copyfit accurately so typesetting would be neither too long nor too short to fit a given area; I could letter Naudin Italic in layouts with some degree of skill; I could make Bauhaus layouts all over the Place; I was learning the fine points ofpapers, particularly the handmade sheets ofthejapan Paper Company and Canson Montgolfier, and I had a business card that read "Edward Rondthaler, Assistant Art Director:' What more could I want? Mr. Roberts felt, I suppose, that my social life needed proper direction so, being unaware of my Saint Nicholas Place address, he prevailed on one of his socially prominent ftiends (the rector's wife at The Little Church Around the Corner) to have me admitted to the Dessoff Choir whose rehearsals were held across the street from Carnegie Hall. It was a shattering experience. An audition would have disqualified me instantly, but my Westminster credentials unfortunately ushered me straight through into the baritone section with a portfolio of music the like of which I hope I never see again. I was accustomed to music that had some harmony: Bach, Palestrina, Handel, Dickenson, Latrobe, and other church composers. This was utter dissonace, mostly atonal, for professionals; not for me. It must have been composed by Aaron Copeland or his kin, and my enthusiasm for avant garde in graphics had not yet rubbed offinto music. Madame Dessoff, a strict and powerful conductress, delighted in the exotic passages and screaming dissonances. Most of the sopranos and tenors and even some of the altos and basses went along with her enthusiasm; but I knew they werejust kidding themselves - nobody could like that stuff; and if they weren't bluffing they were people far too sophisticated for me. I stuckit out for one performance in Town Hall and then vanished into the darkness. Aa Bb Cc Dd lisp Fill At B4WJEeF/QgAA Nausiin and Nawftn Itaftcfrom cxotic Paris. 29

44 ._ 30 u,s Occasionally in the music section of the Times I now see the announcement of a performance by the DessoffChoir, and wonder ifsome boy from the South is doing better than I did with his initiation into Manhattan society. But NewYorkis big, and there were plenty of people to meet. Most of them came, as I, from elsewhere. They, too, were thrilled with the excitement of the city. They'd explored many exotic enclaves all around Manhattan, and were thoroughly familiar with the island's layout and geography. I wanted to become equally knowledgeable and did everything possible to acquaint myself with the ins and outs of the island. At one point I compiled material for my own private guidebook: How to See New York for a Nickel. It listed more than a hundred interesting sights visible from elevated trains: sailmakers at work in a loft on Pearl Street; Chinese typesetters in a composing roomjust below Pell; musical instrument repairmen in a third floor window along Sixth Avenue; a look into tenement living quarters as the train cut close to buildings cornering Front Street and Coenties Slip; flop houses along the Bowery; jujitsu classes on Second Avenue; sidewalk markets on Allen; the Fat Man's Shop on Third Avenue; window shades drawn through Hell's Kitchen; boats on the Harlem River; the Polo Grounds; the Yankee Stadium; the backofthe Post Office; the backofthe Woolworth Building the backof almost every important building on the Island. Manhattan was an endless source of fascination and enjoyment. Gradually I began to realize that there was a vast population ofnative New Yorkers who knew little about the city beyond the limits of their daily dash between home and work. One day jack Wilke, whose desk was next to mine, made a phone call that showed both of us what incredibly stunted horizons some New Yorkers have, particularly regarding the insular nature ofthe cityjackcalled Information. "I'd like the number ofjames Rawson at 29 East 69th Street, Manhattan Island." A minute passed, perhaps two; then the Voice with a Smile returned. "fln sorry but we havc no telephones listedjor Manhattan Island." The Wall Street crash was making everybody shudder, but it was nothing compared to the crash that hit Montague Lee Company on December 23rd. the day I bid my fiancée, Dorothy Reid, goodbye as she boarded the overnight train for Winston-Salem in preparation for our marriage early in April. The crash that hit us on that fateful day was delivered by our one and only big account, Lord Thomas and Logan. It opened up its own typographic shop! At a single blow 90 percent of our business vanished. Panic prevailed, but we limped on. In February Mr. Roberts, not one to let business interfere with pleasure, went to Spain. I was left in charge of layout By some pure magic it fell my lot to design the announcement for the gala opening of the new Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue. That was really something to send backto Winston-Salem. Very very slowly on my $15-a-week salary I'd saved a precious hundred and twelve dollars for our April honeymoon, to be spent first among the peach blossoms near Chapel Hill and then in Grove Park Inn, Asheville's millionaire resort hotel and the dream of every North Carolina girl. I had naïvely plotted to overwhelm the Grove Park desk clerk by flashing a hundred dollar bill when the time came to checkout But

45 he saw through my scheme and quickly knocked the wind out of it by casually giving me change as if it were an everyday routine, and it probably was. I deserved that slap, and more. Our last lap of the honeymoon was glorified with the deluxe Presidential Suite ofthe S.S. George Washington on its overnight ocean voyage from Norfolk to New York. We landed at a lower Manhattan pier and taxied to 44 West Tenth Street where an aunt had given us her spacious apartment while she spent the summer in Europe. This apartment and my salary were about as incongruous as you could get, but it gave us a brieftaste ofnewyork elegance until we were on our own. The summer of1930 was a bitter one for many NewYorkers. Twice on lower Fifth Avenue I saw policemen gathered around a sheet placed over a body lying on the sidewalk, and knew that another Wall Street investor had jumped from a window. For Montague Lee it was a summer of panic decisions. First came consolidation with another typographer, Fred Phillips; followed by an illconceived ad in Advertising Age loudly proclaiming that Lee & Phillips was the largest typographic house in the world. That lost some more accounts and left a bad taste in many mouths. But not in mine. I was thrilled to a be a part of the biggest in type, and believed that the consolidation would work. On the composing room floor we had, in addition to an enormous amount offoundry type, four Monotypes that helped us win a "Fifty Books of the Year" award. Mr. Roberts knew all the fine points ofbook design and in me he had an avid student. From him I learned about end papers, marbleizing, half titles, titles, two- and three-line initials, running heads, introductory folios in Roman numerals, classical margins, facing pages treated as a unit in the William Morris style, 4-to-the-em spacing, the use of small caps... on and on ad infinitum. I was also beginningto recognize the typographic greats. Several of them including Al Schiller, Melbert Cary, Kurt Volk. and Fred Farrar worked in the same block or even in the same building, and I'd often say "Good morning:' Then Mr. Lee and Mr. Phillipshit on a promotional tour de force. They sponsored three scholarly lectures on type: one by Fred Goudy, one by Carl Rollins, and one by Bill Rushmore, all famous in type, all good speakers. My job was to projectthe slides on the screen. In those days all slides were 3 x4" glass. Strong refreshments attracted plenty of production men, and thereby hangs a tale: John Adams Thayer, an old ad man of the period, had attached himself to Lee & Phillips and couldn't be shaken loose. He was a relative of somebody and we had to treat him with respect. When Mr. Thayer heard about the lectures he offered to give a slide presentation of advertising as it was in Mr. Lee put him off until the last lecture but finallygave in and allowed him ten minutes before Mr. Rushmore started. The slides were terrible in every way. They should have been given humorous treatment, but Mr. Thayer's commentary was dead serious, and the cat calls from the well moistened audience made him angry. Matters moved from bad to worse slide by slide, and I was getting more and more upset when suddenly I projected an ad with the blazing headline "Mothers! Mothers! Try this Sure Cure for Bed-Wetting:" That broke up the place. We never got things settled down. Mr. Roberts had presence of mind enough to adjourn the party and apologize to Mr. Rushmore who never gave his speech. That was the last we saw of Mr. Thayer. 31

46 r Soni. typical c'catnpies arc shon,t on p.l9es 148 and 149 r. it#r Dorothy and I had moved into a one-room apartment in a made-over tenement alongside the last stable on WestTwelfth Street #354. It was quite Bohemian and we liked to think of ourselves as real Greenwich Villagers. We visited art shows, ate at Beatrice near Abingdon Square, at thejumble Shop on Eighth treeçand did various things that Mr. Roberts suggested would be correct for an aspiring young art director. I copied him in every way Icould, even to wearing a bowler and carrying a cane properly called a "stick" But there was one big difference between us: I loved my work, he hated his. This was fortunate for me because he'd steer the tough jobs my way, introduce me to interesting clients, and let me carry on while he left early and tookhis wife to their favorite speakeasy. He kept me abreast of whatever was new, and tried to develop in me his design sensitivity and exquisite taste. Afler two years it came to an end. Lee & Phillips was goingfiirther and further downhill as the Great Depression deepened. A second move was made into smaller quarters across the street on the ninth floor of #235, and I was all that remained ofthe art department. But it kept me busy. We had no big clients, only specialty accounts requiring lots of attention. This allowed me freedom to experiment because most of the clients welcomed originality. It led to layouts for music, layouts in rebus, in foreign languages, and even in composition that I called "onomatopoeic typography" an effort to record inflection on the printed page. Much of our typesetting was reproduced in other forms than letterpress: gravure, lithography, photo-offset, silk screen, gelatin and collotype. These were all glamorous areas of printing that I'd heard about but little understood. Gradually I caught on. One of the specialty accounts was General Printing Ink Corp., an amalgamation ofmost ofthe inkcompanies that had notjoined together to make International Printing Ink. It included Eagle Ink, American Ink, Fuchs & Lang, and several others, among them the prestigious Sigmund Ullman Co. Back in Big-Little Print Shop days we had used Eagle Inks, but hoped for the day when our "Caslon Shop" would have cans bearing the label Sigmund Ullman. So I felt I was among highly esteemed friends. I knew very little about inks, but kept quiet, listened, and stuck close to Herb Kaufman in the advertising department. He was my age, related to the Ullmans, and ordered most of the typesetting. Herb and I shared an enthusiasm for modem design. The first fully streamlined car I ever saw was his DeSoto an avant garde beetle shape that preceded the VW by some years. For amusement one day Herb was showing me photos of old lithographic metal decorating presses inherited from Fuchs & Lang by the new Rutherford Machinery Division ofgpi. "Decorating," I learned, was a fancy name for lithographic printing on metal. Some of the machines had elaborately curled cast iron feet, and the pictures looked as if they might have been taken in the '90s. One of them was tilled "Collapsible Tube Decorating Press" and it was years later I discovered that the tube was collapsible, not the press! Somewhere mixed up among the photos was one labeled "Ogden Letter.Machine." It looked very Rube Goldberg but not ofl890 vintage. Herb knew little about it except that it had been a disappointment and was on the way to being shelved. But it marked the beginning of a new direction for me, and here is the story: 32

47 Ashley Ogden was a Baltimore inventor and prbmoter. During the early he developed a very successful photographic step & repeat machine used by photo-lithographers to prepare printing plates requiring accurate repetition of a single image, like a.sheet of postage stamps, or larger areas such as a wall paper pattern, a textile design, or multiple repeats of labels, etc. In 1928 he tried to adapt this principle to a much smaller machine to be used by financial printers in making what were known as "pantograph tints" for backgrounds of checks. Most checks were printed by lithography, and if you looked careflilly at the background you could see a mosaic ofhundreds oflittle interlocked patterns containing the name of the bank woven into some distinctive design. A pantograph tintbackground was difficult and expensive to make by hand or transfer. Ogden foresaw that a small step & repeat machine could expedite this laborious tasksigniflcantly. Somewhere in his planning he realized that if the exposures were made by projection, through a lens, rather than in the vacuum contact manner of his earlier and larger machines, the production speed would increase quite substantially. If he had stopped at that point he could soon have met with success because the machine ultimately produced pantograph tints rapidly and well. Not satisfied to stop there, however, he looked beyond to the possibility ofintroducingnegatives ofcomplete alphabets which when moved from letter to letter would enable this same machine to expose different letters one after another and thus compose the name ofthe bankdiredfly over the pantograph tint background. The mechanism for spacing these letters was a complex series ofreduction gears far too crude for the task. Composing words photographically had been tried as early as 1893, and many times before Ogden's day, but the extreme precision required to achieve a commercially and artistically acceptable product had always proved beyond reach. Ogden's first model with a film alphabet negative wrapped around a drum was a total disaster. In the same year, 1928, Harold Norman graduated from the Cincinnati Art Academy, not far firom his home in New Richmond, and came to Baltimore to visit an uncle, Judge Dickerson of the Maryland Supreme Court. Harold's skills matched the precision, taste and manual dexterity of his father who was a jeweler and fine timepiece mechanician. Curiously, a distant maternal uncle was the noted Leon Trotsky, a leader of the Russian revolution in Fifty years ago when Russia was a vast never-never land exploring new theories of fairness to all, any link with this mysterious country was considered glamorous indeed. We now thinkofit quite differently; we thinkofit in terms ofmissiles, submarines, and atomic bombs; It is difficultto turn the clockback. but many feel that if Uncle Leon had not been exiled by the government he helped create, the story of Russia might well have been a very different one: he might have been able to introduce in more orderly and praiseworthy manner the ideals he so vigorously championed, and we would now regard this immense nation with greater esteem. Be that as it may, the uncle would surely have been surprised to learn that a nephew, even a very distant nephew, was destined to play a leading role in quite another kind of revolution the photo-typesetting revolution, with its own set of aims and ideals. It was the traits of Harold's father, however, not those of his uncle, that played such a large part in the soils career. Judge Dickersoils wife, Aunt Mary, was anything but controversial. She was a much beloved aunt and made it possible for Harold to remain I_1 SW view is shown on pane 'so 33

48 4.1 N 1,110. G- 3JJ t L't ( 41 I u1cl lwco( Pc,rt4pho&ts with mannerisms characteristic of ta Note that the script &airiines to notjoin the bolter st,kes, ant that certain roman lena, have very. nwnttnnoi little titles. The ear lv Pfasfrrttosigns an now preserves in Photo-Lettering's historic library. in Baltimore and put his artistic and mechanical talents to work. He rented desk space from Ashley Ogden, and in the course of time met Phyllis Playford, his future wife and daughter ofa skilled stone engraver. One of the first freelance jobs to come Harold's way was lettering for the Camel cigarette package. He did not create the design, of course, but in the absence ofa lithographer's regular letterer Harold was called on to execute the finished art. Ogden knew nothing about letter design, and soon sought help from the young freelancer who became fascinated with the whole idea of photographic lettering and helped Ogden build his models 2 and 3, which abandoned the reductiongears and leaned more heavilyon visual control of spacing. But the precision required again outstripped the angle iron "Meccano" approach being used. Ogden was primarily a promoter. Money was running out. He sensed that the project was clearly beyond his skill and that it was time to find a buyer and abandon ship. The General Printing Ink management proved to be an easy mark. They were flush with the enthusiam of amalgamation and swallowed Ogden's presentation whole. It seemed to be just the thing for their new Rutherford Machinery Company to develop. So up came Model 3 from Baltimore to Rutherford, New Jersey, and along with it young Harold Hormari. That was in Rutherford's plans for the new machine were, at first, expansive. Mr. George Playford, a long-time, highly accomplished stone engraver at Islar Thompset Lithographers in St. Louis was employed by Rutherford to design alphabets. Since the sales effort was to be focused on check and bank printers Mr. Playford's designs contained the subtle mannerisms that lithographic engravers ofbank stationery considered the hallmarkoftheir trade. There were others at Rutherford engaged in the project. I can remember hearing of Otto Reimers, and a man by the name of Zimmermann who had something to do with the machine. I also have seen the initials P.0]. orj.q.p. on some records, and was told that these were written with a great flourish by one who for a short time managed the paperwork for the department. In 1932 the first and most obvious moves toward improving the machine's precision were begun, but before much progress had been made Zimmermann, Reimers and P.Q.J. were dismissed, Mr. Playford died, and only Harold Horman andjulian DeWette, a young apprentice mechanic, remained. No green pastures were in sight. One thing that kept opposing every effort to mechanize composition techniques for the financial industry was a deep feeling that whatever was done by machine could be counterfeited rather easily, a feeling that the stone engravers kept very much alive. Todd Litho in Rochester was among the first to buck this opposition. It introduced a short cut for lettering the names of officers listed across the top or down the side of bank letterheads. Traditionally these names appeared in a very light sans serif style that could not be matched in type. On sheets of lightweight paper Todd printed fill alphabets of this thin sans serif, five times larger than the names would finally appear. Individual letters were cut out as needed and pasted down one after another to compose an officer's name. Words like PRESIDENT or SECRETARY were printed as single units. When complete, the entire composition was reduced photographically to one-fifth size and combined with elaborate 34

49 hand engraving of the bank's name in script or a typical banknote style. This method, with added refinements, was later called "process lettering" and is used even today in certain classes ofwork. As mentioned earlier, the idea of setting type photographically was conceived long before Ogden's day. The first American photosetter patent was granted just seven years after the Linotype made its bow. Ten years earlier similar activity had taken place in England. Both here and abroad the patent office files between 1890 and 1930 record a long list of photo-typesetting disappointments.' It is a mistake, however, to compare this early activity with the jiantic effort to mechanize metal composition. There was no crying need for photo. No newspaper was offering a prize to the successful inventor; even a successful machine would have had a hard time finding a buyer. Ogden's first goal, it should be remembered, was merely to develop a small rapid step & repeat machine for pantograph tints. Perhaps almost as an afterthought he foresaw that it would be more useful ifit surprinted lettering over the tint. This in turn led to still more elaborate ideas like setting bankletterheads orbond and stockcertificates which, atthe time, were laboriously engraved on stone. It is not surprising then, that Rutherford's enthusiasm cooled off when the stark realities began to surface: the simplicity of paste-down process lettering, the strong resistance of litho engravers to any soft of mechanization, the general fear of counterfeiting, the inaccuracy of Ogden's first models, and the difficulty of selling expensive equipment in depression years. These realities would probably have led Rutherford to bury the whole project except for an odd set ofcircumstances in which I was fortunate to have a part. That brings the story, as related to me later by Harold Herman, up to the time I saw the photograph in Herb Kaufitan's office and learned that the project was a disappointment and ready to be shelved. Knowing none of the good reasons for abandonment, I urged Herb not to let the machine be dropped until I could see it. He probably shrugged his shoulders but was glad to find even one person who was interested. 'In the early a manual step & repeat mice was used to set Japanese successftslti'. fle unique ticaum, of this apparatus was that it surprinteti overpnnies exposuresfroin negatives of basic uieographic shapes. Sass composing or bui(sfing up a reeoynizabie ideoynun (wont) roughly centered within a predètennined square. Breaking daunt Japanese script into a manageable munber of mat shapes was indeed a scholarly achievement, but once this was accomplished the positioning, exposing and surpnnting to a cheebrbawd pattern was mechanically quite simple - Therefre the Japanese cj3bsi contributed Uttie towant solving the acodensicoilv simple but niechanicaliv eontplex combination of precision aiigmnent and vaiiable spacing required iv Western letters. 'Len I REMEMBER WELL with what anticipation I tookmy first walkftom the Rutherford station alongside the Erie railroad track a walkthat I would take many times again. I came at last to the ancient one story brickbuilding capped with a shiny new sign RUTHERFORD MACHINERY DIVISION OF GENERAL PRINTING INKCORPORATION. Inside it was about what you'd expectto find: the hum ofdrill presses and milling machines, the smell of oil and metal shavings, everything that goes along with precision machine manufacture. It was very differentj1om walking into American Type Founders. I certainly was not going to find a Mr. Bullen with his vast and scholarly library. No indeed. This would be primitive, spartan as Gutenberg and for the same reason. A separate room had been assigned to the development of photolettering. It was quieter there, and large windows looked out on the treelined street I met Harold Herman and Julian DeWette for the first time. They were busy with things brand new to me, and in my state of mind it was easy to feel that here was the greatest thing since Gutenberg -as indeed it proved to be. 35

50 For the first few minutes I floated on Cloud 9 while Harold showed me the machine itself; the alphabet plates, and turned on the light so I could see letters projected and let my imagination fill in the details. At the time I didni know it, but the details my imagination filled in just weenk there. That was the trouble. That was the whole trouble, as I began to realize and came down slowly to earth where I have generally remained since but not without an occasional cloud-borne excursion. The machine was inoperative that day, so Harold and I confined ourselves to a discussion of its merits on days when it operated properly. (Much later I learned that a more realistic discussion would have focused on Ways to get it to operate properly, since inoperation was its normal state.) As we talked I began to realize that for today's typography none ofthe old engraved type styles were suitable. The machine, Harold said, had good precision for step & repeat patterns, but I could see that it had no precision in the spacing of letters, and not much in their alignment. Squaring up lines was impossible. Corrections were even more impossible. All composition was performed half-blind; a single mechanical or human error could wipe out a day's work, and when you were finished you still did not have a product that could be used in ordinary printing until a costly photoengraving had been made. On the plus side I saw that one seemingly simple negative of an alphabet provided an endless number of sizes, that these letters could be spaced openly or compactly much more compactly than type, that they could be kerned at will and joined or overlapped, that none ofthem were worn or broken, that storage required no more space than a piece of glass, that there was no possibility of wrong-fonts, and no distribution, yet there was an inexhaustible quantity ofbeautifül sharp type. Going back to New York I kept reviewing the pros and cons, always being sure that the pros won out Needless to say my report to Lee & Phillips was glowing, but I didn't have to do much reading between the lines to see that in the middle of an election year at the bottom ofthe Depression was no time to be talking about a typographic revolution. So I kept it to myself. Keeping it to myself was like putting a lid on a boiling pot. It just bubbled all the harder. Every job I layed out gave me a chance to dream how much better (or worse) it would be if done photographically. One incident III never forget: It was a Ihll page ad for the old Hearn department store on 14th Street. I needed an 8-column heading in a bold gothic. Futura was too wide. Gothic No. 11 was available only in 48-point Railroad Gothic was too wide in 72-point and too small in our next size, 48. I ended up with Alternate Gothic Condensed letterspaced. It looked anemic, sick. Once more, my phototype barometer pinnacled WHEN HERB KAUFMAN and I got together again he said he'd like me to see his uncle. His uncle was Mr. George Ullman, president of General Printing Ink! So, elated, I tookthe elevator to the seventeenth floor. Mr. UlIman's office was a dream. There were no high buildings on Varick Street at that time and the view of the Hudson was magnificent. The Aquatania at its Fifteenth Street pier reminded me how often Dot and I had gone down to an open dock at the foot of Twelfth Street to watch the festive midnight sailings. We'd planned to go to Europe once 36

51 buta false alarm pregnancy cancelled it and the opportunity was lost. Mr. Ullman noticed my pleasure at the view and I probably made some comment about the Aquatania. "It's nice to have someone recognizc a good ship when he sees it,"he said. 'these ink people never travel." I'd never traveled either but I knew the Aquatania well on the outside and as well as I could on the inside. Thus the famous old ship made a happy beginning for my talkwith the president of General Printing Ink. Mr. Ullman told me how he had hoped that the consolidation of the ink companies would allow him to live quietly in Paris, but things had not gone well with GPI and the directors had sent an emissary (I was much impressed with that word) to Paris to persuade him to come back for a year or two and straighten it all out Canal Street and Sixth Avenue were not quite his idea of life in Paris, but he was making the best of it. Then he showed me several exquisite examples of French and Swiss printing, some in colorgravure or collotype, and was pleased that I could appreciate them. That led to talk about handmade papers. There I was on solid ground; I even knew something about Montgolfier's paper balloon in Paris in When it came to Cezanne, Matisse, Serat, VanGogh and the Impressionists I was glad that Dot and I had read the book on modem art by Sheldon Cheney and had visited the galleries with some regularity, but I certainly couldn't hope to sound knowledgable to anyone who had lived much of his life abroad. Mr. Ullman was beginning to seem like a much older version of Mr. Roberts; he attached value to the same things, and I'd had at least a good start in that direction. Then we went into an unfinished room planned as an art gallery for G.P.I. It was bare, but you could see how stunning it would be when finished:just the place to demonstrate photo-lettering. Standing against the wall, filly mounted, were a dozen or more Toulouse-Lautrec posters. Here I was lost It wasn't Impressionist, it wasn't Traditional, it wasn't Bauhaus, it wasrft Cubist, and it had incredibly bad lettering. Art Nouveau had not yet come into my life and I guess Mr. Ullman knew it, so he began to askme about Rutherford. That was the cue, and I was determined to make the most of ill told him the improvements I thought were needed and the typefaces that must be added to make the machine useful to typographers. But I could see by his expression that the middle ofan election year at the bottom of the depression was no time to spend vast sums to adapt an unsuccessful machine to an uncertain market. Next week when I saw Herb he hinted to me that I had aroused his uncle's interest and wondered if I might know somebody who could bring the project back to life. I grinned and said that I surely did. He got the point, and my hopes rose. Months went by but nothing happened. Roosevelt won the election in November but Hoover dragged on until March 4th, Inauguration Day. The depression deepened. The Gross National Product had dropped from 90 billion to 60. Lee & Phillips cut to the bone. I was kept on probably because all our workwas specialty, because I would tackle anything, because I gladly worked overtime free of course; because I walked to clients, never used a taxi or turned in an expense account, and because for the most part I was pleasant, and cheap. From time to time I sent Mr. Ullman samples of jobs where photo would have solved a problem better than metal, hoping that he would be impressed. But he never answered my notes. 37

52 Mr. Koontz at the Witmark Publishing Company came to the rescue. He asked me to design Witmark's first non-musical venture, a book by the then-famous radio commentator Edwin C. Hill entitjedtheamerican Scene, It was to be published on Inauguration Day. I saw to it that the composition, printing and binding were first class from cover to cover. But fate was not kind to The American Scene, The day following Inauguration March 5th President Roosevelt closed every bank in the country, and ifyou were lucky enough to have a few dollars in your pocket you were certainly not foolish enough to use them for a book. That ended The American Scene, 1932 and my jobs from Witmark. The closed banks also reduced the weight of my Lee & Phillips pay envelope. It dropped to $28.45 but our landlord, Harry Lake, had no compassion. To this very day when I'ni infuriated, riled up, ready to blow off I aim my vengeance squarely at Harry Lake. Everybody needs a Harry Lake to denounce, to tongue-lash, to berate. A 1932 absentee landlord is the perfect target. Get yourselfa Harry Lake fli share him with anybody. It was three long difficult months before I could muster up enough courage to call Mr. Ullman. When I finally did, it must have been at precisely the right moment. He interrupted my hesitant beating around the bush by saying, "Ifyou1 come down I thinlçwe canjixit up." There was rejoicing at home that night FROM THE VERY BEGINNING Harold Horman.and I had an exceptionally congenial relationship. Astrologers might say it was because we were born not only under the same star, but on the same day of the same year. Perhaps so, but the more likely reason was that we wanted to move in the same direction and shared the same goals for photo-lettering. We complemented each other as perfectly as any two people could. Where I was weak he was strong, where he was weak I was strong; he knew lettering, I knew type; he knew chemistry, I knew physics; he was an introvert, I was an extrovert; we both had artistic natures; we both, as children, had played with Meccano and loved anything mechanical; we both had a rugged inventive streak and were ready to work long hours, unselfishly, to get the job done. This partnership of goals, effort, ideas and ideals lasted, unbroken and unmarred, until Harold died in Julian DeWette was sixyears ourjunior, born in Belgium in 1911 very near the Dutch border. His early childhood was colored by World War I. Jules was about five when his parents sent him across the border to relatives in Holland where his chance for survival would be better. He remembered being put into a wheelbarrow with bricks piled carefully over him for the secret trip across the border. He also recalledthat it was not until the war was over and his parents brought him to America that he ate his first piece ofmeatjules' childhood language was Flemish, and the Dutch relatives gave him early schooling but this was not recognized in America, and at the age of eight he was put into first grade. You'd never have guessed thatjules' formal education ended in sixth grade. After that, I suppose, he attended trade school because he held down a job as apprentice mechanic in Rutherford before being transferred to the photo-lettering department Jules' training as mechanic helped him in the years ahead. He knew the true meaning of precision 38

53 and was rarely satisfied with anything less. This also carried over into other areas, particularly his general neatness and orderliness, his accurate use oflanguage, and his spelling: He was steady and reliable, never defeated by pressure; he was small, even frail, but his shoulders never sagged under heavy loads right up to his untimely death in A.T. Koppe was the new manager of Rutherford Machinery. He and his assistant, Jackson, had formerly been with the Directo-Plate Company in Chicago. They knew a lot about cameras, grainers, whirlers, printing frames, lineup tables, step & repeat machines, and other support equipment for the new offset presses that were threatening to make inroads on letterpress printing. Koppe was hired to develop this support equipment He was probably the best man available, but it seemed to us that he had few original ideas and was always looking for ways to appropriate other's. We thought he was well named. Jackson was more mechanically knowledgeable and easier to get along with. What ultimately led to Koppe's downfall was his insistence that Rutherford build its own offset press, and neither he norjackson were press designers. My arrival on the scene must have been shortly after Koppe was put in charge. I was an unknown quantity to him and careful to keep it that way. Had it not been for my connection with Mr. Ullman I would have lasted no more than a week. But Koppe's position was shaky at best so he followed a safe course and gave me a little office in the New York building where I could design Rutherford advertising. I'm sure he believed this would dilute my effort to push the lettering machine, and I'd be less of a drain on other developments. As it turned out the arrangement was excellent. Halfthe time in NewYork kept me in touch with Mr. Ullman, and composing Rutherford advertising on the photo-lettering machine showed up defects we might otherwise have overlooked. Inch by inch it helped us refine the machine's typographic quality. In oversimplified form, here's what happens in photo-lettering: Visualize a spotlight projecting downward a beam of intense light through an opening about an inch square. Below this is a thin glass negative with rows of alphanumeric characters: A to Z, a to z, punctuation marks, and the numerals 0 to 9. Each capital letter on the glass negative is about three-quarters ofan inch high and spaced far enough apart so the square oflight will illuminate only one letter at a time (as shown in the diagram). Underneaththis glass alphabet negative is an adjustable lens and shutter. Several inches below the lens is a sheet of photo paper or film. In operation, the alphabet negative is moved backand forth until the first letter of the word is directly under the square oflight. The lightprojects the image of the letter down through the lens, and when the shutter is opened an exposure of that one letter is made on the photo paper. Light, lens, shutter and alphabet negative are then moved (all together as a unit) slightly to the right so that the next letter will not be exposed over the first one. This second letter in the word is then brought into position and exposed alongside the first Subsequent letters are manually selected and exposed one after another. When the line is complete the paper is moved up (as -in a typewriter) and a second line begun. Letters may be made larger or smaller by adjusting the lens up or down. In this way they are exposed one by one in any size or sizes over the entire area of 20x12 inches. This is called an x-y movement Ii 39

54 Thus far the description has not mentioned the biggest hurdle in photo-lettering: spacing the letters properly and in artistic relationship to each other. This is a major problem because the photographing of a letter must be performed in total darkness as indicated by the stippled area ofthe illustration on the preceding page but the visual positioning of course, requires enough light so that the letter can be seen. It is a contradiction that metal type never faced, and has taxed the ingenuity of everyone who has ever grappled with it. To work in darkness would be much like piloting a submarine without the aid of a periscope. The Ruthdsign solves this problem in about the same way that a submarine does: it gets the letter out into the open by means ofa periscope built C'erford into the path of the image. A prism turns the letter at right angles into the periscope lens, and a second prism projects it down onto the positioning table where it may be seen clearly before exposure..a record ofthe letter's position can be made by tracing it on paper. The tracing (letter A on the positioning table in the diagram)guides the operator in correctly spacing the next letter, N. This procedure was used in early models. Then came a big improvement: a separate tracing projector or "opticon," as shown at left. The opticon projected not single letters but a. complete alphabet onto a conventional drawing board where an artist could feel at home as he planned the work. By adjustingthe opticon lens the alphabet could be seen on the board in larger or smaller size as required. Moving the tracing sheet back and forth under the projected alphabet enabled the artist or operator to trace letters, words, and entire paragraphs in advance before any photographing was done. This illustration shows the capital letter 0 being traced in the word PROPORTION. Thus the spacing, line length, letter size, and other requirements were all determined before any photographing tookplace a refinement difficult I _f St.., - or impossible when working directly on the lettering machine. The finished opticon tracing was then placed under the periscope on the positioningtable (bottom left) and followed letter by letter, one exposure after another. It provided competent guidance for lettering machine operation. A detailed and well illustrated description ofthe 4-step photo-lettering process is given on page 156. The last two ofthese steps (editing and rephotographing) were not developed until late in It was our aim in the early Rutherford years to obtain work directly from the photolettering machine that required no further alteration or refinement In retrospect, however, it is clear that we compensated for any lack of conq# venience in the system by demanding of ourselves, day in a day out, an unrealistically high level ofperfection in operating skill. By no means did we always measure up to that perfection. Many short cuts and improvements have been made in photo-lettering procedures during the last half century. Some of these will be discussed later, but the opticon is still an essential part ofthe most intricate and sldllftilly executed assignments. 40 One ofthe first ofmany important improvements made in Rutherford was to get a good solid iron base for the machine. It was a big casting and weighed half ton. No manually operated machine before or since has had anything so luxurious a rigid base on which to build with great precision. Some of the movements on the original model were good; those we kept. Others needed design changes and in some cases an entirely different approach. The lighting and lens system was totally in-

55 adequate; so was the means for mounting the master alphabet plate and shifting it from caps to lowercase to numerals, as well as laterally in x-y configuration. Justification the squaring up of lines on right and left was necessary for typographic work, andreproportioning lenãds to condense, expand and oblique letters were then, and have continued to be, one ofthe important niceties ofphoto-lettering. Along with our successful innovations were many youthful brainstorms that fell by the wayside avenues of hope that too often turned out to be blind alleys. Yet ever so slowly the machine grew from a toy into a professional piece of equipment DOROTHY AND I had left Greenwich Village after our apartment was robbed twice within six weeks. We were now living in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. My daily commuting against the traffic is a pleasant memory of the years I worked in Rutherford. The BMT subway took me to City Hall; then I walked across Chambers Streetto the Erie ferry, going past all the fascinating little shops that sold rubber goods, old cameras, small brass gears, cams, ball bearings, solenoids, motors, magnets, adhesives, wedges, clips, assorted springs and general junk. Often one of these items sparked a mechanical idea that kept me busy on the ferry and train to Rutherford and for several days thereafter. A little story illustrates the state of mind that Harold and I were in during those turbulent years and, to some extent, for most of our lives: Harold lived injersey and drove back and forth in an old jalopy. This used up a fair amount of gas each week, and driving home on Saturday with his pay envelope he'd routinely pull up at an Esso station to get the tank filled. This particular week we'd been deluged with knotty mechanical problems andwere wracking our brains to solve them. On Saturday morning his car refused to start, so Harold walked to work it wasn't too far, just a couple ofmiles. Nothing was solved that day, and as he walked home deep in thought he came to the Esso corner, walked up to the pump, stopped, and then realized that the car was not with him. Not nearly so good a story is the one about a dream that woke me up laughing: I dreamt that we were selling photo-lettering machines to restaurants to make alphabet soup. Harold and I always enjoyed good wholesome humor. But some jokes, in the eyes of our long-suffering wives, were far too close to real life to be funny. There was, for example, the one about the absentminded college prof whose wife said: "John, this is the day we're moving. The movers will be here this morning, and tonight youll becoming home to our new house. lye written the new address on this little card. Take it with you and be sure to loolçat it on your way baclçso youll come to the right house." During the dayjohn used the card as a bookmark and accidentally left it in the classroom. As he walked up the steps to his old house he realized his mistake and the predicament he was in without the card. But he saw a little girl coming up the street and, thinking she might be a playmate of his children, approached the child saying "I'm Professor Anderson. fused to live in this house, but today myjhmilymoved, and I wonder ifyou know where theymoved,"to which the little girl replied, "Yes, Daddy, Mother sent me over To get YOui! 41

56 When that one fell flat we stopped bringing home absent minded professor jokes they just might bear too close a resemblance to living members of our family LITrLE DID I DREAM on that morning when a new messenger politely laid a letter on my disordered desk that here was the young man with whom I'd be working closely for the next five decades for a longer time than with anyone else in graphics. Little did I realize that the taste and judgment ofthis young man would eventually influence the style trends ofletters we see every day in print It was he who, twenty-five years later, urged a revival ofthe distinctive Art Nouveau shapes; it was he who first sounded the call thai: brought Korinna and Souvenir back into the typographic mainstream. Steve Kopec's parents were Polish. "Pop moved around wherever he could get ajob;frornjàctories in New England to production lines in Michigan and Pennsylvania, andjlnally to an old iron mine pressed back into service during the period around World War Iwhen iron was scarce and every bit ofit was neededfor armament."that's when Steve was born, and things went pretty well up to fourth grade. But in that fateful year his parents, under pressure from the local parish priest, enrolled him in a Polish parochial school a traumatic experience fora boy who knew the Polish language not at all. At the end of every month the priest reviewed each boy's report card in class, publicly, and the red grades in Steve's language courses regularly called for disciplinary action. But eventually there would be a silver lining to those years: the rigid training developed in his successful struggle through parochial school blossomed in later life as sterling qualities ofperseverence. It was not unusual for boys of twelve or thirteen to borrow an older friend's working papers when applying for a factory job, and Steve was no exception. But when an injury from a drill press brought the camouflage to light, he was promptly fired and thereafter followed a more conventional course by signing up for automechanic training in a trade school. Unfortunately the school's quota for Bergen County boys was filled, but there was an opening in the plumbing class, and that's how Steve became a plumber. After graduation our young pipefitter's attempt to ply his trade was thwarted by the community's only plumber who held the unfortunate position ofbeing the sole official authorized to issue plumber's licenses, and tooka dim view of encouraging youthful and energetic competition. With a few more disappointments to his credit, Steve finally landed the Rutherford messengerjob, and soon thereafter Harold and I put into motion the machinery that would ultimately lead this bright lad's future into the challenging paths ofphoto-lettering. There was a big silly hassle over the name of the photo-lettering machine. In this story I have sensibly used the term step & repeat where a dyed-in-the-wool lithographer would have used photo composing. Koppe was ofthe latter school, and since he viewed our machine chiefly in its step & repeat role he insisted on calling it the Rutherford Photo Letter Composing Machine. We were convinced that that mouthful spelled doom for any piece of equipment, and kept urging him to call it 42

57 the Rutherford Photo-Lettering Machine which, while not nearly as good as Linotype or Monotype, shortened the more ponderous designation considerably. But Koppe was adamant and made some nasty noises, so we gave him a few pictures titled in his way and kept our shorter version on the photos sent out to prospective buyers. About ten years ago I was pleased to see that we'd made the grade at last: the word "photo-lettering" is now officially accepted in the language. It appears in Websters ThirdNewlnternationalDictionary, pbo.to.lettering V +\ (p/sot- +1st/sri ngj: lettering producad photomechanically from One of the hazards always hanging over an inventor is that some- body somewhere maybe developing a better device than yours, and will suddenly eclipse everything you've done. From time to time we'd get little bits of information about the "[Jhertype" in Germany or Switzerland, we weren't quite sure which. The Penrose Annual mentioned Uhertype twice but gave no details. Finally I got a brochure written in German and set, surprisingly, in metal type. I translated it out of what I could remember from my battle with college German, but was never sure whether the speed claimed was in words per hour or in letters per hour, and it made quite a difference Tpa±cu -larly if the words were long German words. But the tjhertype quietly disappeared from Penrose pages and has not been heard of since. Nearer home was a report that a photo-typesetter was being developed on West 20th Street, so I tooka look. There I found an old Linotype operator halfheartedly trying to cement paper negatives ofletters to the edges of Linotype matrices. He hoped ultimately to replace the casting mechanism with a camera, but I doubt ifhe ever succeeded. These were the only bits of parallel work that came to our attention, though there must have been others. The Smithsonian, rm told, has record of an unsuccessful device designed by a man named Bagge BY EARLY 1936 Rutherford's only full time salesman, Ed Schreibeis, had sold a dozen or more machines. Each sale was cause for rejoicing and, since every machine was a little better than the one before it, there was greater likelihood that once sold it would remain sold. That was far more than could be said of the early models. The price was $5000; not peanuts in depression days. It included twenty master alphabets ofthe purchaser's choice and a week ofinstructon on his premises. Travelingbackand forth to make these installations usually involved long train rides; but there were exceptions. Just to make polite conversation Harold had mentioned to a next door neighbor, Bill, that he was taking the train to Cincinnati in a couple of days. "Forget the train;' said Bill, "fllfiyyou over; I need afew hours practice in the air and might as well go to Cincinnati:' Harold wished he'd kept quiet, but didn't want to seem unappreciative. His reluctance to say NO put him, in due course, high up in the air over the forested mountains of Pennsylvania with the sun getting close to the horizon and Bill asking with some concern, "You haven't noticed a big river down there anywhere, have you? i've been lookjngfor itjbr the last hour and Ihope it'll show up soon." Minute by minute both sun and plane dropped lower and lower.just above treetops Bill threw out a flare that fortunately floated into a clear- alphabets on film made ft. original drawings or existing type design,. 43

58 44 ing. Three or four frantic circles ended in a disgraceful landing. Bill checked the damage by flashlight, and decided that repairs could be made within a week in ample time to give Harold abetter trip home. It was a weekofhope hope that repairs could not be made and that Bill would not show up. But he did. He now knew why they'd gone so far off course; just a silly error that could be avoided on the return trip. The plane, he assured Harold, was in good shape thanks to a garage mechanic, a blacksmith, and several onlookers who had come out from Waltersburg to share the excitement and give him the benefit of their advice. It was now at the Cincinnati airport waiting to take them home. I've never seen that airport, but from the description of what happened I picture it on a high plateau above the city. I once rode in a Cincinnati trolley that came to a hill so steep that the car had to be pulled to the top by cable, and I suspect that's where the plane was waiting. As Harold told the story, they took off into a strong east wind. The airport ends in a precipitous dropoffof several hundred feet Planes were always well in the air before reaching this edge, and theirs was no exception. But on that particular day the headwind beyond the cliff was so strong that it perfectly balanced the speed of their little craft. So they seesawed backand forth, first hovering just beyond the breakneckedge and then pushed backwards over the airport by stronger gusts. Several back and forths like this convinced Bill that he'd have to wait for more favorable weather. His passenger was ready for conventional travel and made a bee-line to the raihoad. Safely back in New York, Harold was walking the last block to his apartment when he heard a familiar voice from behind. It was Bill. The wind had finally subsided. Forever thereafter when Harold and Bill went up together it was in an elevator. - In retelling some ofthe stories connected with photo-lettering's early days it would be ungrateful not to acknowledge the debt of appreciation we owe to the Railway Express Agency for many generous contributions to photo-lettering's success. Without their help we might never have pulled through, and I take this opportunity to express our gratitude. Stable base film was unknown in the thirties. To hold accurate alignment each alphabet was photographed on a thin glass negative cut to the fragile and unconventional size of 28x5 inches. As many as a hundred alphabet plates glass duplicates of these masters were often shipped with an installation. Those not purchased were returned. We never learned how to pack.the temperamental glass so that it successfully withstood the rigors of train travel, and the claims department of Railway Express held the honor of paying for many more alphabet plates than any other purchaser. Installing a machine always had its trials and tribulations. You were sure to find strong opposition from those in whose department it was being placed. This was the case when Harold arrived at the Clark Manufacturing Company in Rockford, Illinois. After a weekofvaliant effort he was unable to convince anybody that a photo-lettering machine wasjust the tool they needed, that it coulddo anything in the art department except, perhaps, give out raises. Ten minutes before final rejection Mr. Clarkhimselfhappened to pass by and tooka long lookat the experimental jobs Harold had been producing. "Can you make movie titles on it?" he asked. Of course you could, and Harold launched into a vigorous demonstration. Mr. Clark was much impressed, so much so that he

59 bought a $5000 machine to make titles for his home movies! Yes, the machine was sold, but how many home movie enthusiasts could you find with $5000 for titles? A buyer for WPA, the federal agency organizing public works to relieve Depression unemployment, asked to see a demonstration. Someone told him we had exactly the machine he needed. When we learned that he wanted to compose ordinary business forms and application blanks we had to tell him that typesetting would do the job much faster. "I'm not loolngfor thefastest way," he said, "t want the slowest. It's a lot less demoraling to run a slowmachine than to lean on a shovel, and our job isto.makgjobs that can't be done qyickjy." We didn't make that sale, but even ifwe had we could never have told the reason why. Things were getting desperate. It was mid 1936 and time was running out; Mr. Ullman had returned to Paris. Herb Kaufman was no longer involved. Koppe's press had been a dismal failure and a new boss would soon be coming to take his place. We hesitated to approach New York typographers because we still had far too few contemporary type styles, and a brusque rejection there would spell certain doom. I'd had some nibbles from copper plate engravers in Philadelphia and we thought that a day or two in the City of Brotherly Love might be well spent The first day I got nowhere, but on the second I tried the prestigious E.A. Wright Engraving Company. Mr.Wright, after hearing my story, said he'd send his order within a.week - even without a demonstration! Rushed with success and full of hope I thought I might make another sale before train time. Somewhere I'd picked up the tip that a fellow well call "Michaels" might be interested. Michaels turned out to be very strange. I had to talkto him through a little peephole window. Finally he shut the window and I lefl But it didnk matter; I'd made a sale to the most important copper plate engraver in the country and that would surely lead to others. More good news. Schreibeis was bringing over two engravers from the American Banknote Company to see a demonstration. A.B.C. was even more prestigious than Wright We swept the floor, emptied the waste baskets, and gave the machine a good polish. But the Banknote visitors had a chip on their shoulders. They were there only because their boss had forced them to come. To make it even harder for us they'd brought along a big stock certificate job and expected us to do it as a demonstration. It was the kind of thing that should have taken two or three days, but we made a valiant effort Hours passed. Finally the last letter was exposed and we went into the darkroom to develop the 20x12 inch sheet. We knew it wouldn't be perfect, but a job with hundreds of words would certainly be impressive. It was impressive all right. We poured developer on the paper and waited two minutes, three minutes, four minutes; we rocked the tray, we rubbed the paper, but nothing appeared. Not a single letter! The engravers grinned, put on their hats, and left. We were dumbfounded. Then Harold reached down into the bellows of the machine and pulled out a tiny chip of film that had been covering the lens all day long. I recalled that one of the film holders had been hard to remove the night before; I'd forced it slightly and must have chipped off a little corner that floated down and settled in just the wrong place. We ran down the street to show the disbelievers what we'd discovered. They grinned and walked on. It was too late. 45

60 I kept my eye on the mails hoping for the order ftom Philadelphia. A week passed. Two weeks. When I called Mr. Wright he went straight to the point: "I understand that you saw Michaels after you left me. He is reputed to be a counterfeiter and our company never has had and never will have anything to do with anybody who talks to counterfeiters." That blow was of my own foolish making. I could blame only myself Things looked more and more bleak. Powers f±om on high sent down word thatjules was to belayed off Fortunately he had a friend in Boston who gave him ajob. Clearly catastrophe was closing in. Closer and closer every day. Four years ofeffort had produced only an unconvincing mishmash of sales: four machines to check printers, two to a bottle cap manufacturer, one to a specialty copper plate engraver, two to decalcomania printers, one to a continuous forms printer, one to a textile designer, two to lithographers, one for making match box covers, two of the earliest models to someone in Connecticut who made telephone number tabs for the Bell System and worked in his home, one to the Navy, one to an eccentric importer of ball bearings, and one for home movie titles. Most of these machines were gathering dust or being operated halfheartedly. Only four or five were really successful so successful, unfortunately, that their owners would not admit it, would not give us a testimonial letter or show the machine to a competitor or anybody else. Unfortunately, too, they were so well built that they needed no service so we ourselves could not get in to see the successful installations. Perhaps that is why deep down in the bottom of our boots we never believed that the battle for photo-lettering was lost It had such great possibilities. It promised so. much. The dreams of our timetable were shattered, but it still seemed that somehow some day somebody somewhere was bound to make those dreams come true. Slowly it began to dawn on us that perhaps the whole future ofphotolettering would be better served if, instead of ifantically trying to sell machines to reluctant buyers, we set up a first class photo-lettering service to sell the product to show the printing world what wonderful things could be done with photographic letters.just the thought of that kindled anew in me the old alphabet romance long smothered by the failure of our Rutherford hopes. The idea of quitting our role as machine builders and becoming eager producers of photo-lettering crystallized quickly when the new general manager, Koppe's replacement, visited our quarters. He came in one door, walked through without pausing, and out the other. It was all so quick we couldiit even remember what he looked like. But we got the message. Our Day of Decision was here. It was here for us and perhaps, in a way, for the future of photographic lettering. It was now or never. Within a couple of weeks we'd be fired and might never see another photo-lettering machine. We had nothing to lose by acting quickly. I called Amos Bethke. He and I had worked together in Lee & Phillips backin 1931 before things got so desperate that Amos moved on to Boston. He was now with Typographic Service Company in New York, the oldest and probably the largest advertising typographer in the country; respected by all, and affectionately known as Typo Service. I told Amos the reason for my call, and he suggested that I come over to meet Mr. Ruckstuhl who, as the owner, was the right man to see and convince. Mr. Ruckstuhl, ofcourse, wanted to take a lookat what we had in Rutherford. 46

61 Ill never forget how he sat by the machine intently watching Harold's every move. Here, at last, we had a real pro who knew what he was looking at, who could project his vision far into the future. Mr. Ruckstuhl understood the machine's remaining defedts but, unlike others, he could put those defects into correct perspective, and what he saw in this perspective looked good. There were probably no more than a dozen men in the whole country whose experience would have enabled them to penetrate the fog that still concealed photo-lettering's potential for letterpress typography and we were lucky enough, thanks to Amos Bethke, to have one of these men visiting us at this desperate moment As I drove Mr. Ruckstuhl backto NewYorkhe asked many thoughtful questions. Waiting in line for the Holland Tunnel he said, "There one big problem to buying a machine like this. Getting the right operator. Do you have any suggestions?" Indeed I did: two, three, maybe four suggestions all experienced and wholly dedicated. He smiled his wonderful smile and said, as I paid the toll, "Well, fli have to talk to the Board. Amos says you're a good hard worker." Typo Service had, since 1928, been a part ofelectrographic Corporation, and the board referred to was the Electrographic Board. Their decision exceeded our most fantastic hopes. Electrographic would open a new subsidiary devoted entirely to photo-lettering and called, to our delight, Photo-Lettering Inc. It would be located at 216 East 45th Street in the building with Typo Service, but on the ninth floor where 700 feet of space was available. A day or two later the order was signed: Two photo-lettering machines, two layout projectors (opticons), a planographic camera, a printing frame, 112 alphabet plates all the good ones and permission to make additional plates as needed. The new Rutherford manager suddenly became enthusiastic about photo-lettering and couldrft have been more solicitous of the welfare of our department. That was helpful because it gave us time enough to go over our two machines very carefully with master mechanic Willie Merk and correct any imperfections that might show up later to weaken precision or reliability. Over the years that final double check has paid off In today's economy where obsolescense and shoddy workmanship is taken for granted it's heartening to find that after close to half century of steady day and night operation no breakdown has ever put either machine out of commission for as much as a single shift. They are the Rolls Royce of photographic lettering. Many newer and cheaper devices have been marketed, but these solid Rutherfords, with the refinements we have added, still have a combination of speed, precision, and flexibility unequalled in any manually controlled photo-lettering device. Klaus Schmidt, vice president and type director of Young & Rubicam, pays a generous tribute to these old faithfuls in his 1967 Penrose Annual survey of the many methods by which photo-lettering or its equivalent is produced: 'these methods rangefrom the use of small, inexpensive, desktop devices to that of precision equipment like the famous Rutherford Photo-Lettering machine, invented in the 1930s[ At that time Electrographic had a very personable and imaginative sales manager in Stan Nowak. He pictured Photo-Lettering as a lithe gem strategically located in the typographic center of New York: East 45th 47

62 Street from Third Avenue to beyond Second. This was home for most typographers. There were a few others spotted around elsewhere in the city but the heart of the industry was concentrated in six buildings on 45th Street built in the set-backstyle ofthe late'20s a style that reminds me of pictures of Bryce Canyon. The block also included some photo engravers, electrotypers, and a Jew printers and binders. To give Photo-Lettering an ultra contemporary setting Stan Nowak called in a decorator, Quarranta, whose establishment was in one of those typical old store fronts On lower Lexington Avenue just a step or two below sidewalklevel. Quarranta was told to make Photo-Lettering a gem but keep it cheap. That was standard in 1936, another uncertain election year. Our little office-reception room had a window facing west with a broad view of midtown. This delighted Quarranta and he made the most of it. Years later we used the window's strategic location to display colored flags as signals to guide our messenger on his rounds. Quarranta gave the reception room an Art Deco decor with generous use ofbent chrome tubing blackplastic seat covers, terra cotta paint, and a semi-circular sliding door. When it came to building a darkroom and developing troughs, however, he was out of his element. The trough leaked chemicals and the darkroom leaked light But we were good plumbers and a little caulking fixed everything up. Stan was delighted with the day we picked for moving: September 9th. Moving to the ninth floor on the ninth day of the ninth month was surely a good omen. He even tried to get a 9999 telephone number, but that didn't pan out. Neither did the ninth day of the ninth month, but we moved on the tenth day ofthe tenth month and I've never felt it seriously hurt our future. Back in Rutherford we were trying to finish the finishing touches. A tactfhl letter tojules in Boston reminded him that returning to NewYork would speed up his chance to marry Anne who was still patiently*aiting. It worked; both for us and for the marriage. Steve Kopec was so naïve he hardly knew he was being shanghaied to 45th Street His big concern was that it not interfere with playing baseball on Saturday, but it did. Stan Nowakfelt that the machines should be brought in under cover of darkness. That suited us perfectly since the whole affair had its cloakand-dagger aspects.. The World Series a "subway series" between the N.Y.Yanks and the N.Y.Giants would be inf'ull swing Saturday, October 10th. Forty-fifth Street would be deserted. So on that Saturday the biggest photo-lettering sale of all time was loaded onto a truck two machines, a 14-foot camera, a 32x32-inch vacuum printing frame, layout opticons, and 112 alphabet plates packed with tender loving care. We covered it all with tarpaulins and instructed the trucker to drive slowly. Everything went well. The heavy machines rolled into place about seven o'clock, and by the time we left at midnight our loyalties were totally committed to Photo LetteringInc where all four of us were destined to remain for the rest ofour working lives. There was a lot to be done. We pitched right in expecting to be called on to produce jobs in a few days. But Mr. Ruckstuhl knew that before we made our bow we needed to add about 35 ofthe more current type styles, and he was perfectly willing to wait. So for the next ten weeks we were backat our old trade ofmaking alphabet plates. 48

63 A list ofthese styles gives a good idea ofwhat was popular atthe time: Franklin Gothic, Alternate Gothic, Railroad Gothic, News Gothic Extra Condensed, Beton, Stymie, Tower, Luxor, Corvinus, Cartoon, Slim Black, Sphinx, New Caslon, Cheltenham Bold, Cooper Black. Trafton, and Kaufman Script. From Rutherford we had brought Futura, Girder, Caslon 471, Garamond, Bodoni, and a good collection of Mr. Playford's lithographic styles with all their oddities. The Playford designs had been identified by number only. This was unacceptable in typographic circles, so we named them after telephone exchanges hoping that it would give them a certain familiarity and perhaps some glamor. Today these names have a nostalgic pre-dial, pre-digit ring: Bryant Digby, Longacre, Butterfield, Watkins, Wickersham, Tompkins Square, Lackawanna, Schuyler, Academy, Chelsea, Cortlandt, Algonquin, University, Barclay, Worth, and so on back into the days when The Voice with a Smile smoothed the rough wires of communication. We saved our own exchange, Murray Hill, for the time when we'd draw a letter worthy of such honor. Stan Nowak felt that our process needed a name other than photolettering. We never knew why, but there may have been good reason, so we called it the "Photo-Flex Process' But photo-flex never comfortably described photo-lettering and in recent years we have applied it to our camera techniques, for which it is much more suitable. Along with the struggle to prepare ourselves for opening day we had another struggle on our hands a fight to keep alive. Rutherford's new manager chose not to take our departure gracefully. He was too new to realize that our move might be to his long range benefit After all, two lettering machines, two opticons, and 112 alphabet plates had been sold and he would receive no complaints about them. A floundering department he intended to padlockhad been closed without the unpleasantness of firing. The camera and printing frame from the department had been sold at a higher price than he'd ever be able to get elsewhere. So, for a loser he was a pretty good winner. All he had really lost was some unfounded optimism about photo-lettering. But, understandably, he didn't see it that way. He tried hard to pulljules and Steve back to Rutherford. They were put under strong pressure to return, and Jules was visited at home night after night. Harold and I hoped the boys could resist this pressure, but to avoid the risk we housed them in the Sloane YMCA on 34th Street for several weeks. That foiled the direct approach, but then the attack rose to a higher level, and for a time it looked as ifwe were going to lose everything. My first inkling of the new strategy was when Mr. Ruckstuhl called me in to say that someone from Rutherford had been in contact with the Electrographic. Board asking thatjules and Steve be released from employment. The Board did not want to make enemies of other corporations and was inclined to go along. I tried hard, but I couldn't get Mr. Ruckstuhl worked up enough to fight for us. Finally to illustrate my point I divided a deck of playing cards into two hands, keeping all the aces, kings and queens in my own hand, and giving Mr. Ruckstuhl the 2s, 3s, and 4s. "Now;' I said, "you represent Rutherford in this game. You have only low cards. I am Electrographic and I have all the high cards. You play the first card and III show you how with all the high cards in my hand I can still lose the game just by playing the wrong card every time:' We played it out and I, Electrographic, lost. It drove my point home, Mr. Ruckstuhl bucked the board, and we heard no more about it. OflginaiTlcorP'um7oosq.ft. KET TO OPEKAIIONS; A alphabet designing M master alphabet plate in.nusfacture o opticons (sutciidpruting P pfwto.cetto-ing machines E esting D Arft room to'ing C CiDtitra 1* Q ll.mt.1 49

64 50 By earlydecember itwas clearthat our35 new alphabet plates would be finished before Christmas. Stan Nowak wanted an impressive style catalog ready for the New Year. It was to be a limited edition - eight luxurious handmade copies presented with appropriate fanfare to the top advertising agencies. The firstbookwou!d go toj. WalterThompson Company, prima donna of all agencies and Typo's major client. Stan hoped that work from Thompson would keep us so busy we'd not need to look elsewhere. This was good strategy. If we were filled with jobs from JWT word would get around and others would knock on our door. Giving Thompson first choice at what might become a new direction in typography would strengthen its bond to Typo. That little piece of strategtr beginning at the top rather than working up from the bottom cut years offthe time it tookus to gain stature in the eyes ofall. One precious copy of this catalog is still in Photo-Lettering's library. Rarely has so little looked like so much. Our modest collection of 147 unimpressive styles were embellished with handmade paper mounts and board covers to produce a weighty tome of nine pounds! On Christmas Eve we invited Mr. Ruckstuhl up to the ninth floor and presented him with the first copy of the luxurious volume. We actually dropped it into his hands so he'd get the full impact, and he loved it. To one in love with letters a new type catalog is something very special. It is interesting to consider the different kinds of exhiliration that imaginative people get from various forms of creativity, particularly at the exact moment when the creative workis completed. For most artists, artisans and craftsmen there is the final moment when they put the last brush mark, the last chisel cut, or the final touch of polish on their creation. They have seen their handiworkgrow step by step from nothing to completion, yet the actual finish isjust one small step beyond near-finish. It is quite different with authors, orchestral composers, potters, and probably certain others. For them there is a considerable delay between the termination of creativity and the unveiling of the finished work. There is a chasm ofphysica] separation between the creator and his work during this period. The potter places his vase in the kiln, closes the door and, unseen, a transformation takes place over the days of firing. The composer waits through weeks of rehearsal before he can hear what he has created. For the writer the time between manuscript and fully bound book is often months. Whether the anticipation that builds up from this delay adds to the thrill and exhiliration ofaccomplishment I do not know, but I know that when the first copy ofa new type catalog arrives from the bindery it is always the signal for great celebration. Those who find romance in letters find in the issuance of a new type catalog all the excitement of bookmaking combined with the thrill and satisfaction that an artist enjoys upon completion of his work, for a type catalog is not alone a book, but a picture oftype itself. The Christmas Eve presentation to Mr. Ruckstuhl was something of a milestone: the book that made its bow was the first type catalog to be set photographically. It would surely have fascinated Mr. Gutenberg Mr. Caslon, and Mr. Mergenthaler. We should have saluted all three on that memorable Christmas Eve, but in our excitement we were not thinking back in history. By remarkable coincidence it was exactly 500 years since Gutenberg began his pre-mainz experiments with movable type in Strassbourg in 1436, and exactly 50 years since Mergenthaler's successful demonstration of his Linotype at the NewYork Tribune in 1886.

65 DECEMBER 28, 1936 FOR ADVERTISING AGENCIES the week between Christmas and New Years is a tapering off from one celebration and a building up for the next Business activity is usually at a low ebb.thisgave Stan Nowakhis perfect chance to introduce Photo-Lettering toj.walterthompson. I remember the date clearly: December 28th. Stan came through the doorholdinghigh Photo-Lettering's firstjob. It was a modest seven-word heading for Pond's Cream. The layout was meticulously made, as were most Thompson layoutsin those days, and it came to us because it could not be matched in type. Thisjob changed the whole direction of our concept We had almost taken it for granted that photo-lettering would be used to augment typesetting where odd sizes or more condensed or expanded type was needed. We'd expected to be called on to produce complete ads, rather than just headlines, and had rigged up pantographic reduction devices on our opticons and magnifiers on the lettering machines to aid in manipulating 8 and 10 point sizes of justified lines without too much eyestrain or so we hoped. Perhaps our name "photo-lettering" did not say "type" to others. It might be that Pete Tolles in the type department at Thompson took our name literally and sent us a job that would have ordinarily been placed in the hands ofa letterer. This called for much more meticulous care than originally planned, and a readjustment of our entire thinking. Apparently we were to be asked not just to do tricks with "rubber type," but to match headline layouts with the same finesse expected from a letterer. That was a far cry from sending back to Thompson whatever routinely came out of the machine even though the letters were "flexed" and in some cases might be spaced a little better than type. No, this required finer skills and we'd have to learn them quickly. If we'd been in a reflective mood we might have recalled the comment that a thoughtful observer made during the depth of our Rutherford struggle: "Some daya good use will befoundfor your machine, but probably not the one you're planningfor now." When we looked atthe Pondsjob in the developing tray it might have passed muster as flexed type, but not as hand lettering. Harold got busy cutting the letters apart and spacing them with whatever skill he could muster up but, as we soon learned, our taste in spacing was far below that of the best NewYorkletterers. Cutting letters apart, respacing them, and shooting a photostat or "pos one" to size is routine in every studio today, but that technique was not at all common in In those days stats were soft and often blurred; far below reproduction quality. When Harold finished moving the letters around we shot a film negative, opaqued it, and made a contact reproduction print under vacuum pressure. We had the advantage of lithographic equipment not available to those outside the printing industry. Meanwhile Stan had located some glossy black mounting boards with white Kromekote flaps. We ferrotyped the print to give it a high shine, mounted it on the blackbackground, centered the Photo-Lettering label on the Kromekote flap, and cautiously admired our handiwork. Stan delivered it while we held our breath. That Ponds headline was the beginning of a relationship withj. Walter Thompson that has lasted without interruption for well over forty years. It was more than a normal client-supplier relationship, particu- CHAPPING MELTS AWAY...aod CHAPPING MAW Far.Ietaik r this photo-cett#hig Cand,nark see page 16 51

66 larly at the beginning when five art directors atjwt saw that we needed to learn the fine points ofletteringbefore Photo-Lettering could be taken seriously. They undertook to teach us. Why they endured our clumsiness through those agonizing two or three years of learning kept us guessing. They had instant access to the finest letterers in New York Sam Marsh, Tommy Thothpson, Tony Bonagura, and the rest. All they needed to do was to give a layout to one of these accomplished men and the lettering would come back, perfect, the first time'round. Yet for some reason they were determined to teach us to do work ofthat quality, and refused day after day, week after week, and month after month to accept from us anything less than the best It meant working far into the night, but it gave us a grounding that we could never have had otherwise, and a confidence that has been the lifeblood of our organization. Here are the names of those to whom we owe so much: Pete Tolles, Art Blumquist, Paul Berdanier, Elwood Whitney, and Bill Strossahl. Forty-fifth Street typographers have always been strong on service and weak on innovation, but when something new turns up it generates plenty ofcuriosity. Occasionally we noticed binoculars peering our way from the building across the street Stan was delighted and suggested that we lower the Venetian blinds to increase the curiosity. He used the incident as a talking point atjwt to keep their interest up to pitch THEN CAME THE BLOW. It was about the beginning of February when Stan Nowak told us that he was leaving Electrographic. He gave us all kinds of assurances that our good start would keep us rolling onward and upward, but we knew only too well that the lights in Photo-Lettering were going dim. My griefwas so overpowering that I slipped away to the privacy of a backhallway and wept I suspect Harold did the same. A three year struggle lay ahead. Mr. Ruckstuhl assumed fill responsibility for our sales and went through the motions of encouraging Typo salesmen to bring in jobs that we could handle. But they didn't do it They really couldn't Everything in that arrangement was against success. The salesmen feared that photo would ultimately replace metal typesetting and certainly were not going to hasten the day. Lettering, moreover, was authorized by art directors, and anyone selling type composition had little or no welcome in an art department Letterers, illustrators, and photographers forms a tight elite group and were the only ones who had access to the holy of holies. Then, too, there was always the hurdle of engravings. Metal type could be locked up directly for electrotyping, but photo-lettering required a costly middle step: making a zinc engraving. Time and again this tipped the balance away from us. It was now imperative that we issue a more practical and less ostentatious catalog to show our wares to all buyers. We came up with one that weighed nine ounces instead of nine pounds, but unfortunately there were too few wares and too few buyers. A new catalog was not enough. Art directors were not accustomed to picking readymade faces. Most of them had more than passing ability as letterers, and sent us layouts calling for new and unavailable styles. I always imagined that their alphabetic creativity came from doodlings scribbled on the margins of newspapers during commuter trips from Rye or Westport, and our extravagant claims ofphoto flexibility probably encouraged many to ask 52

67 for the impossible. Indeed it was only by doing the impossible that we were able to compete with the hundreds ofcapable letterers who stood by with pen, brush, and years of experience eager to frilfill the most exacting demand ofthe most exacting art director. Our "Steady Five" atjwt were no easier on us than anybody else. They kept asking for new styles or new weights or condensations of old ones. With lenses we could get a certain amount ofreproportioning, and by moving a letter between exposures we could increase its weight - slightly. But more often than not it was easier for Harold to draw a new alphabet in the required proportion than to correctthe shape and weight ofletters on the finishjules and he spent most of their time making new alphabet plates while Steve and I handled production. There was too little workto make a profit but too much for the two ofus to finish in what was already avery long day. So we added Steve's younger brother, Frank, to our staffand put him to workin the darkroom. Frank was a year younger than Steve, but had the same background and high-principled family training which, in our eyes, said a lot for him. He had gone to the same parochial school, followed by trade school training in electricity. He came to us from Fuchs & Lang, across the street from Rutherford Machinery, so he probably felt a bit at home from the beginning. Frank has always made the most of opportunities for additional schooling; this has helped him pass along his skills to others. Our three youths were equally reliable, equally faithful - a tribute well deserved. Their technical school training (Jules, mechanic; Steve, plumber; Frank, electrician) not only came to the rescue in emergencies but laid the foundation for an almost wholly self-sufficient, self-contained operation. Photo-Lettering through many decades has always built, altered or repaired its own machinery and, except for film and photographic materials, has depended very little on outside sources. This as much as anything else has contributed to the never failing challenge. At one point during the desperate months of 1937 a big prosperous art studio that shall not be named a cousin of ours by manage asked if we could stretch, by live percent, one dimension of an SxiO" photograph so less costly models could be used in preparing art for fashion advertising. We were told that ten pounds offthe width of any attractive young woman makes her model quality. It was a gold mine, they said, but I don't recall that they said for whom. Our 2-inch reproportioning lens was far too small to cover such an area, and the cost of grinding a large piano-convex lens was, in the days before oil filled lucite, both out ofthe question and sure to distort the graytones in a fashion photograph. We'd been having trouble holding size on our finished photo-lettering prints. In fact we'd often found it necessary to shoot a negative 2% smaller to compensate for the paper stretch. Perhaps we could turn this liability into an asset So we built a device to stretch wet paper and dry it while stretched. It worked beautifully; we could lengthen a 10-inch photo to more than 10 1h. The models looked noticably thinner. Our nameless cousin was delighted, but then came the catch. Now that it could be done he wanted to know how to do it We balked because we desperately needed the business and it was our idea. Butbigger cousins have bigger sticks. Reluctantly we gave away our brainchild. Meanwhile Photo-Lettering kept plugging on without seeing the gold in that mine. 53

68 54 Mr. Ruckstuhl finally realized that Typo's sales force was not going to keep us busy, and over the next three years he hired four different salesmen. Each of them had a promising background. EDMUND was an older production man who knew type quite well and probably could have learned something about photo-lettering if he'd wanted to. But he preferred to read magazines and wait for the phone to ring. WALT was a not-too-good letterer from Westchester. He spent his time preparing for that great day when he'd begin to bring injobs. He drew one alphabet for us, Casoni, but much of his time was spent around the place taking pictures. We had the feeling that he was more interesting in starting his own photo-lettering studio than in selling for us. DIcK lived in New Jersey and had been an art studio salesman. We liked him, but his efforts produced only a trickle. ERIC was dynamic almost a junior Stan Nowak, but not quite, and "not quite" was not nearly good enough. Injustice to all four it must be said that the cards were stacked against them. It took filly as much time for a photo-lettering salesman to sell a ten dollarjob as for a typographic salesman to sell a hundred dollar one. The odds against success were just too great. What kept us afloat during these first years was the strong tie tojwt and the work we were able to generate without salesmen. And what saved us month alter month was Mr. Ruckstuhl's willingness to accept responsibility for the red ink while we were hard at work developing a "better mouse trap." We hoped and he believed that ultimately people would beat-a-path-to-our-door. But when? I tried to take comfort in the fact that sales were not my responsibility. But sales are everybody's responsibility and they were always on my mind. Most jobs were small, about 9 words, and few invoices exceeded $10. To break even we needed 14 such jobs a day: one every 35 minutes. Many days fell short. It took a long time to learn that Photo-Lettering had something to offer besides price. It took us a long time to realize that our important plus was consistency of lettering and, in some cases, speed. This is why the art directors at Thompson wanted us to succeed. Looking back I can see good logic in their reasoning: In those days the headlines for large campaigns were often hand lettered by several different artists all trying to follow the same style. The results clearly reflected differences in the ability and taste ofthe various letterers, and this could cause a lot of trouble for an art director. Photo- Lettering's consistency removed that hazard. When the headline style for a campaign had been established in photo-lettering the art director knew for sure that the lines would be consistent weekafter week, month after month and, ifnecessary, year after year: So we pushed on, slowly building up a library of good hand lettered faces when another thunderbolt struck. Mr. Kohl, who held the purse strings atj. WalterThompson, sent word that Photo-Lettering was not to add any more hand lettered styles. flexible type was to be our province. We could keep the styles we already had, but no new ones. Evidently Sam Marsh had persuaded him that the newcomers on Forty-fifth Street were getting out of hand and should be fenced in. We had no choice but to pull back for a while and hope the storm would blow over. Much later in life I learned that it's almost impossible to deny an enterprise the tools that enable it to prosper. Certainly you can't do it

69 artificially, and that's shat Mr. Kohl was trying to do. He was probably making a gesture in behalf of his friend Sam Marsh, but its rare that the power of a gesture from on high can mat qh the dptermination of little fellow way down the ladder fightingfor his life. We all remember the vivid example of this in the Vietnam war. Big money and big firepower with halfhearted commitment was no match for little money and little firepower with big commitment. Railroad Gothic finally gave us our chance to break Mr. Kohl's ban. Railroad needed a lowercase, it needed certain improvements in the caps, and it needed more weights and proportions. Any change on battered old Railroad Gothic could easily be passed off as no more than Vexing type. Atfirstwe called our revisionrailroad"justin case Mr. Kohl flagged us down. But when nothing happened we threw caution to the AaBbCcDdEFfS9Hh wind and boldly renamed the new gothic in honor of our favorite telephone exchange Murray Hill. Aa Bb Cc lid Ee Ff Cg Rh lijj ki Murray Hill was a winner. In view of the many excellent gothics available today Murray Hill hardly seems sensational; but at the time it was very much so. For fifteen or twenty years never a day passed without some of its eighteen weights and widths being put to profitable use. Now and then temptations to dissipate Photo-Lettering's energies would come along. Opportunities to branch out into related activities would pop up, and it was hard to keep from spreading ourselves too thin. At first we lacked a foreign policy" for dealing with these attractions, but then we learned to be more prudent and ask ourselves: Is it closely related to alphabets, or does it just look like a greener pasture? Here is an unusual a case in point: An inventor on Madison Avenue near 39th was working on something we were urged to see. He wanted to expand, needed some money, and one of our friends suggested that since it was related to photography we might be interested. I went over to take a look. What I found was certainly unique. The inventor projected a typewritten page onto a sheet ofblankpaper in such a way that the paper received a positive electrical charge wherever a letter was projected onto it. The shape of the charge duplicated in every detail the shape of each letter, but you could not see it until the sheet was powdered with a fine dust of negatively charged iron filings which were attracted to the minute positive charges on the paper. The sheet was then turned upside down and any iron dust not held in place by the charge dropped off into a pan. The remainder stayed in place while the paper was heated in something resembling an electric toaster. This heat melted the iron filings sealing them into the paper. The result looked like what we today call a photo-copy except that it had an overall grayish background where some of the unanchored filings had not dropped off. I was shown how half of the sheet could be powdered with red filings and the other halfwith blue. It was all very fascinating, but not close enough to alphabets for our purpose. So after talking to Harold about it, and making an unsuccessful attempt to think through its application to image retention on the positioning-table of our lettering machine, I reported the visit to Mr. Ruckstuhl and turned my energies to more productive matters. Later on the inventor found the friend he needed. His project expanded considerably and eventually acquired a trade name: XEROXC 55

70 GOOD TO THE LAST DROP! GOOD TONE LASTDROP! A vnv couc 1937 frcal p(ww pthmznt appeas, tin pe9c I never drinkthat last drop in a cup ofmaxwell House without remembering how we found a way to stretch the daylights out of the typeface known as Cartoon, a very popular style in the 30s. "Good to the last drop" was to be the headline of a full page Maxwell House ad. The head was 16 inches wide and supposed to be 2 inches high, but with our photo-lettering lenses we could stretch the letter up to only an inch and a quarter. So we tried the old trick of 2-step camera copyboard tilting. The result was badly out offocus not the kind ofthing to send over tojwt the next morning. Harold recalled that mapping cameras on the bottom ofairplanes had a narrow motionless shutter that might solve our problem ifwe used it to do precisely the opposite of what it was supposed to do. To understand the reasoning, consider this: Imagine yourselfseated in a plane flying at 500 m.p.h. A black shade is pulled down over the window, but there's a narrow vertical slit in the shade, and by squinting through it you can see just a narrow sliver of the passing landscape. Ifyou lookintently through the slit for an hour youl see the same 500 miles of passing landscape that the passenger behind you sees through his full-view window, but you will have seen it just a narrow vertical sliver at a time. Now suppose that your eye is replaced by a lens focusing the narrow slit ofcontinuously passing landscape onto a long strip of film moving slowly behind the lens at a rate of one foot for each mile of plane travel. By the end of an hour 500 miles of landscape will have been photographed on 500 feet offilin to make one continuous unbroken 500 foot picture a picture ofthe same 500 miles oflandscape that you would have seen through the narrow slit. That's the way aerial photographs are usually made. So far so good. But suppose that the film is movingslozver than one foot for each mile of plane travel. Then everything in the picture will look squeezed together, and some 300 feet of film will contain 500 miles of landscape. If the film were moving faster the landscape in the picture would look stretched out. Either way the picture would be in sharp focus owing to the extreme narrowness ofthe slit in the window shade. With some alterations too complexto describe here we modified the photo-lettering machine to simulate an aerial camera in a moving plane and made an equivalent of the narrow slit in the screen by taping the sharp edges of two razor blades face to face with a hundreth of an inch clearance between them. It must have been 4 a.m. when we were readyfor the trial run. Success rarely comes with the first try. That night was the exception. We dunked the exposed paper in the chemicals and waited to see the letters develop. Eureka! There they were, sharp and clear, 2 inches high and 16 inches wide good to the last drop! Over the years we perfected many variations of this focal plane principle for precision reproportioning, sometimes contact, sometimes projection. We used it not only for condensing and expanding but for obliquing, back.slanting, curving, ogees, drop shadows and a host of other tricks. For decades it was one of Photo-Lettering's closely guarded secrets. But the Pentagon in Washington finally heard about it and sent a high echelon representative who used an appeal to patriotism as his leverage. l'o enhance the security of the United States," he said, "our mapping department needs a precision mechanism that will remoue ac-

71 cidental distortion from aerial military maps." Put that way we could hardly refuse to do our share to improve national security, particularly since we were promised that the device would be placed under special guard with "top security' We found, however; that 25 years ofprotection by Photo-Lettering's loyal personnel is far more to be trusted than six months of Pentagon top security. So now we just call focal plane reproportioning one ofour contributions to the art and to the Army. Christmas was always a time to show one's typographic ingenuity, and as December rolled around we prepared an exotic Christmas card for Mr. Rucicstuhl demonstrating many tricks with reproportioning lenses. But down on the seventh floor Amos Bethke and others in Typo Service were conspiring to outdo us. And they did. We were speechless when we saw their "Christmas greeting" hanging on Mr. Ruckstuhl's office wall with wildly distorted letters galloping all over the place. The distortions didn't lookat all amateurish, yetwe knew ofno lens that could achieve such wild tricks and feared that some new ultra-magic device had surfaced. We were thunderstruck. What Amos and his friends had done was to print several Merry Christmasses on rubber sheeting, then stretch and twist the rubber to give the words exotic shapes, cementing the distorted sheet to a mounting board. They then masked and framed it like a picture, hiding the creased and crinkled rubber edges. It completely fooled us. Many years later Anthony Ferwin, the London publisher ofa Century ofscience-fiction Illustrations used much the same method to distort the books chapter heads. Ferwin made the distortions himself on a rubberized plastic. Inspired by this demonstration, HOngsup Km of Photo-Lettering developed a means for accurate control of stretch and has occasionally used it with considerable success to produce distortions beyond the scope of lenses. Nineteen thirty-nine was the year of the NewYork World Fair. It was also the beginning of World War II. Walking down Fifth Avenue one summer afternoon I saw the announcement of a twelve-day Cunard cruise to Nassau in the Bahamas. Dorothy and I had never been on a cruise and the bargain price, including hotel for a week in Nassau, was $60. In an expansive moment I signed up. The ship was the Lancastria and we loved every minute of it or almost every minute. This was the weekpreceding Hitler's invasion of Poland, and the tension on a British ship and in a British colony was very apparent. All weeklong groups gathered around a bulletin board outside the Nassau newspaper office hoping for better word from abroad. But it never came. Instead, Stalin signed a non-aggression treaty with Hitler and German troops crossed the border into Poland. On the last day of our return voyage England declared war on Germany, further cruises were cancelled, we landed in New York in time for the birthday of our second son, David, with one candle on the cake. The Lancastria sailed for England, and within ayear. was on the bottom of the Atlantic off the French coast with 4000 British soldiers trapped inside. These were dark days. After the collapse of Poland an ominous silence blanketed Europe. Month after month we waited, and waited. Unemployment began to fade asjobs opened up in shipbuildin g, warplane, and munition plants. The need for photo-lettering tapered off. Then sud-

72 denlyon April ninth German troops marched into Denmarkand Norway, and a month later into Holland and Belgium; injune France surrendered; Dunkirk. the "Battle of Britain." It was heartsickening. Many were saying that England would fall and New York would be next. Nothing seemed impossible. All that remained of Free Europe was Britain and the British spirit bolstered chiefly by the courageous, steadying unfailing voice of its great prime minister Winston Churchill. Then another long ominous silence. We carried on our work almost in a daze. Little did we realize that the scrap iron from our recently demolished Second Avenue elevated railroad had been shipped across the Pacific and was being shaped into warheads that would end the silence. That memorable piece of history illustrates a lurking evil that we live with every day. Today. Millions upon millions of wholesome, fair, and upright international business dealings, large and small, are thisvery day at work faithfully building bridges of understanding, goodwill, and "one world:' But when the greed of giant international traders disregards our long range peaceful interest, then the bands that have been forged so laboriously by businessmen ofgoodwill are quicklybroken. When I hear that we have just shipped millions or billions of dollars of war planes to such and such a country, and that this is good for our economy because it providesjobs for many in Seattle, Los Angeles or Long Island, I remember the Second Avenue El. For Photo-Lettering's survival it was time to prune the tree. I talked to Mr. Ruckstuhl and offered to take full responsibility for sales if he would relieve us of our two pleasant but unproductive salesmen. He hesitated, but said that if! thought they ought to go it would be my job to tell them. I did. It was really so simple. They knew they were not earning their keep and almost volunteered to leave. Next day I called on all of our clients, told them what we had done and why it was necessary, asked them not to fail us and promised to service them faithfully. It worked miracles. Business picked up immediately. By the end of the year we were in the black and on our way to issuing a new loose[eafcatalog our first and last journey into the tribulations oflooseleaf. Nineteen forty-one opened with greater hope than any year since thirty-seven. We now had a much wider base thanj. Walter Thompson. McCann, BBD&O, Compton, Condé Nast, and Montgomery Ward were steady daily clients, and perhaps fifty others were heard from frequently. During these years and even until well after the War our competition was minimal. In late '37, somebody down on 28th Street, probably inspired by ourventure, bought a Rutherford and issued a broadside showing several condensed and expanded versions of typefaces captioned with the slogan "The face is familiar but I don't recall the name:' Such clever copy was disturbing - it was the kind of thing we should have thought of ourselves; but that was the first and last we heard of anything from 28th Street In '38 or 39 Martinj. Weber acquired the Rutherford machine we'd sold to Fisher Ball Bearing in Our first contact with Martin was at a trade show in the old photographers'building on Lexington at 47th. Both of us took wall space at 50C a running foot. Martin displayed a line of photo-lettering that seemed to be on fire flames realistically rose up 58

73 from each letter. We tried to be nonchalant about it, but were really very envious of his qualification as a photo-fireman. It has been many years since he discontinued the photo-lettering service, but is now highly regarded for his unusual expertise in trickphotography. - Word kept coming from Chicago about a place called Lettering Incorporated owned by the art director of Montgomery Ward. It produced all the heads for the big Ward catalog except those we photo-lettered in NeW York. This had the makings of a serious threat Lettering Inc was said to have opened its doors with great fanfare and had twelve letterers on staff drawing new alphabets and big salaries. If the rumor was true, that meant 25,000 hours ofnew designs a year. It made us shudder. Later we found that much ofthe story was unfounded and that in Chicago they may have been more upset about us that we were about them. As it turned Out, the only way they were able to get Ward's NewYorkbusiness away from us was to open up a NewYorkbranch. Lettering Inc had no machinery except a copying camera. It was the first of a number of establishments to revive, with some improvements, the old Todd Litho method of assembling pre-printed letters into words. The letters that Lettering Inc assembled were almost an inch high, appeared in black on clear film trimmed close to the sides but with ample film margins top and bottom for easy handling. The object was to assemble these into words on glass panels about24x4 inches, then photograph them to the desired size. Individual letterswere held in place on the glass by double-sided Scotch T" tape mounted across the top and bottom of the face of each glass panel, leaving a clear opening between the strips of tape so that the words could be backlighted when photographed. As the "setter" set each letter he squared it up and spaced it visually. The idea was particularly good for connected scripts (much used by Ward's) because the connectors could be overlapped visually and neither alignment nor retention of angle was critical. But it was not efficient for more formal styles because the spacing alignment and square-up of each letter had to be re-determined every time it was set, whereas in our photo-lettering the alignment and square-up were determined once and for all when the original plate was made. Further disadvantages of the Lettering Inc method were that after the lines were photographed they might require reproportioning and certainly must be assembled one under the other. A final disadvantage was that the original letters, after photographing required distribution just like hand type, or "cannibalizing" shop jargon for picking letters from job to job. "Process lettering" as it was called, seemed to be taking advantage of too few of the good things about photography and, we felt, retained too many of the bad things associated with hand typesetting. Time has vindicated that appraisal A LOOIçAT PHOTO-LEflERINGS LIBRARY in '40 or '41 would show about 600 master styles, but only a limited number could be called creative in the sense that they contributed something really new to type design. We regarded ourselves purely as a service organization. This meant, first of all, that we had to be able to photo-letter a headline in any face that might be called for. We never competed with metal type because our prices were considerably higher. Almost nobody asked for photo-lettering in a 59

74 metal type style unless it needed to be condensed, expanded, obliqued, weighted, optically spaced, outlined, curved, shadowed, backsianted, or treated in some manner that could not be achieved otherwise. Occasionally we came to the rescue of typographers caught by the inflexibility ofnietal caught as I had often been back in my days at Lee & Phillips. I recall an annual report set by a typographer in Times Roman. It was ready to go to press when someone discovered that a word had been omitted from the title page. There was no room for the extra word in an already fill line. A smaller size would not have been acceptable. It was a simple matter for us to photo-letter that single line in a slightly condensed Times and thereby rescue the job. On another occasion a typographer gave us an order for 200 words of 48-point Eve Italic because there was not that much 48-point Eve Italic in the whole city. Occasionally we would photo-letter tightly fitted lines of caps for typographers who did not want to subject their metal type to excessive saw work or "notching:' Perhaps the most unexpected request for type came Rom Mr. George Macy at the Limited Editions Club. He wanted the unique 22-point cut ofcaslon 471 photo-lettered in 60-point It takes a man of his typographic sensitivity to appreciate the niceties of that 22- point cut, but we were a jump ahead of him and had the plate already made up justwaitingfor such a call. Most of our business, however, was catering to what some might call the eccentric whims of art directors. Perhaps in some cases the whims were eccentric, but we trained ourselves to feel that when a respected art director sent us a layout in which he had carefully rendered the headline in a style that did not match anything available, he had probably done so forgood reason, and it was our duty to accept it as an opportunity to learn more about the fine points of lettering. It was a good policy especially since we had no salesmen to convince a client that he wanted what he really did not want. Instead of paying salesmen, we put what would have been the sales cost into producing the style that the art director wanted in the first place, and gradually built up a library of very sound designs, conceived by art directors and tested by them for usefulness. These styles rarely had the glitter ofaccomplished letterers dreaming their most glamorous dreams, but they were well developed workhorses that performed with merit the tasks for which they were intended. Word got around that Photo-Lettering's library reflected much ofthe good thinking ofmany ofthe best art directors. We were perfectly content with this role, and it was not until several years later that we added to this capacity the more spectacular one ofsupermart for alphabets created by scores of the most accomplished letterers. But that is a later story HAROLD WAS THE FIRST OF us to buy a house. By this time Phyllis and he had a son, Roger, and a daughter, Noelle. Their Elmhurst apartment was getting pretty crowded and the uncertainty ofwhat life would be like in a bombed out NewYorkpushed many young families into the suburbs. They found a very nice place in Phillipse Manor just above Tarrytown, and moved in. Good houses in 1941 started at six or seven thousand and ran up to ten or eleven. Property taxes were around $300 a year, so it all fitted neatly into the rule-of-thumb that a house should not cost more than two year's salary.

75 By fall Dorothy and I, too, were getting restless. After much searching we found a place in Croton-on-Hudson, a few miles further up the river than Phyllis and Harold. We said good-bye to Brooklyn and for $45 the movers tookall our furniture, including a piano, fifty miles to Croton. Many delightful tales could be told about bringing up our family of boys - Ed, Dave and Tim - in the woods along the bank of the Croton River. Perhaps it even had some indirect bearing on the development of Photo-Lettering, but that's hard to pinpoint Exactly three weeks after we moved in the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor - with metal from the demolished Second Avenue El and we were at war. I have one vivid memory of the Monday morning after Pearl Harbor. The New York offices of the news paper,japaneseameñcan at the end of our hallway on the ninth floor were completely empty. We never knew what happened. Perhaps the editors pulled out lock, stockand barrel, or perhaps the FBI made a clean sweep. The door was left ajar, but everyone and everything had vanished; there wasn't a stickofflirniture left and we never heard a word about it. That abruptly brought to an end the politejapanese as we rode on the elevator. A few weeks later a friend of mine, Tom, invited me for lunch at the Yale Club. He'd brought a friend along who, during the meal, asked a number of searching questions about my printing background. I suppose we'd finished coffee when Tom said "Ed, myfriend hasjust given me the signal to tell you why we're here. Winning this war is not going to be easy. Our government will need to counterfeit Quite a number of German andjapanese documents, and we believe you could set up avery sophisticated counterfeiting department in Washington." It's not hard to imagine what went on in my mind. I could see myself changing places with old Scrooge Michaels who had helped me lose the E. A. Wright sale five years before. There I was, peeking out of a counterfeit den as he had peeked out at me. And I could see our six-year-old son answering his first grade teacher's question 'What does yourfather do?" \- Q "I+hink hec Mr. Ro os eve lcs counterfitter? But there's one thing about that ghastly Yale Club lunch that I still cherish: its the only time in my entire life that I've been sought out by somebody and offered a paying job. U U 'U UFE pi I N 2. All through my childhood I had the notion that people who lived in big cities were wiser than those who lived in small towns. Girls and boys in Carolina took it for granted that they'd never win a national contest. You knew before you signed the entry blank that you didn't have a chance. The winner was sure to come from "some big place:" So I was duly impressed when I read in the Croton weekly that a speaker from Peekskill (with five times our population) was coming to Crotonto show us how to setup a Civil Defense system. I was on the front row, notebook in hand, when the man from Peekskill began to talk. For two hours I paid close attention to everything he said and regarded his word as gospel. But walking home that night, meditating on what I'd heard; a blaze of truth hit me like a bullet: Last month when I lived in Brooklyn if a man from Peekskill had ventured to instruct us Brooklynites on how to protect our homes I would have considered it an insult Yet tonight I had listened intently to "the man from Peekskill."I was the same person I was in Brooklyn. I hadn't changed. The only thing that had changed was the population of the community in which I lived. Two thousand years ago 61

76 Saint John pointed out in the New Testament the gross error of such bigotry. Yet only last month, in Brooklyn, I had been guilty ofwearingthe same shoes as biblical Nathaniel who, upon hearing aboutjesus, said It ±'Ut 9Da bb8 yna IT MUST HAVE BEEN in the winter of Scores of tankers were being sunk off the Carolina coast. New York papers didn't say much about ft, but my brother lived on the tiny island of Ocracoke, near Cape Hatteras, where the German submarines lay in wait. His letters told the tragic story. Oil covered the beaches, and bodies of British seamen washed up on shore. Four of them were buried on Ocracoke in what is now called The British Graveyard. On the graveyard fence is a touching little plaque of Rupert Brooke's immortal lines hammered letter by letter into bronze with an unsophisticated affection that is preserved in the telltale erratum: IF I SHOULD DIE THINKONLy THIS OF ME: THAT THAT THERE'S SOME CORNER OF A FOREIGN FIELD THAT IS FOREVER ENGLAND. In the Pacific one island after another fell to the Japanese. Names we'd never heard of before Luzon, Bataan, Corregidor, Tarakan, Kuala Lampur, Rabaul, Leyte Gulf suddenly meant only bitter tragedy. Deep in Russia the Germans were attacking Stalingrad, and the 900-day siege of Leningrad was under way. In 1942 all was black. As the 7:39 commuter train from Croton rolled down the tracks along the shore of the Hudson near Hastings the passengers, almost as one, rushed across the car to the river side and in horrified amazement gaped at what had happened to several hundred feet ofthe Palisades across the river. Freezing weather overnight had tumbled loose some massive sections ofrockand left a clear sculpture ofhitler's face filly 200 feet high! There it was: moustache, sinister frown, piercing eyes and all. You couldn't miss it. It was eerie. Then a wise commuter suggested that the war would be over by the time the features were weathered away. And so it was. Today nothing remains but a flat faceless wall ofrocic I was alone in Photo-Lettering one night when a stranger walked in and looked around. He was big and had a nice easy-going manner. The job he'd brought was complicated, but one that we were well equipped to do. That evidently made a good impression because shortly thereafter he called from the Office ofemergency Management in Washington and dictated the headlines for several war posters. This was the beginning of a close friendship with Charlie Tudor a friendship that lasted until his death in the late 60s. War posters were designed in three different places, two of them in New York The most impressive was on the top floor of 250 West 57th Street, the Fisk Building. Hank (Francis) Brennen steered this operation and supervised a large staff including.bill Golden, Ben Shahn, Irving Miller, Arnold Roston and others. The posters produced here were of excellent quality; some were hand lettered; others we photo-lettered. One of the most famous in which we were involved carried the title "Someone Talked;' showing a drowning sailor at sea clinging to a piece of floating shipwreck. WE

77 In the same building was another war poster department, this one directed bytoby Moss and his able associate Brad Thompson. It seemed to be concerned chiefly with foreign language material and presented us with the problem of getting the accents over letters to look just right. I remember one series in a Baltic language showing in pictures, words and graphs the enormous growth of the U.S. warplane industry. Toby kept askingfor heavier and heavier letters and finally Harold drew Murray Hill with almost no "counters" or white space within the letters. That's how Murray Hill Condensed 11 came into being. But the art department that kept us alive was tucked away in one of Washington's quickie pre-fabs known as Temporary D, and manned by Charlie Tudor and Dave Stech. They produced a vast number of posters and we shared in all ofthem. I well remember the most dramatic: Ablack swastika in the middle ofa big red sun, and roaring down towards it for a sure bulls eye hit was an enormous bomb marked "More Production' Twenty-five years later in the midst of our Vietnam misadventure I saw plastered all over Budapest a poster with overtones of Charlie's famous one, but with a gruesomely different twist: This time it was not Hitler's swastika on a redjapanese sun, butterrified Vietnamese children crouching at the bottom of the poster trying to protect themselves from a rain of bombs labeled "U.S' - Many of Charlie's posters urged "More Production" and were for use infâctories. We rarely saw them outside war plants. They were not nearly as well known as the 57th Street sheets. But I doubt if any poster was more dramatically displayed than the one designed to hang inside the Washington railroad terminal. In seven or eight lines of photo-lettering enlarged to sixty feet high it displayed President Roosevelt's inspiring declaration ofthe Four Freedoms. The poster hungthere at the gateway to Washington for more than a year and, no doubt, was deliberately placed to have an impact on the millions who came to Washington on war-related missions. In a nostalgic mood I recentlylooked up the alphabet used for that lettering in the dark days of the war. The style, Sterling Bodoni Semi-Condensed, was originally drawn by Harold for Milt Zudeck at McCann-Erickson to use in a Lincoln automobile campaign. It's thrilling to see your offspring grow up to sixty feet tall. Reminders of offspring have a way of appearing in the most unexpected places. Even in church. Upon finding one's self the victim of a lengthy Sunday morning sermon, Harold or I would play the harmless game of matching numbers on the hymn board with numbers of our alphabet styles. "Lead on, 0 King eternal" No. 176, for example, was our Madison Demibold Condensed. "The church's one foundation" No. 121 is Futura Condensed Ultrabold. "Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing" No. 312 is Endicott Bodoni Bold Condensed Italic with small lowercase x- height drawn originally for Drakes Cakes. The diversion is recommended only for sermons that exceed fifteen minutes. Long distance telephone lines during the war were strained to the limit It was not unusual to wait an hour for a connection. Charlie Tudor's little department, however, had an "Office of the President" priority, so he could usually get through to us in a matter of minutes. Even so, the quality ofthe connection left muchto be desired. To make matters worse, a shell case manufacturer had moved in next door and installed three chattering air compressors on the back of the wall opposite our tele- Au BbccDdEeFfGg THE FOUR FREEDOMS Freedom of Speech and Expression Freedom of Worship Freedom from Want Freedom from Fear A goat santpung of pfwto4etterrtww pottn appeam au pages i

78 phone. Those Washington calls were a precious lifeline, but often the combination of bad connection and air compressor pounding made it impossible to hear Charlie's voice clearly. Steve Kopec had a wild idea: why not get the phone company to install an amplifier for the deaf in our line? That solved the problem pretty well though even with the volume turned all the way up I had to close my other ear and listen very intently. When the war ended the shell case manufacturer moved out. One day I noticed the amplifier still under my desk so called to have it taken away. The workman who came to remove the old box rummaged around behind the deslcfor awhile and then said, "Maybe Ishouldn't tell you, but whoever installed this thing never hooked it into your line." P6oto.Lcuerj..g litc, 194z-45 Stan41n: Steve Kopec, EJRonha(er, Frank Icopec, Harold Horman Seateil, HaflJev Riafdv, Dot Herterith, Jules DcWette (Photo 1,co) We knew only too well in 1942 that the draft would eventually reach down to Photo-Lettering and reduce our number. All five of us were healthy, the right age, and lettering for war posters and propaganda would make little impression on a draft board. So we broke with our allmale tradition and hired Dorothy Herterick right out of the Croton High School graduating class. It was a happy choice. She carried her share of the load right along with the rest ofus, adding a light touch that kept the sun shining on darker days. Jules and Frank soon volunteered for the Navy. As luckwould have it there was a Rutherford photo-lettering machine stowed away in the Anacostia Naval Photo Science Lab, and some perceptive clerkmatched up Frank's qualifications with the idle machine, so his career with Uncle Sam was not very different from civilian life. When Jules returned from Morocco he too was assigned to operate this same machine. We found a partial replacement for our loss to the Navy in Hartley Ruddy, a young man whose somewhat impaired hearing disqualified him for military service but not for us. He had a cheerful disposition, fitted in well, and has been a loyal photo-letterer ever since. Getting photographic supplies in 1943 was not easy. Our workfor the Office of War Information may have given us a slight edge, but we must have been far down on the priority list Once we sent an order to Eastman Kodakfor a gross of28x5 inch glass plates. Eastman wrote backthat the War Production Board would not permit them to fill such a large order for a special size; ifwe would reduce the order to half gross they could fill it. This we did. Then a second letter came statingthat the War Production Board had ruled that any order of less than a gross was inefficient use of manpower; if we would increase the order to a fill gross it could be filled. This we did and got the plates. Sometimes you could pick up outdated paper or film, often in broken lots, miscuts, or left over sizes. Once we were offered thirteen hundred sheets of 10 no inch mapping paper outdated and lightstruck around the edges. Makeshift materials hampered efficiency but they were far better than nothing. It was in the spring of 1943 when Pete Tolies ofjwt invited Harold and me to help him initiate a weekly get-together just to talk shop with others who were interested in type. He had invited Gus Holt and Ross Morris from BBD&O and planned to ask two or three others. This was not to be an organization just an informal lunch for the fin of it. Pete hoped we'd bring along a proof of something offthe beaten track. I don't remember where the first luncheon was held, but soon we met regularly at a table in the big basement restaurant on 44th Street around 64

79 the corner from the Fifth Avenue Brass Rail. After a year or so the group had grown modestly under Pete's guidance, but was still small enough for easy conversation. At one of the lunches near the end ofthe war Pete introduced us to his new assistant, Frank Powers who, upon Pete's untimely death a few months later, took over the reins. Frank saw a much more dynamic role for the group than Pete had planned. To appreciate Frank's vision it should be remembered that in most advertising agencies those reponsible for an ad's appearance were classified either as art directors or production men. In management's eyes, type was more closely related to production than to art 1 and a production man whose chief duty was specifying type might often be called a "type man?' This label was not necessarily a step up the ladder; it might even have a demeaning connotation which could be serious if reflected in a salary differential. Franktook steps to do something about this. He and his friend Jim Secrest coined the term "type director" and gave the title respect by turning the little luncheon group into the "New York Type Directors Club?' It was brilliant strategy and achieved its intended goal. No type director today should ever receive his pay checkwithouta salute to Frank andjim. It's b igger because ofthem SOMETIME IN 1944 after D-dayJim Yates, art director of the Saturday Evening Post in Philadelphia, retained TommyThompson, the celebrated NewYork letterer, to stylize the display heads for the Post pages. It was decided that the headlines should be executed in a beautiful Didot face that Tommy had perfected over the years, and that the by-lines with the author's name should be in a small contrasting stencilled letter. To handletter a dozen or more titles every week, rain or shine, fifty-two weeks a year guaranteed a steady income, but carried a commitment that was, to Tommy, more like life imprisonment. No letterer relished such an arrangement. I'm sure the possibility of cutting the faces in foundry type was considered, but cutting exclusive types was fantastically expensive, time consuming, and utterly out of the question in a country geared to the hilt for war production. The first inkiing we had of all this was when Tommy walked into Photo-Lettering, introduced himself, and asked about the possibility of having his designs converted to photo-lettering for the exclusive use of the Saturday Evening Post We had, ofcourse, heard of the great Tommy Thompson, the creative genius whose brilliant letterings distinguished, among others, the famous Chrysler ads of J. Sterling Getchell. Yet here was that Tommy Thompson asking us if we could put one of his alphabets on our photolettering machine for the exclusive use of the Saturday Evening Past! We pinched ourselves to see if we were dreaming; then assured him that it could be done quickly and accurately. Tommy suggested that he, Harold, and I get a cup of coffee and talk over the arrangement It was in the little coffee shop just west of our building that we laid the groundwork for a "Participating Letterer's Agreement" which, in the next decade was destined to place Photo-Lettering far above type foundries as the chief source of royalties for alphabet designers; to make it the marketplace that would ultimately offer thousands of styles that otherwise would never have seen daylight; and to bring at least a modicum AaBbCcDd-EèFfC Aa Kb Cc Dd Ec Ff GgHh fiji 65

80 Me of national recognition to the names of hundreds of letterers whose achievement in alphabet design might otherwise have gone unnoticed. It was not Tommy's idea that the plan we put together should have such far reaching effect. Indeed he asked that we forego making similar arrangements with other letterers. There was a certain reasonableness about his request. After all, he was The Top we could go no higher. But Harold and I wisely held out. Our refusal to exclude others didn't surprise Tommy too much. Above all he wanted to keep the relationship between us on a high level, and to his credit it must be said that he did not press the point. We made simple agreement a dollar royalty for every word we photo-lettered in his style. Then we scribbled out a little note recordingthe agreement, because that seemed to be the properthingto do, and signed it. But it wasn't the note that kept the relationship between us wholesome through the years. Written agreements are too easily misread by lawyers who can generally find a way to interpret honorable intentions dishonorably. Much as I respect the written word, I prefer to think that nothing is more binding than a handshake between men of goodwill. As we parted we shookhands. Within a week or so the postman began to deliver orders from Philadelphia; and back went the photo-lettering with clock-like regularity. Today it's hard to believe that during those years of war and manpower shortage the Post Office never thought of reneging on the proud pledge carved high above the pillars of its venerable Eighth Avenue building: " NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW NOR SLEET NOR GLOOM OF NIGHT WILL STAY THESE COURIERS FROM THE SWIFT COMPLETION OF THEIR APPOINTED ROUNDS." To mail a letter in NewYorktonight and be sure of its delivery in Philadelphia early next morning was routine. There were no zip codes whose accidental misreading could send your Philadelphia message on a frustrating trekto Seattle. There were no 2-letter state abbreviations to confuse all but the Postmaster General. Until zip codes, postal strikes, unionism, inflated rates and philatelic coddling replaced total commitment to "the swift completion of appointed rounds" the post office could always be trusted trusted with a faith that, in our case, enabled Photo- Lettering to reach from coast to coast and count almost half of its clients as out-of-towriers. That was long ago. Soon after the SaturdayEueningPost appeared in new dress the origin of the headlines began to be known. Letterers who had privately held misgivings about Photo-Lettering now began to Iwockon the door. As with J. Walter Thompson where we began "at the top;' so it was with the Saturday Evening Post and Tommy Thompson: we were again beginning at the top. The prestige of having Tommy Thompson as our first participating letterer set the stage for attracting a high level ofprofessionals. The list began to grow, and became more and more impressive. It lifted Photo-Letteri:ng into a very important position as trend-setter in alphabet styles. We were careful never to suggest to any letterer that his design had good potential. Indeed we had no way to know if it had or had Pot. Our role was merely one of custodianship, providing service to those who wished to use the styles, addinga royalty to our charges, and passing along that royalty to the designer. Ifthe letterer directly persuaded an art director to use his alphabet, his royalties were sure to increase. This tended to make semi-salesmen out of some of our participants, and the good will generated thereby was substantial.

81 AMID GREAT REJOICI NG the war came to an end. Jules DeWette and Frank Kopec returned from the Navy, and the noisy manufacturer next door moved away. We leased part ofhis former quarters; not a large area, but some much-needed breathing space. On Columbus Day we all showed up with overalls and lunch pails ready to breakthrough the old wall, turn the darkroom around, and build a slate developing trough that lasted for nearly thirty years. This was one of the many times when our avocations carpentry, plumbing, painting, electrical and avarietyofmechanical skills came in handy. With more room we could add moderately to our staff. Harold and I chose new personnel very cautiously, trying to be sure that those who came with us were in tune with the character ofthe place. Within a year we had added two new names: Dick Decker and Gordon Chace who, along with the rest of us, were destined to remain with Photo-Lettering for their working lives. The major item on the post-war agenda was a bigger and better catalog. The few clients who still had our pre-war edition had lost, misplaced, or hopelessly scrambled so many of the looseleaf pages that it no longer served as a convenient reference manual. The new book would be the debut for a growing number of participating letterers and their designs, which included not only the Colonial series by Tommy Thompson, but C.E. Coryn's first of his many Didots, brush designs by Al Nolan and George Piscitelle, George Suman's Bagpipe, several styles byj. Albert Cavanagh, Al Bosco and Dick Kaufman and, most importantly, Dave Davison's elegant Spencerian. One might suppose that the war years would have been lean ones for alphabet designers. For many they were, but not for all. Dave Davison. for example, worked in a war production plant where he carried out Uncle Sam's wishes in the daytime, but spent the nights drawing his celebrated Spencerian, which he gave us shortly before the end of hostilities. Over the years it has become a widely acknowledged classic. Tony Stan, on the other hand, had an entirely different experience. Early in 1942 an omnipotent finger beckoned him from the drawing board to Fort Dix. That ended his lettering career for "the duration." During his induction Tony insisted to the admitting sergeant that he was a letterer, not a mere sign painter, and for that expression of loyalty to his art the no-nonsense sergeant dumped him into the 11th Armored Division, a tankcorps, where he saw the grimmest ofaction relieved by only one opportunity to use his lettering talent painting a sign that read "OFFICERS' LATRINE. He was in the thick of action in France, Belgium, and even in the notorious Battle of the Bulge. Always an artist at heart Tony's most haunting memories are of the remarkable and often gm tesque designs battered by bullets into the stark walls of bombed build ings in village after blackened village. The experiences of Dave and Tony may represent extremes. No doubt an average would fall somewhere in between, yet creativity in letter design was not at a standstill duringthe war. Atits close we counted in ourlibraryatotal of]ustunder athousand alphabets 979 tobe exact - avery respectable figure for 1946, most ofthem drawn by Harold. When our new catalog was ready to go to press we ordered an extra 5000 copies and sent one to almost every agency listed in themckittrick AB CDEFGIITJT( 67

82 ilaffilcis Chest is Knocking at Mailliallalis Boor llofft Give All those Daisies to the Muses Register. This brought an immediate response. It also spread nationwide the concept ofphotographic lettering and clear evidence that important letterers were designing important styles for Photo-Lettering. The word spread, and new designs began to come in from totally unexpected sources one of them with no more identification than a return address on the outside of the package! As young art directors returned to peacetime jobs in advertising and publishing many of them were given more responsible roles than they had left. A connection that pleased us enormously was Charlie Tudor's appointment as art director oflijè. Just as always, he kept calling in headlines, using photo -lettering whenever possible and always for the weekly "Life goes to a Party" feature. At that point our three steady magazine clients were The Saturday EueningPost Life, and Vogue. Colliers Magazine, not to be outdone by the Post, retained Tommy Thompson to design an exclusive headline style. It was a very condensed thickand thin square serif We, ofcourse, were delighted to make it available on photo-lettering but a Colliers' efficiency expert insisted that the letter also be cut in metal type. Monotype agreed to undertake the task for delivery within nine months, and to cut it in 48, 60, and 72- point. Those months, however, produced a gradual change of taste in the Colliers' art department; the layouts sent to us began to hint at wider and wider versions of the new style. With calculated stealth we expanded the letters more and more through our reproportioning lenses, perhaps to the extent of one percent a week. In time it all added up, and when Monotype submitted trial proofs of its first cutting the Colliers people were shocked at what seemed to them avery condensed version oftheir new design. Thus we outwitted the efficiency expert and kept the account, offand on, until that worthy publication finally closed its doors DREARY MONTHS of military service gave some imaginative minds a chance to plan new enterprises for the happy day when fighting would end. Some who were art-minded hoped to open process lettering services which ultimately came into being under such names at "Techni- Film," "Headliners:' "Flexo-Lettering," and others. The more photo-mechanically inclined may have been laying groundwork for simpler manually operated machines based on the "contact" principle, where letters on the master negative lie flat against the photo-paper rather than being projected through a lens as in photolettering. These machines later made their debut as the "Headliner," "Filmotype," "lypro," etc. There were those, too, who looked ahead toward a system of keyboard photo-typesetting that would replace the Linotype, Intertype, and Monotype. First to surface was Intertype's short-lived "Fotosetter" in It was not much more than a professionalized version ofthe struggling inventor's Linotype adaptation I'd seen in a loft on 20th Street back in Higonnet and Moyraud in Paris were developing a far better approach to photo-typesetting by combining keyboard and electronic techniques. On their machine a strobe light flashed behind a spinning disk of tiny 5-point letters at the precise instant when a letter previously struck on a keyboard passed before the flash. Consecutive flashes exposed one letter after another on a roll of photo paper, composing the

83 words tapped out on the keyboard in any size up to 18-point I first saw this machine the Lumitype th Photon demonstrated in a room in the WaldorfAstoria in1952. Itwas not an impressive demonstration; indeed it was disappointing to everybody. Fuses kept blowing out and nothing was produced. lime, nevertheless, has proved that it is one of the good ways to set type photographically, and millions of words printed today are composed in this manner. Many mechanical improvements had been cooking in our own minds during the war, but Harold and I rarelyfound time to develop them beyond a cardboard-pushpin-masking tape model. DickDecker had the skill, imagination and resourcefulness to move ideas from limbo into finished pieces of equipment, and it was clear as early as 1946 that his initials, RD., stood for Research and Development. Under his leadership our R&D has grown from a five foot workbench to a fully equipped and fully manned machine shop able to build anything from fine precision tools to large automatic pieces of machinery. At one time Dick even produced some lenses. The value of fabricating our own equipment quickly and without long and painful hassles cannot be overestimated. If we had been dependent on apathetic outside sources to make our ideas jell, we would have lagged years behind in leadership. Decades before others could do it we were reproportioning fill newspaper pages, twisting lines of photo-lettering into symmetrical and asymmetrical curves, making outlines, shadows, perspective, circoflairs, varigrams, ogees, spherographs, cylindrical curves, etc. etc. None of it was easy, but nobody could do it nearly so well. That alone was enough to keep our spirits sprinting ahead. It was now 1948, the year when Harry Truman launched his old fashioned "give 'em hell" whistle-stop campaign against Thomas Dewey. Things were going well and I was scanning the Times' classified pages hoping to find someone who might give us a hand. I clipped a brief description of two art school graduates one of whom indicated that he could letter with a LeRoy pen. We interviewed them both and liked them equally well. I suggested flipping a coin, but Harold was more reckless and thought we should hire them as a pair. It's good we did because the one who could letter with the LeRoy pen George Sohn would ultimatelybe called on to fill my shoes. I was pleased to discoverthat the powers behind the YellowPages are not monolithic. They can be maneuvered a bit Of course it took substantial ad to getthe Telephone Comapny to move, butwith thatleverage I was able to persuade its salesman that a new classification, "Photo- Lettering," was in order. All went well for a year or two until suddenly we discovered that, unannounced, the classification had been changed to "Processing Lettering," a term we detested and often ridiculed by linking it to process cheese a substitute for the real thing. Such trickery was bound to be the work of Emil IQumpp of Lettering Inc., and I fired off a hot phone call to the Yellow Pages. They pleaded innocence of wrongdoing but refused to go back to "Photo-Lettering." I moved right on up the ladder to higher and higher authorities and finally compromised, reluctantly, on "Photographic Lettering." In an effort to placate me filly the official agreed to insert a cross reference reading "Photo-Lettering see Photographic Lettering:' True to his promise, the Yellow Pa ges have faithfully carried this cross reference ever since. Pre-zso exam pces offrcaip&me flexibiu, are shown Ut the Cower mar9ths of pages Manhattan Yellow Pages Ward jack Col., S.C. Inc 102E44 -..j 7.I Wa,o Ad Photos 152W # Wtin,a'.tlssln Inc n 9-lies heltq. Sc' p-.,.$i0 LatUrI4' - PW4. Nish MA Cv tnt, no MU AC 14J51C R,nrnd.dion Sn, 16158w joj 2-933, AACPtetnCa IIIWII AL

84 TELEPHOW When I was a boy the Winston-Salem telephone numbers had no exchange names. Our number was 1505, the College was 30, and my grandparents' 439. On my first day in NewYorkthe distinctive Montague the number duly impressed me: Murray Hill Even more exciting was the way it looked across the bottom of the letterhead in 12-point small caps: MURRAY HILL FIFTY-FIFTY This is an exant pie of an an that comiot be fully appreciated 6y those who have not themselves set metal type. It was cutnpose4 (in larger size of course) with metal type ornaments anti brass role, ant printed lircctiyfiotn type without engravings or retouching. A notable e,esunp(e of!929 craftsinansftip. I took a sample up to the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing where it was loyally admired. From Harry Roberts I learned that exchange names were important status symbols; almost as important as an address. They labeled you. If your home telephone was in the Regent, Rheinlander, Butterfield or Stuyvesant exchanges you were probably among the socially elite. Next best were Chelsea and Watkins about Oldsmobile status. But certain exchange names you kept strictly to yourselfand hoped for the day when you could get something better. Exchange prestige was equally important in business. It is, I hope, the only bit of snobbishness that I cling to tenaciously a frailty of character that I cannot overcome. Murray Hill and Plaza were tops for midtown. Eldorado, Wickersham, Caledonia and Vanderbilt were perfectly acceptable but not quite so distinguished. When Oxford and Oregon later came into being they were considered nouveau riche. I suspected the phone company oftrying to give status to Mohawkby assigning it to J. Walter Thompson; but the strategy didn't work.. Finally they disconnected all the Mohawkrelays and letj WT come backto Murray Hill. If you were on the West Side the best you could do was Chickering, Lackawanna, Bryant, Columbus, Medallion or Pennsylvania; but considerate people rarely held that against a West Sider. The elite Herald Tribune had to live with Pennsylvania, and consoled itselfwith the memory that Pennsylvania was the oldest of all exchange names, dating back to before 1900 a feeble solace. Early in the Great Depression telephone engineers began their long struggle to depersonalize the exchanges. One of their first victories was changing Murray Hill to Murray Hill 2. We were told that this was necessary because the engineers were running out of names; so we offered them a dictionary, but it didnt help. What they were really up to became clear when they gave birth to Murray Hill 4! Harry Roberts put in a call to learn the sex of the new baby, but such personal information was not available from the business office even in the days before E.R.A. Murray Hill 4 was ultimately followed by a sextet of next-of-kin: 6,5,3,9,7 and 8. There's a little story connected with Murray Hill 8. For many years the entire exchange had one and only one number: Murray Hill It was the number of the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, famous on radio. Only the celebrated Murray Hill family of exchanges could qualify for such distinction. But the needs of war were no respecter of telephone protocol, and in 1944 Murray Hills was thrown open to all. At some point the engineers began dubbing in nicknames for exchanges, and we became MU 2. A joker over in the Bryant district, no doubt envious of our Murray Hill status, made the catty remarkthat MU sounded feline and should be pronounced "Mew:' But this was no time for clowning, and we held to Murray Hill's full and distinguished name. 'I,]

85 Photo-Lettering's number backin 1936 was Murray Hill After the War we needed more trunklines and an easy-to-remember sequence was not available. The best was Murray Hill We put in a bid for 2345 whenever it opened up, but that was destined to be along time off. Meanwhile the engineers were killing even the nicknames, and substituting unimaginative 3-digit numbers. As this worst ofindignities drew nearer we kept up the fight whenever and wherever we could, gladly devoting an introductory page of our 1970 catalog to the subject: We have a very warm feeling for our Murray Hill telephone number. Those clients who recall the days before the dial system when 'Murray Hill 2' was simply 'Murray Hill; will remember that this was the prestige exchange on Forty-fifth Street, and that some art directors thought twice before calling a source that did not have a Murray Hill number. Then came Modem Times and some of the niceties began to disappear. Murray Hill became Murray Hill 2-, then MU 2-, and now we are threatened with '682. Nobody welcomes progress more than Photo-Lettering, but we never like to see it made at the expense of the alphabet. Murray Hill Over the years I called 2345 again and again to see if perhaps it had become available. Finally one day in the early '70s a recorded voice answered "I'm sorry, the number you have called is no longer in service; please checicyour number or tnjyour call again." I didn't checkthenumber or try the call again; I cheered. Making the changeover was a costlyjob, but upon completion Photo- Lettering at last had a worthy number in the finest of exchanges. Hardly equal to Columbia Broadcasting's , but almost on a par with Murray Hill 5050 or the Daily News' Murray Hill Agreat victory. When our copy of the new telephone directory arrived in January I opened it with joy and anticipation to see, at last, our distinctive Murray Hill ; And what do you suppose those dull, unromantic, totally insensitive engineers had done? I This story calls for a postscript. As these pages go to press we are told that Murray Hill's ancient electrical equipment is in danger of meeting the same fate as the one hoss shay. Maintenance men are holding their breath. Meanwhile a corps of elite engineers, aware of the prestigious history ofmurray Hill, have assembled the world's finest switching mechanism to revivify the famed exchange albeit under a new designation. Telephone historians have rallied to preserve tradition by selecting the digits 490 with their hint of the 't9 Gold Rush when the telephone was only a glint in Ma Bell's eye. 490 also brings to mind some enchanting pre-inflation nostalgia: my parent's first car was a Chevrolet 490 so named because of its price! Farewell indeed to 490 Chevies. Farewell, alas, to faithful Murray Hill. But a warm welcome to Grandchild In 1948 the long playing record was just coming on the market and Columbia Records retained Alex Steinweiss to design its album covers. This brought Photo-Lettering's faces into new prominence and we saw them colorfully displayed in music store windows all over the city. It 71

86 The catalogs re green, and Glath,cover nbouzet the coupling of Aunt lettering the pencil) pen and bngsltwith c phothgmphec (ens. Steinweiss' choice of has shape was for more significant than he reahzet: A eyfiralricat lens cunet in this manner pmth.cct the reprupontonet letters cliaractoistic of metioáous photo-lettering. We uses the symbol as s trademark for many years. inspired us to spread our wings a bit, and to asksteinweiss to design Our 1950 catalog. He was delighted, and among his many contributions was a lens-and-pentradeinarkthat identified our enterprise foryears to come. The catalog was significant not only for its professional design, but formore thanthirtynew names on itslist ofparticipatingletterers, among them: Pete Dom, Emil Schaedler (father of the bright and highly respectedlohn Schaedler), Tony StanjosefAlbers (the famousjosefalbers ofyale), Alexey Brodovitch, Oscar Ogg, Edwin Shaar,John Allen, Hollis Holland, Harry Winters, Garnet Megee, Milt Crown, and others. No sooner had the '50 catalog appeared than an imaginative young letterer trained in Hollywood screen titling dropped in to show his portfolio. Most of Ed Benguiat's alphabets were in the popular new casual style, and while Pete Dom had supplied us with a few ofthese, itwas still a category in which we were very lacking. Ed offered to print a supplement which became an immediate success and marked the beginning of a long, fruitful and highly stimulating association. It had now been fifteen years since Photo-Lettering made its bow, and the idea that photography might gain widespread use in typesetting was beginning to be acknowledged. Accordingly, The American Artist asked Paul Standard to write an article about our organization. Talking with this brilliant writer and calligrapher was a unique experience and opened up new vistas for me. Paul had become a calligrapher as a result ofhis writing: he was a writer first, a calligrapher second. That's a rare combination, but I began to see that it might not always be. The thought did not come ftorn anything specific that Paul said, but rather from the way my mind turned after talking with him: A speaker usually prepares his own speeches and delivers them too. Not so with the writer. The writer prepares his own manuscript, but other hands transform it into a book. Separating the writer from his graphic voice is the unfortunate reality of the printed word as we know it today. How many Picassos would be satisfied to have their ideas put onto canvas by somebody else? How many Winston Churchills would countenance having their speeches delivered by another? Yet that is precisely what happens to the writer. His medium of communication is graphic, but afterthe paper leaves his typewriter he loses control ofthe voice that presents his words to the eyes of his readers. It need not always be so, thanks to tomorrow's convenience and economy of photo-composition. The time may not be far off when the writer in his home will be keyboardingfinished typeset pagesjust as readily as he now produces typewritten sheets. He willbe reflninghis own page makeup, determ iningline breaks, leading, kerning or letter fit, choice of type. He may well be his own type designer and develop his own "graphic tone ofvoice" as was done in this particular volume. He will have at his command as many niceties in presenting his written word as the speaker has in delivering his address, or as the painter in transferring his ideas to canvas. The story is told of Winston Churchill's valet who, on hearing the prime minister talking in the shower, knocked on the bathroom door and asked: "Sir, were you calling me?" 'No," said Mr. Churchill, "I was addressing the House of Commons." So it will be with writers as they polish their graphic tone of voice albeit not under the shower. That's howyour mind takes flight as it begins to enlarge on a stimulating conversation with Paul Standard. 72

87 1951 WHEN THE SALES OFFICE of the Vandercook Proof Press Company moved from across the hail we took over their lease. Within two years additional space became available and we acquired thattoo. This spread Photo-Lettering diagonally across the ninth floor, northwest-to-southeast, split down the middle with a public hallway. In the southeast section Dick Decker located an enlarged machine shop where he could build new equipment. We converted the northwest corner with the prized window overlooking midtown into "The Alphabet Gallery" dedicated to exhibitions of one-man hand lettering shows. The size of this room was not more than 10x12, but to get the most out of it we engaged the services of a professional decorator, Milton Schulgasser. He did a superb job, providing aboutfifteen runningfeet ofeye-level display space on the walls, almost an equal amount on tilted waist-high shelving, three floor-to-ceiling displaypanels, a glass top table, abench for resting weary feet, and a place for transparencies on a ground glass covering the lower halfofthe window but not blocking out the dramatic view. Storage space below the shelving was hidden by Scandinavian split rattan screening very cheap and very attractive. The crowning glory, however, was Schulgasser's design for a checkerboard alphabet wallpaper which has since become a hallmark of Photo-Lettering. At the beginning we were concerned about the small size of the room, but felt better about it when visitors told us that its intimacy provided just the right environment for something so personal as letters. The first show, November 1951, was the lettering of C.E. Coryn, affectionately known as "Les." It was reviewed byth'intingnews and visited by several hundred during its three months hanging. Among the letterers having later exhibitions were Tommy Thompson, Dave Davison, Ed Benguiat Tony Stan, Pete Dom, Saul Haupt, Emil Schaedler, Paul Carlyle, Hollis Holland, Frank Bartuslca, Tony Bonagura, andjim D'Amico. By now our staff had grown to nearly twenty, augmented by names that would be loyally answering the roll call for many years to come: Herb Wagner, Jack Moore, Rudy Supper, Chuck Papirtis and Vince PacelIa. Everybody fell in with the spirit of self-motivation and needed no supervision. That made it fun. Indeed for many years Photo-Lettering had no management as management is commonly understood. It just ran itself. The casual direction that Harold and I provided was not quite Electrographic's idea ofaggressive leadership. I was once told I hope it was tongue in cheek "No reason why-you can't grow faster, Ed; keep your eye on Union Carbide; you should be as big as they." My typical day in the early'sos began when the alarm went offat 6:30. Breakfast with Dot and the children was followed by a mile walk to the station to catch the 739. Recently I figured out that if all those walks to and from the train were laid end to end they'd reach from Croton down across the South Pole and up through Australia, China, and into Siberia - quite a respectable little stroll. Climbing the station steps provided some exercise too: up and down every significant mountain in America from Mts. Washington and Mitchell to Whitney, Hood, and even Mt. McKinley in Alaska plus the Matterhorn in Switzerland, lulimanjaro in Affica and, of course, Everest The train trip along the Hudson is the world's most beautiful commuter ride. It changes with the seasons, the issirwnat Par ls4 zlti,,c * c_4,r7,1 JL 1.4 flaviso)( TUE A LPHA ET.6 th,..4- Pfwtogra4As 4tReAaSet city Q4JiCcrori.pagesi.6o-6i. 73

88 ^4 0( Fortun I auls the Crusdd MT SVMSt NA sky, the wind, the temperature, even the tide. No day could open with a better prelude. Then a quickwalkfl-om Grand Central to 45th Street. The hallway separating the wings of Photo-Lettering made it a little awkward for Harold and me to keep in touch with everybody. We were in the south section.just to be sure that our presence wouldn't be forgotten we entered each morning in a roundabout fashion: through the gallery and into the room where lettering machines were being operated by Gordon Chace and, if the workwas heavy, by DickDecker too; then past the editing tables with cheery good mornings to Jules DeWette, Steve Kopec, George Sohn, Vince Pacella, Rudy Supper and Chuck Papirtis; poking a head into the darlwoom to greet FrankKopec, Herb Wagner and Hartley Ruddy; across the hall where Frank Griffin was making new alphabet plates, Lou Cannella dispatching the messengers Jackie and Charlie Moore, and Anne Queally at the switchboard and typewriter, finally settling down at our opticons. There we'd frantically program styles, sizes, proportions and sketch layouts in sufficient technical details toguide each job through the lettering machine, editing and camera. That kept both of us busy most of the time. We usually completed about thirty jobs a day. Our 2000 miniature replicas of all styles 5 q inch glass "layout plates" for use in the opticons were filed in an open rackbetween us. We'd learned to flip them back and forth and in and out with rarely a cracked corner. Since by choice and philosophy we had no one solely devoted to selling, our telephones rang incessantly. At Harold's right hand was his drawing board where he filled spare minutes drawing new alphabets. In my spare time I took care of the essential outside contacts: Milt Zudeck at McCann Erickson, Harry Payne and Johnny Lynch at BBD&O, Gerry O'Neill, Bill Buckley and several of the art directors at JWT, and a few magazines that needed nursing. Harold and I usually ate lunch at the YMCA, and that's where we designed most of the new equipment. It sounds like a busy schedule, and it was; but everybody else was busy too and it filled our lives with worthwhile activity. Each day we were breaking new ground in company with what must have been the most congenial hardworking and dedicated staff ever. Rarely a day passed without an uncommon request, but sometimes these requests were more than uncommon they were downright absurd. I remember when a copywriter, searching desperately for an idea, chanced on one of our catalogs. In a flash of doubtful brilliance he decided to mold his copy around some of our alphabet names, using them in punch lines for Fortune promotion pieces. A line like "Fortune leads the Crusade" would be photo lettered in Crusade Condensed, and identified as such in the piece. He hoped that when his key word had no matching alphabet we would let the tail wag the dog and produce a style named to match the word he needed. Artistic suitability was of no concern. It was a deal anything to keep the pot boiling. So we pulled our worst design failures out of the never-never bin, held a big christening party, willed the new names to posterity, and sent the bill to Fortune. On another occasion somebody in Oklahoma was thumbing through our catalog in search of a unique name for his new enterprise. Geofi±ey Hodghnson's alphabet "Fat Dumb & Happy" sounded right to Oklahoma ears. So we photo-lettered FAT DUMB & HAPPY in authentic Fat Dumb & Happy and sent it on its way to warmer climes with every wish for the best oflucic 74

89 It's been traditional in Photo-Lettering that no one need ever be idle. Each of us has had a "downtime project" of our own choosing, and this we have pursued when not busy with production. One of the big plusses of the photo-lettering system (as compared with process lettering) is thatthere is no distribution ofletters or cleanup after the job is finished. All extra time can be put to interesting, profitable use. Any list of downtime projects will include activities that can be picked up or set aside at moment's notice: smoothing out the contours ofolder alphabets, adding outlines and shaded versions or numerals and punctuation to styles lacking them, preparing specimen lines or assembling pages for a future catalog experimenting with new materials, developing promotional and advertising plans, maintaining equipment or designing mechanical improvements. It's always been understood that downtime should be spent doing worthwile things that are fun fringes of time pleasantly used to make Photo-Lettering better and better bit by bit. Such fringes add up. Out beyond us on the edges ofour world were the big commercial art services like Lawrence Studios, illustrators Inc., Harry Watts, RahI Studio, and others employing perhaps thirty or forty illustrators, photographers, retouchers, fashion illustrators, comp letterers, finished letterers, and mechanical pasteup artists. There were also many highly esteemed up-and-coming commercial letterers working independently and thriving as freelancers. During the ten or fifteen years after the war a young generation of "red hot letterers" carried their art to new heights. Those who lived through that time will remember the exhilarating lift that young Herb Feuerhake's script for Mercury automobiles gave to the movement It is possible that just as typefounders in the 1890s resorted to design extravagance to build a bulwark against the Linotype, so these young letterers in the late '40s and '50s reached out to protect their future by popularizing styles that could not be executed successfully in photolettering. They were exciting years characterized by excellent rapport between letterers and art directors. Looking back one cannot fail to regard much ofthe freelance workofthat time as superb. Typical of this inspired period was a lettering quintette who came together for lunch at noon every Friday to share experiences and exchange ideas in their struggle to become perfectionists in what they called "warm lettering" - totally unmechanized, totally individualized. They met at a little coffee shop on the north side of 45th Street just west of Abercrombie & Fitch. One of the shop's attractions was its counter man whose mental agility could keep in mind, withoutnotes and without error, twenty or thirty different orders down to the last chopped egg with bacon and lettuce on whole wheat, no butter or mayo and pickle on the side please. This counter man, Jam told, came to symbolize a perfection of accuracy that challenged the group if he could do it behind the counter they should be able to do it at the drawing board. Thus they sharpened their taste with design dialogue, and by the time the second cup of coffee came around they'd pretty well identified the freelancers - most ofthem not of their group responsible for the lines of"warm script" in that week's batch ofmagazines. No doubt there were other groups in the city, but the regulars who gathered at the little coffee shop on 45th Street were Tony LaRussa, Tony Stan, TonyPaul, George Abrams andjohn Schaedler. This avid exchange Oil

90 of ideas and striving for perfection in the popular warm letters of that period lasted almost until the beginning of the sixties. Then there was a lull, broken a few years later by an unprecedented renaissance in calligraphy. This brilliant renaissance, encouraged by professionals such as Paul Standard, Jaenyee Wong, Ismar David, Paul Freeman, Guillermo Rodriguez-Benitez, Bob Boyajian, Sandi Governali and others, reached far down into grass roots America. It reached down even to the Croton high school where I, caught at last by the calligraphic bug, took a night course in company with other enthusiasts of all ages. In the late '40s two highly respected letterers, Frank Bartuska and Tony Bonagura, sought to protect themselves against changing times by developing their own photo-lettering service under the name "Custom Lettering$This was not an adaptation ofprocess lettering. It was genuine photo-lettering with custom-drawn alphabets projected letter by letter in sequence. Their equipment was homemade but fairly advanced for the time, and for a while it appeared that they might be able to make a go ofit. Age, however, was catching up and in the early sos they suggested that we take over their alphabets and do whatever seemed best with their name and cameras. It was the beginning of a very cordial relationship, particularly with Frank Bartuska who remained active as a letterer for a number of years and drew alphabets for us and for the American Type Founders in its last feeble effort to offer something new. THE QUICK BROWN FOX SI A schoolboy can write a jingle on a scrap of paper, a rookie can click the shutter ofhis camera, a novice can splash finger-paint on canvas, you and I can doodle on a telephone pad, and the Copyright Office will regard all this trivia as a creative contribution to society, worthy of lifetime protection. For a fee often dollars it will issue a certificate granting title to such mediocrity a certification respected by the highest court in the land. Yet the workofan artist who has spent a lifetime perfecting his skill to inject subtle design vitality into our 26 letters cannot secure a copyright because back in 1910 the head of the Copyright Office arbitrarily issued a directive banning protection for type designs. This directive was based on the shaky grounds that the alphabet belongs to everybody. Common sense tells us that the same reasoning should ban protection for photos, paintings and perhaps poetry about the ocean, the moon, the stars, clouds and sunsets, rain and snow because they, too, belong to everybody. But the prejudicial policy has been followed so long that the present director of the office, who recognizes its injustice, cannot authorize recall of the directive until Congress passes new legislation. In the meantime what's to be done? This is a hard question to answer. Back in the early days of photolettering we, like everybody else, simply helped ourselves to the wealth of metal typeface designs that, for lackofcopyright protection, had been in public domain ever since they were drawn. But later when we had spent weeks or months creating a new style, or when a letterer entrusted his creative drawings to us, that was another matter. Without legal recourse we were forced to erect whatever walls we could to protect our designs and those of participating letterers from unauthorized copying. 76

91 We builtour defence on the trustworthiness of our staff to safeguard the designs from slipping into unscrupulous hands. We refused to send out a complete alphabet to a client except on very rare occasions, and even then only under guarantee that it would not be reproduced in total. This occasionally caused problems, but we stuck to our policy tenaciously. We never displayed complete alphabets in our advertising or promotional material. We resisted the temptation to follow the lead of competitors who opened branches in other cities and soon weakened theguardianship oftheir collections. Our staff became quite adept at foiling the strategies of alphabet thieves. A novice at thievery would send in an order for "THE QUICK BROWN FOXJUMPS OVERA LAZY DCC;," or a more experienced thiefmight try Fred Goudy's "PACK MY BOX WITH FIVE DOZEN LIQUORJUGS," or something he'd devised himself like this one that came in from Denver in 1956: "FROZEN BUYER JUST QUICKLY KEYED SHOCKING WEAVER'S S34,825,679 COM- PLEXION," or this one cabled from Paris in August of 1966: "CEST CHEZ LE VIEUXFORGERON DU COINJ'AI PU BOIRE LE MEILLEUR WHISKY? : These and similar attempts we would promptly refuse, explaining why. Then the lifter might order halfof the letters one week and half the next, or use a friend in a different city. Still more experienced thieves were handled in ways I am not at liberty to divulge. On the brighter side it must be said that a long distance telephone call to a suspected malefactor would often embarrass the culprit so much that we'd hear no more from him or her. Even those who openly made a business of lifting and reselling other's alphabets have, for reasons of their own, not launched a frontal attack on Photo-Lettering's exclusive designs. This, we hope, is a good omen for the future of the industry, and we are grateful for whatever ethical considerations may have prompted it. Where malice is not the motive; creating sentences that use all 26 letters can be a stimulating pastime. Steve Watts knew a journalist who amused himself while recovering from an illness by writing imaginary headlines with a frill complement ofletters. Afew examples: WOLVES EXIT QUICKLYAS FANGED ZOO CHIMPJABBERS. SIX BIG DEVILS FROMJAPAN QUICKLY FORGOT HOW TO WALTZ. LAZYJAcML RAIDING FROM XEBEC PROWLS THE QUIET COVE. DOXY WITH CHARMING BUZZ QUAFFS VODKAJULEP. GUZZLING OFJAUNTY EXILE WRECKS HAVOCAT DAMP BANQUET. RAVING ZIBET CHEWED CALYXOF PIPSQUEAK MAJOR. OOZY QUIVERING JELLYFISH EXPECTORATED BY MAD HAWK. The trick, of course, is to have as few repeats as possible. This one with a total of only thirty letters and no repeated consonants may hold a record: VICTORS FLANKGYP WHO MIXEDJOB QUIZ. Runner up maybe this one with 31 letters and only one repeated consonant: JACKDAWS LOVE MY BIG SPHINXOF QUARTZ. For a long time I was troubled by the lack of a definite name for this kind ofsentence. Occasionally in the course of our workwe would need such a word, so we created one: abecedef. If it has merit it may someday appear in the dictionaries between abecedarian and abed. The sport of creating abecedefe is not limited to printers or patients abed. Some years ago The Saturday Review published scores of them submitted by the nation's most accomplished abecedeflles. 77

92 1952 VOGUE MADEMOISELLE f X 'Pd 3' ci s P.t*ev r TELEVISION was just beginningto spread its wings, and magazines sensed the potential danger. It made them more and more appearanceconscious. A good photo-lettered headline was a cheap way to upgrade a page, and week afler week new names appeared on our roster of magazine clients. This was in the days when Dr. Agha and Ciepe Pinelas in Vogue, Brad Thompson in Mademoiselle, and Alexey Brodovitch in Harpers Bazaar were leading The Great Didot Rush in periodical titles, and Photo-Lettering could barely keep up with the demand. Charlie Tudor thought it was time to initiate a Magazine Art Directors Show, and helped launch the firsuone in The shows catalog was good news for is. "Photo-Lettering Inc." appeared in almost halfthe credits. We gladly did our part to lift the venture out of the red by buying all surplus catalogs, which quickly became our promotion piece SOME OF OUR CATALOGS had found their way to Europe and we were receiving nibbles of interest j±om abroad. Eight years of post-war reconstruction had restored many of the more badly damaged areas, and serious poster and package designing was getting underway, particularly in England. From various ifiends I'd been told about type designers who would welcome an American visitor, and since our eldest son was entering college we felt that a European visit would be in order. In 1953 a trip across the ocean was a big event. Bon Voyage flowers and gifts ftom letterers and ifiends awaited us in our cabin on board the United States, new flagship of the U.S. Lines. At midnight tugs began to backthe ship out of its pier at the foot of Fiftieth Street and swing it into the Hudson, headed downstream. Two throatyblastsjl-om the deep whistie signalled that all was well, the four propellers churned slowly, we moved out into the lower bay, past Ambrose Light, and to sea. I was surprised to find a telephone in our cabin, and even more surprisedwhen the operator assuredme thatl could call not onlyftom room to room but to anywhere, in the world. So I called my astonished father in Winston-Salem whose childhood stretched backinto phoneless days. This particular trip turned out to be a record breaker for ship performance but not for passenger comfort. We were told that the United States had been designed for quick conversion into a rugged troop ship, and was supposed to be able to plow through heavy storms at jhll speed. Hurricane Edna caught us on the second day out and stayed around for the rest of our race across at a steady 35 knots per hour. We arrived in LeHavre exactly on time - a great victory for the ship and truly great shakes for the rest of us. London far surpassed our expectations. I carried a gray briefcase decorated with ayellow adaptation ofthe checkerboard pattern ofletters on our Alphabet Gallery wallpaper. I'd let it introduce me with its graphic message before I'd say.a word. It never failed. Receptionists intrigued by the decorative letters went far out of their way to get me through to just the right person. The briefcase quickly cut through communication barriers in Dutch, Danish, French, German, Italian and, years later, in Czech, Russian and even Swahili. Its been my faithful backdrop for sign language and I wouldn't dare go abroad without it. IN

93 Third place on my sightseeing list after Parliament and the Tower of London was the Monotype Company in its old offices on Fetter Lane. Beatrice Ward was there, and after a chat about Photo-Lettering she introduced me to Mr. Stanley Morison who cordially invited tile to his club for lunch. I'm hardly a connoisseur of gourmet food, having been weaned on college cooking, but that doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for Dover sole with a rare South African garnish when it's offered by the designer oftimes Roman in his private London club. A year or so later I regretted that I could not entertain Mr. Morison in such elegance when he visited Photo-Lettering. At the Pen & Pencil restaurant I let him figure out the homeland of the garnish while I busily salted the seafood with galleys oftypetalk. The Wm. Caslon & Son type foundry in London had survived the bombing raids, and no Big-Little Print Shop proprietorwho had spent his high school years settingcaslon 540 could resist avisit towhat remained of Caslon's original establishment. The briefcase again paved the way, and I was told to my great joy that at the top ofthe stairs I would find Mr. Ralph Caslon. But it was a disappointment. Mr. Caslon, I suspect, had been demoted from the romance of letters to the boredom of numbers. In true Charles Dickens style he was seated on a high stool, his attention riveted to a large accounting book lying on a slanted deskthat must have dated back to the organization's birth in From the lack of enthusiasm in his handshake I suspect that the numbers in Mr. Caslon's book were mostly red. So I departed quickly, knowing frill well that if he had the slightest inkling of my mission in London I would be thrown down the steps unceremoniously. Housekeeping at Westminster Abbey had not filly returned to normal after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The incunabula and valuable manuscripts usually kept there were on display in a basement room ofthe Abbey school. I was drawn to the first exhibitcase containing an impressive bookof manuscript pages listing the names ofthe airmen killed in the Battle of Britain. A page of the book is turned every day so that over a period of time the name ofeach courageous airman receives reverent remembrance. I had never seen more magnificent calligraphy. Never. The custodian was kind enough to unlock the case and lift the glass. I turned to the colophon and there in a small neat legend was the name ofthe calligrapher: Daisy Alcock. In the telephone book I found a Daisy Alcock and soon we were invited to her flat on Kensington High for tea. Here was a delightful lady, a protege ofedwardjohnson, surrounded by stunning examples of her calligraphic art, much of it connected with the recent coronation. We chatted over teacups, and learned how the pages for the memorial book had been inscribed one by one in the midst of war, hidden away for safekeeping until they could be bound together properly and given highest honor in the Abbey. Back in NewYork six months later a large package arrived from London. Charlie Tudor happened to be with me at the time, and we opened it together. Miss Alcock had sent to Photo-Lettering complete alphabets of the two calligraphic styles used in the Westminster Abbey book! By chance the editors of Life were beginning to plan their Christmas "Christianity Issue" Charlie was sure that this letterwouldbe appropriate for the Apostles Creed, the six pages of hymns, and the closing prayer. For the next few months we worked with Miss Alcock back and forth 79,

94 rw -a) &UEVt tho nct9obooa dit hop thodc Gnnd,: di. conmtmionof flit bcns atm,'. Ow ItSUi,ak., ocdw tc and 11w u& I Excerpts from the Christianity W. wiubcfrmu(onpa9ez6z in mystupiditv I &u(not rratize that the curator was pro6ahiv the thstinguishei Dr. David Dirin9er whose,cuio( research on the alphabet is wile y ccc(abnevd. across the Atlantic preparing these pages, she drawing the illuminated initials, decorations, and music for the hymns, and we combining her art with our photo-lettering of the text. As a musician I had always been disturbed by the lack of comfortable visual fit between words and music invariably found in hymn books. This was my chance to demonstrate how printed words could be matched to the musical notes above them, and with Daisy Alcock's alphabet and Photo-Lettering's anamorphic lenses I was able, at long last, to bring this to pass. The project ended just three nights before Christmas 1954 as we frantically wrapped hundreds of copies of Life in holiday paper to be delivered with warm Yuletide greetings to the many friends ofphoto-lettering. On our final day in London it was either F. H. K. Henrion or Charles Hassler who insisted on making last minute arrangements for me to see the curator of one of the London museums where a show tracing the history of the alphabet from early times was being hung. Upon my arrival the curator was rushing from place to place directing workmen, shifting tables, unrolling carpets and moving free-standing panels. He took a quick look at what] had and, to my delight, decided it would make a good closing panel, bringing the alphabet right up to its most contemporary dress. I left with him some current samples of photo-lettering, our new catalog with its Steinweiss cover, and ran to catch the airport bus. Soon after arriving in Amsterdam we'd quartered ourselves in a pension and were out on the streets getting the feel ofthe city. Down a canal we could see a tour boat leaving its dock and regretted we were not on board. But as we walked closer a custodian at the pier beckoned us onto the next boat which he promised would leave within ten minutes. This seemed unlikely in off-season October, but having nothing better to do we came aboard and found a seat in the stem. A few minutes later another American couple boarded and took the seat across from us. They were followed byfour ladies who sat up front. With that the crew loosed the moorings and the boat moved on. After an hour's ride through many canals we entered Amsterdam's harbor, and our lecture-guide paused in his description ofvarious sights long enough to slip back and tell us quietly that the lady up front in the brown hat was Queen Wilhelmina, the Queen Mother. Once a year, he said, she came in from the country to visit the city and ride on the canals. This seemed too much ofa coincidence, and our American companions were sure it was a gag to encourage a larger tip. But upon arrival at the pier we four were ushered offfirst. Then the police closed in, one of them politely instructed me not to take pictures, and Queen Wilhemina was escorted to her waiting automobile a Packard. Prof Willem Ovink, head of design at the great Amsterdam Type Foundry, invited us to his home that evening to meet Mrs. Ovink and their five little angel-like children who merrily came running in, barefoot and dressed in white nightgowns, to say good night before being tucked into bed. When all was settled down I gaily told the parents about our chance ride with the Queen, but could see by the expression on their faces that as Americans we were treating much too lightly an event that would have been long cherished by one of the Queen's loyal subjects. I've always treasured that evening. I was seeing vividly how highly respected and cultured people from different lands and different backgrounds and loyalties are likelyto see things quite differently than we do. Yet along with these differences I sensed that above it all there was a RE

95 higher bond binding us all together; a bond that reaches out and sees no man-made boundaries. Truly we are all God's people. Ifsomehow Icould bring that word back to Photo-Lettering without having it sound sanctimonious or affected... Perhaps the word did get back. A year or two later we counted nine foreign language backgrounds in Photo-Lettering's personnel. Somebody said we were a United Nations. I hope so. After visiting the Enschede foundry in Haarlem where I met Messers Van Krimpen and Hartz we moved on into war-scarred Germany and down the Rhein to Mainz, the birthplace of movable type. Here took place the incident described on earlier pages. Next day we talked with Dr. Presser at the Gutenberg Museum before going on to Offenbach to stumble over the rubble that had once been the great luingspor foundry, source ofthe celebrated designs ofrudolfkoch: Kabel, Offenbach, Koch And que, Neuland, Wallau, etc. Located in temporary quarters near the foundry site was the design Werkschule presided over by Herbert Post who later sent some experimental and very imaginative alphabets to Photo-Lettering. Then on to Frankfurt and the Stempel foundry to meet Hermann Zapf designer par excellence of Palatino, Melior, and later of Aldus, Optima, and several International Typeface Corporation designs. At dinner that night we met Hermann's wife, Gudrun, a binder of fine books and a type designer in her own right, and Gertraude Benbhr who has become one of the mainstays of the Stempel Foundry. This dinner marked the beginning of our personal as well as professional friendship with the ZapfE - a relationship that has become more meaningful through the years, and has often brought them to Croton. In the outskirts of Munich we called on Georg Trump and his wife in their apartment. This led to my addressing the students in the Munich school of printing, telling them about Photo-Lettering as best I could through an interpreter. The word that stumped every translator that I encountered on the Continent was letterer. Calligraphers were everywhere, but commercial letterers as we knew them in America apparently did not exist abroad. The best translation turned out to be something like "type designer who draws words to be usedfor a headline only once:' In looking back and seeing the economic change that has come to Germany since that time it is difficult to realize that in 1953 the most welcome gift that could be sent from America to a German family was a Sears Roebuckcatalog better even than a Photo-Lettering catalog. Never-to-be-forgotten days in Switzerland's Engadine, and then at Zermatt under the shadow of the Matterhorn, were followed by a week in Paris where Mr. Morison had urged me to see Maximilien Vox and Charles Peignot. Mr. Peignot was out of town, but the briefcase once more proved a perfect passport and I was welcomed by M. Vox in his flat at 22 Rue Visconti. Even without it I would have been welcome when he learned that we were staying at the Paris Dinard that little hotel revered by all Parisians because (to our uneasiness) it was built directly over the point where Paris sewer lines converge and served, therefore, as headquarters for the underground during the war. Curiously, Mr. Vox knew nothing about German type design and didn't want to hear about it, so I discreetly avoided the subject, remembering what I had learned in Amsterdam. This was the time when Vox was developing his generic names for classification of type styles. I myself had been working on a system to Belgian (fletnis(), czeth F,nch, German, Hebrew, Italian, polisrj Rmnanian, Spanith K0h Anucj ua Kabel Light Wallau Bolt' OFFENBACH NEULAND Palatine Melior Aldus Optima 81

96 As llama HoIina,t watches Maxtnti(en Vax carejitfly studies the pages of Pftoto-Lettering's 1955 catalog. (See pages ) improve uniformity in identifying widths and weights offices. I gave my manuscript to him and he, in a mixture offrench and English, described Ecole de Lurs, the mountain top in southeast France where, in August, he invites certain type designers to exchange views, present papers, and engage in a general discussion of the art. He hoped I would read the paper at Lurs next summer. It didni work out quite that way. Harold had never been to Europe and it was certainly his turn to go. So in 1956 with the paper and my brief case in hand he crossed the Atlantic visiting England, Denmarkand Italy, finally making his way to Lurs where a hearty welcome by Vox and fifteen or twenty others awaited him. As Harold later described it. Lurs is an almost invisible community of perhaps thirty-five people high up on a mountainside. The meetings are held in a church abandoned long ago and given over to Vox' group shortly after the war. The participants have decorated the inside walls with letter forms to make it a colorful and attractive meeting place. Almost everything was carried on in French, with occasional summaries in English for the benefit of the unlettered. Among the important speakers were Charles Peignot, John Dreyfus, Adrian Frutiger, and Roger Excoffon Vox often interrupting the proceedings to inject his enthusiasm, magnetism and charm. Harold read his paper and John Dreyfus translated it into French. Following each day's meeting a caravan of uncertain vehicles took the participants down the mountain to sleeping quarters in a larger village below. Then up again next morning. The closing ceremony on the final day was one that no American could ever forget. As the Lurs villagers watched from a distance Vox arranged the participants in a ring outside the church and, with all hands held to make a large circle Vox, tears streaming down his face, pitched the Marseillaise and all joined in singing as best they could. Then overflowing farewells, embraces and lasses in the French manner. Finally the rickety vehicles bumped their precious cargo down the mountain and the Lurs shepherds went backto tend their sheep until the third week in August next year. "I sometimes wonder;' said Harold, "what off season comments about Ecole de Lurs pass between shepherds warming their hands over campfires on that mountainside." Years later in the bitter days of the Vietnam war I found myself in Paris again walking down Rue Visconti. By some stroke offate I was with a group of forty men quartered for a week in the old Paris Dinard hotel. We had come at the behest of the National Council of Churches to listen to and talk with the four delegations fiom Vietnam futilely meeting week after weekto find a formula for peace. Ours was an uncertain mission - to listen; perhaps to comment; indeed to help in any way we could; to express the deep concern ofthe churches in America, and to return with whatever insights we might glean. It had been a long day with the North Vietnamese delegation and I needed time to get my thoughts sorted out. As I walked into the courtyard at 22 Visconti it was eerie, almost Kafka-like. The outside stairs that led up to the room where I'd met the great man ofletters were now barred with rough lumber. The windows were boarded up, weeds were high. Across the yard was an open door. I walked in. It had been a bookstore; perhaps it still was; perhaps the proprietor had just stepped out for a moment. I waited for his return, then began to thumb through some of 82

97 the books. On the lower shelves many were paperbacks, all were dusty. But the higher shelves, perhaps fifteen feet up, were filled with fine old bindings. Nobody came and I finally left not quite sure what was going on in my mind unless itwastiefthat letters the greatest ofall inventions letters that should have smoothed man's communication with his fellowman, that should have brought understanding and peace, had miserably failed to do so. A few blocks further on I came to the austere Saint Sulpice Cathedral where we had heard the brilliant organist Marcel Du Prè practicing in As I opened the door I thought I heard the organ. I walked down a side aisle; there was a light over the console, so I tiptoed into the choir loft a place where I feel very much at home and saw at the organ an old man slowly leafing through pages ofmusic. After a while he began to play softly in a slow contemplative mood. Gently he closed the book, turned out the light, and slipped down off the bench. A few months later Tread in the Times that Marcel Du Prè had died at the age of eighty-five SOMETIME DURING was asked to see a little photographic typesetting machine that produced headlines on narrow strips of paper perforated like 35mm movie film. What I found in the office of a publisher on lower Fifth Avenue was a square oak box half the size of an orange crate with a big disk on top that looked something like an oversize telephone dial. Around the perimeter of the disk were printed a full set of caps, lowercase and numerals. You turned this disk until the desired letter came into the 6 o'clockposition, then pressed a button which did two things: it exposed the letter on the perforated paper, and it moved the paperjust the width ofthe exposed letter. After successive exposures the strip of paper came out of the box, you dunked it into bottles of developer and hypo, dried it, trimmed off the perforations, and pasted the headline into your layout or mechanical. What I saw was barely good enough for country newspaper use, and when I investigated further I could see why: Inside the box was a clear plastic disk bigger and much heavier than a phonograph record. Cemented to one side was a slightly smaller circular film negative with a full set ofletters and numbers around its perimeter. About75 slots ofdifferent depths had been notched sawed into the circumference of the heavy plastic disk, almost like teeth cut into the grinning mouth ofa Halloween pumpkin. The depth of each slot matched the width ofthe letter to which it was related. Thus the notch sawed into the disk for the letter M was quite deep, but that for the letter I was scarcely more than a shallow nick In operation, a plunger pushed into the notch and moved the paper along precisely the depth of the notch which, in turn matched the width ofthe letter to be exposed. I shuddered at the complexity of making those disks and cutting those notches to the proper depth, and the total lack of quality and flexibility. A new disk was required for every size of every style in every weight which, in the language of photo-lettering that I was accustomed to, added up to thousands upon thousands of disks. What I failed to see was that this box required no skill at all from the operator, that a country newspaper could get along with three or four disks, and that there were tens of thousands of headlines being printed every day in which un- Art coiwte. AM Vuritvper a,. AM lfttcnlationat 83

98 scthi Eli skilled production was far more important than refined appearance. So the box known as the "Headliner" jllled a need. It was ultimately taken over by the Coxhead organization to augment its Varitype typewriters, and then by Addressograph-Multigraph. Thousands ofheadliners are in use today and better quality control has improved the output. Some months after my visit to the oak box we began to hear about a photo-headline machine called the Filmotype. It came from Chicago, and a very aggressive salesman was pushing NewYork sales. After watching a demonstration Harold and I felt that here was a possible threat to us, not because offilmotype's quality but because it seemed to appeal to art studios who were looking for a quick way to get into the photo-lettering business. Like the Headliner it was based on the contact principle the product was the same size as the negative. Like the Headliner, the typesetting came out on a long strip of paper that had to be developed in bottles. But unlike the Headliner the Filmotype's alphabet negative was a relatively simple strip of 2-inch film with letters spaced about an inch apart in a straight line. It reminded one of a greatly enlarged typewriter ribbon, and like such ribbons the negative was rolled up on spools at either end. Turning the spools by hand moved the negative back and forth. When the desired letter came into the window you turned on the light and made the exposure on a long strip of paper. Movingthe paper precisely the width of the letter was a bit tricky, but a clamping device combined with some visual register marks on the negative made it easier than you might think The Filmotype called for a bit more skill than the Headliner, but not beyond the ability of an art studio staff. In both Headliner and Filmotype Harold and I saw much more machinery than should be needed merely to expose consecutive letters in alignment on a sheet of photo paper. In Filmotype we saw awkward movements that did not lend themselves to the precision required for accurate and consistent spacing. We knew, moreover, that ideally one should be able to compose line under line rather than on long strips of paper that must be trimmed for eventual assembly one under the other. Assembly looked simple, and a glib salesman could dismiss it with a wave of the hand, but in practice accurate assembly often took as much time as setting the words in the first place. So Harold and I put our heads together to devise something that would do a better job with less machinery something as well thought out as a bicycle. We had always admired a bicycle's basic design. The saddle was comfortable to sit on but no larger than necessary. The handlebars supported you, guided you, and in combination with your natural sense ofbalance kept you upright on two wheels rather than four. The pedals that moved you along at triple walking speed used only about as much energy as walking. They also provided braking. Downhill was all gravy. Whoever built the first bicycle designed it not as a substitute for a person's natural abilities, but as a tool to utilize more efficiently the normal muscular movements of the human body. It would be jim, we thought, to build a photo-lettering device in the same way. Just for the record, here's a summary ofour"bicycle" reasoning: "First well need a sheet of photo paper. For convenience it should be taped down on a slightly sloping table like a drawing board. If possible we want to work in a room with ordinary artificial light, so the paper should be insensitive to room light and highly sensitive to some other light probably ultra violet. 84

99 "Weal need a film negative with 26 letters in a perfectly straight line and separated from each otherby halfan inch or more of space. That will make a long narrow negative, rather awkward to handle, so let's cut it in halfand have a more convenient size with the 13 most-used letters lined up about an inch from the bottom edge and the 13 least-used letters upside down and the same distance from the top edge. We can flip the film around when we need the least-used letters. One negative for caps, one for lowercase, and one for numerals and punctuation; thus it will be easy to combine different styles and sizes. Well call this a'film font: "Then well need ultra violet light. Probably the simplest and most convenient source of concentrated UV light is a 15 watt argon bulb, the kind sometimes used to illuminate ornamental decorative figures. This could be fitted with a maskand windowjust large enough to expose one letter at a time. The light could be held in the left hand and placed over the letter we wish to expose. "We can now manipulate the font with our right hand and use our left to bring the bulb down over a letter and expose it. But how can we get the letters lined up perfectly straight and uniformly spaced? "A tried and true line up tool is a T-square or other straight-edge laid across the sheet. This will form a lip against which we can slide the edge of the film font and line up all letters straight across. When we've completed one line we can move the T-square down (or the paper up) and compose consecutive lines one under the other like typesetting. "But we still need to figure out a way to space the letters properly one after the other. The Headliner does this by moving the paper with a mechanism connected to a plunger driven into a sawed out slot Filmotype moves the paper by a combination ofelectric clamp, manual movement of the takeup spools and visual alignment of register marks. "We could, of course, show two vertical marks below each letter representing the character's outer limits. An indicator moved from the left mark to the right one during exposure would measure the space occupied by the letter and show where the next one should begin. But that would not be a very imaginative solution, no better than Filmotype. The spacing would be no more flexible than metal type. It took us several weeks but finally one day at lunch in the YMCA cafeteria we came up with a much better idea: Slant the marks below each letter outward like a wedge or pyramid. then with a circular indicator (or "bullseye" as we called it) we could travel across the wedge laterally at different levels to increase or reduce the space allocated to each letter a highly versatile typographic feature that could also facilitate justification:' This is all there is to a ProType, the name that we attached to our offspring. It's a photo-lettering bicycle. One's right hand slides the film font along the straight-edge bringing the letter into position, and the left hand exposes it while the right hand pulls the bullseye across the wedge from one side to the other, thus spacing the letter. We thought that was good bicycle simplicity. It had the advantage of fast start up, of being able to set line under line, of changing fonts and sizes quickly, of mixing fonts at random, screening letters, keming, jogging staggering, overlapping, - all without mechanical parts to break down or require maintenance. The straight-edge, moreover, provided "zero tolerance" in alignment where precision is so important. Open construction encouraged an operator, if so inclined, to impro v ise, contrive short cuts, and develop into a real craftsman rather than a mere robot. 85

100 All this, because of its simplicity, could be manufactured at a price well below anything Headliner or Filmotype could touch. Electrographic was duly impressed with our first model and encouraged us to go right ahead. For the next year we refined the design and Plwto9raphs of the Prol\'pc inoperation smoothed out its rough corners, always bearing in mind that it must be shown On M. done without destroying the simplicity ofopen construction. As the time arrived to move into fill production it became clear that ProType, the child of Photo-Lettering, would likely outgrow its parent and needed a home ofits own. On the ninth floor of305 East 45th Street Electrographic had space available for such an operation. Unsettled was the question as to.which of us Harold or I should go along with ProType. We considered throwing up a coin, but when moving day came around Harold was a little more involved and so he led the new operation. With him went some of Photo-Lettering's very best talent: Dick Decker, experienced designer, engineer and builder; Mike Scotto, his assistant; Vince Pacella and Chuck Papirtis, both promising young men who had demonstrated remarkable artistic and mechanical abilities during their years with Photo-Lettering; Hartley Ruddy, trained in darkroom techniques, and his brother Alan whom we had used as an operator on the experimental ProTypes. I've been asked how we settled on the name ProType. It was by no means the only suggestion. We thought that the "pro" would suggest "professional" and tie in nicely with our hope that open construction might encourage the development of craftsmanship. I stretched a point and liked to thinkthat since "pro" meant"for" in Latin "ProType" might be translated "instead oftype," but I doubt ifanyone except Mr. McNew, my high school Latin teacher, would have been impressed. The best thing about the name was its brevity. Simple devices merit short names. In some way that I cannot recall the Davidson Division of Mergenthaler Linotype heard about ProType and wanted to be the exclusive sales agent. This seemed a good solution to the promotional problem since Davidson carried a large line of specialty items and was willing to obligate itselfto sell avery respectable number ofmachines. Before long, however, the Davidson Division fell apart and the sale ofprotypes was transferred to Mergenthaler's Linofllm Division. There it floundered in the hands of salesmen on commission who faced the choice of selling an $80,000 Linofllm or a $250 ProType! One ingenious salesman kept his record clean by selling both to the NewYorkDailjj News the Linofllm to set the Sunday rotogravure section, and the ProType, with its quick start up, to set last minute corrections. A real Mutt &Jeff pairing! Salvation almost dropped into ProType's lap at a Chicago printing trade show. Here's the story as I heard it later: - When Harold found that ProType's booth was alongside Filmotype's he rigged up bright incandescent lights thatwould not affect our ProType paper, but would spill over into Filmotype's booth and fog theirs. This, of course, impressed the visitors no end and sparked several sales. More importantly it impressed two offilmotype's key salesmen so much that they came to Harold offeringto switch loyalties and sell ProTypes. Harold quickly called Electrographic but got a negative answer: in Electrographic's eyes the prestige of association with Mergenthaler and the Linofllm was ofutmost importance. Harold was nota fighter. He accepted defeat. Quick salvation for ProType was not to be. NR

101 After the disappointment at Chicago the odds for success began to decline. The books remained in the black, but only marginally so. The bright future that should have been ProType's was fading. Harold died from a serious heart atttackbn November 20,1958. With his death the an of photographic lettering lost its most brilliant and highly esteemed pioneer.just a year or two ago I was drifting offto sleep on a-late commuter train when my eyes alighted on the profile of a passenger sitting in the seat diagonally across from me. For an instant I thought it was Harold an instant that I long to have return. Then the lump in my throat came back; a lump that'sbeen around fortwentyyears. During the next decade ProType continued its course with occasional bright spots, particularly in foreign markets. Then in 1968 its chief salesman, Henry Goldman, took it over as a private enterprise and its loyal personnel returned to Photo-Lettering. At this writing ProType is colorfully headquartered in a former Methodist Episcopal church in the delightful suburban village of Warwick. NewYork, not far from the Tappan Zee Bridge. High in the church's steeple a venerable three-faced clock looks down on the community and counts the hours. I like to think of it as ProType's salute to Ottmar Mergenthaler whose mechanical career, you recall, began with repairs to the clockin the church tower ofhis home town near Heidelburg. If during the 'SOs ProType had had the ingenious visual image retention feature that HenxyGoldman has developed for it now, the story of this simple little machine would undoubtedly have been very different. For a craftman's economical tool it is still tops. A 1954 CHARLIE TUDOR had seen the Photon machine in 1952 about the same time as Harold and I. He now had approval to buy one for setting Time's proposed Life World Library series of books, provided he could get a good typeface. The faces he'd seen thus far at Photon were miserable. So the three ofus went up to Boston, and there in an old Cambridge building with creaky floors Bill Garth, the president, took us around. The Photon type design department was a typical example of engineering logic applied to art. I saw a 10-point Garamond lowercase s clamped in a vice, illuminated, enlargedthrough a lens, and projected on a drawing board at 512-point. That's an enlargement of 5120%! An unskilled worker was tracing the letter on paper as best she could. The engineer's theory, of course, was that any inaccuracy caused by lack of skill would be lost in the reduction backto 10-point. It's been my experience that engineers and psychologists see eye-toeye in matters of lettering. To save the $35 photo-lettering charge for doing it properly, an officer of The Psychological Corporation enlarged an old letterhead sixteen times ($20) so that a secretary could retouch it in spare time; then reduced it backto the original size ($20); and finally came in sheepishly to get it photo-lettered correctly ($35). Size is not always a satisfactory substitute for skill. But the mechanical aspects of Photon were quite a different matter. Here we were much impressed. When I now think back to that day in Cambridge I realize that as we watched the machine's font disk an 8- inch diameter glass negative with several styles of type arranged in concentric rings -as we watched it spin silently at eight turns per second This is a reduction of a disc in mans' ways siinilaithtlwtype used onthe Photon. Letters arowu( the circle are so that they cannot be seen in reduction. Even if the disc were en(or9esf to its nonnsz( size of seven or ei jkt inches the letters nvuld stiff be smaller than those wu are reostin9 now. 87

102 while a brilliant strobe flash magically picked out and exposed one letter after another with every turn, we were indeed changing places with Mr. Ruckstuhl as he had, almost a generation before, intently watched us operate the Rutherlbrd machine. What we were seeing now was a technology that had increased the speed of photo composition 40 times since Rutherford days. And I, though not Harold, would live to see it increased to more than 40x40x40. We had nothing to offer Photon mechanically, but plenty to offer in type design. Our acceptance ofan orderto draw several styles oftype for Photon to draw them for a machine that was not our good old Rutherford was the first step toward what would, in the 70s, become a very significant part ofphoto-lettering's outreach: supplyingthe type designs for hundreds ofthousands of typesetting machines worldwide. 12/25 SELECTING CHRISTMAS GIFTS IS no problem for most ofthe services on 45th Street. They just send liquor. But I didn't feel comfortable in following that beaten path. It wasn't just that it seemed so inappropriate to the Bethlehem Nativity, though that certainly was a part of it. I felt that any place entrusted with the world's chief collection of alphabets should have more imagination than a bottle ofliquor at Christmas. Year after year I'd begin grappling with this problem right after summer vacation. Sometimes I'd come up with appropriate ideas, sometimes not. But when the last gift went out on December 23rd I'd breathe a sigh of relief like mailing 1040 late at night on April 15th. The success of the checkerboard alphabet design on my briefcase g - sparked an idea that grew into a good thirteen-year solution. Hot plate 1211 tiles were very popular during the mid 'sos, and an adaptation of the fl checkerboard AB would be both suitable and imaginative. Anyone in n vi the business would immediately identify it as Photo-Lettering, but used at home on the dining table it might become a conversation piece, and no unitiated guest - or one's own wife, for that matter would have the AfuUnt4tifes remotest idea of its commercial origin. It was just pretty. isshown mt page sg3. I was still utterly naïve about overglaze and underglaze and why ceramic colors may change from beautiful to hideous when they're fired. On 117th Street, however, I found a little tile shop that took over the job and did it superbly the first year. The success of that AB tile paved the way for twelve more, from CD through YZ, and solved the bulkofour Christmas problem for some time to Come. Or at least I thought it did until I found to my dismay that our troubles were not over. Nextyear I sent the CD art up to 117th Street early in October. Hearing nothing, I called in November and was told that the raw tiles were due from England any day, not to worry. By late November the Btitish shipment had arrived and work would start tomorrow. But tomorrow never came. The telephone, alas, was never answered. In early December I went up to investigate and learned from a neighbor that the police had escorted the tile man tojail. Next year one ofourvety best editors and faithful programmer, Rudy Supper, volunteered, as his downtime project, to design the hot plates year afteryear and oversee their production. Since then they have borne the mark of Rudy's thoroughness and care. Some years he confides to me the secret coded message hidden in the arrangement ofthe secondr;rii [e1 ]

103 ary letters. Perhaps the day will come when a Rosetta Stone archaeologist will decipher the mysteries hidden therein. Meanwhile the tiles have been collected by many, formed into table tops by some, and even built into the fireplace of an art director's new home. Such elevation of a supplier'strademarkis, to say the least, a bit unusual; it is fully as unusual as the decision of Milt Zudecic, head type director of McCann Erickson, to paper one panel ofhis new office with a special Burgundy printing ofour alphabet wallpaper. This is a good place to record a stow that Ed Malecld, a member of the Type Directors Club, told upon his return from a trip to Hungary. In the rare book room of the big Budapest Library Ed had asked to see a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. "We do not have &ne," said the curator in Hungarian, "but we have a page that looks very much like it. We often show it to those who aslçaboiit the Gutenberg Bible. Perhaps you'd like to see it:' As they descended into the deep vaults below the level of the Danube the curator described how, during World War II, he had stored this precious specimen along with ancient manuscripts and other priceless treasures in the subterranean vaults for safekeeping. Finally they came to the great door of the deepest vault, unlocked it, and went inside. There, arranged in piles on shelves, were manuscripts written by early popes and long gone kings; all double wrapped for protection against the elements. Among them was this valued alter ego for the famous Bible. The curator unwrapped it and held it up for inspection and appreciation. Ed instantly recognized the sheet as Photo-Lettering's 1939 Christmas keepsake photo-lettered in the closest thing we had to Gutenberg's 42- line Bible type: "Incunabula Bold:' 3inBUUflbiEr?tiM AFTER FOUR YEARS the Steinweiss book looked less glamorous than when it was new. Almost a thousand more alphabets had been added to our library, and we were having difficulty keeping art directors informed of our newer styles even though we displayed them every month on page one of Art Direction magazine, a practice continued for decades. I suppose some client must have hinted that our oblong 11x8½ inch cataloglooked pretty small alongside Lettering Inc's new 12x12 inchjob. That was like waving a red flag at a bull. We started with plans for a book slightly smaller than an 8-column newspaper, but compromised on 13 x13 with a strawberry red cover determined to out-inch Lettering Inc in both dimensions. Twenty-five years have now passed, and Lettering Inc has long ago closed its doors in NewYork; but Photo-Lettering is still in the frantic race not to be outsized by anybody. I smile to see us now bent on producing floor-to-ceiling posters of our styles because, no doubt, some client remarked that a competitor's poster was bigger than ours. But it's better to be on the go than complacent, and complacent is a word you won't find in any Photo-Lettering dictionary4 Steinweiss was not available for the strawberry red catalo& but his former assistant, Herman Beeber, took on the job. It was a herculean taskbut well worth it. The bookfar outshone its predecessor. A hundred pages of kingsize 26x13 inch double page spreads page after page of our most dramatic photo-lettering in finest display. Today, as then, just leafing through the book is a luxurious treat for the eyes.

104 This book was primarily an effort to dramatize our work and to provide a suitable setting for the art of102 participating letterers, ha!fofthem appearing for the first time, including such newcomers as Daisy Alcock Reproductions of scves of the spreads Frank Bartuska, Ed Benguiat, Tony Bonagura, Harold Crootof, Acey Cyin the 1955 arc seownfoffowtng page 64. press, Jim D'An-iico, Ismar David, Dan Gelberg, William Gillies,Jay Gb- gower, F. H. KHennon, Harold Hite, So! Immerman, Mack Koven, Tony Paul, George Piscitelle, Herbert Post, Reed Sill, Dan Soler, Al Soroka, Herman Spinadel, Andrew Szoeke, and Tony Violino, to mention just a few. Opposite the hundred signatures appeared this paragraph of explanation: i Much ofthe brill:ant lettering in use today is the result ofcollaboration between Photo-Lettering and the stars of the lettering world. Our close cooperation with these artists achieves a dual purpose: it stimulates further creative effort on their part (a condition essential to the longrange vitality ofthe art) and atthe same time makes their designs available to you in a commercially practical form. The wide artistic preferences of these letterers are reflected in an equally wide variety ofalphabets. Some were dashed off spontaneously in a moment of brilliance, others were the result of months of study and revision, still others were drawn for special purposes. Regardless of its origin, each letter is a faithful facsimile of its designer's original and may be used with fill confidence in its authenticity. And on the title page: There is nothing dogmatic or provincial about this Manual of Photo-LetteringAlphabets. It is replete with style, the kind ofstyle that comes from many different people dreaming individually, competing with one another, and trying not to be trapped by anybody who does their dreaming for them. That is the style ofphoto- Lettering as exciting and diversified as Fifth Avenue from Washington Square to Fifty-ninth. Sandwiched into all this glamour was our first attempt to systematically categorize and thumb index our styles. This effort was the predecessor to our thesaurus system which would reach fill bloom in Every new craft needs new terminology. From the very beginningwe tried to select elegant words to describe what we were doing -words that reflected the romance of our adventure. We worked in a studio, not a shop. Until quite recently we never called our styles "type. They were alphabets drawn by alphabet designers. Those who "translated the art director's layout into photo-lettering terminology" were programmers who developed programs on anopticon. Letters were respaced byedithrs. Photo-technicians produced optical effects. Our catalog was a Manual of Styles, or analpha bet Thesaurus, a Treasury ofdesign. It's hard to understand why it took us twenty years to find the word reproportioning as an overall description of condensing, expanding and obliquing. Meanwhile we wallowed around withflex, modification and variation, none ofwhich quite told the story. To our dismay, clients often used the term "distortion." Reproportioning is a good term, self-descriptive, and widely used today. Our most desperate search for a word was to describe the shape of an 0 in Railroad Gothic - two half circles connected by two straights; just like a racetrack. It's a common symmetrical shape frequently seen

105 but apparently unnamed. Many alphabets, including our prized Murray Hill, are based on this nameless shape. Foryears I questioned architects, draftsmen, engineers, and mathematicians, but none could come up with the answer. Then one snowy night in the basement of Out Croton home I was checking the oil tank to see if we were likely to run short. Tacked on the wall nearby was a copy of the Universal Fuel Oil Tank Chart published by the Bervic Company of East Hartford, Connecticut, whose lofty motto is "Servicing Your Need is Our Creed." Under the description ofa 275 gallon tank! spied the word Obround! And from that day forth the lexicon ofletters was enriched by a new adjective HAROLD'S MOVE TO PRO'IYPE in 1954 left Photo-Lettering without his leadership, his dedication, and his skill in design. We knew we'd never be able to fill the void completely, but in Victor Caruso we found a talented letterer whose early introduction to artistic pursuits dated backto his days as a member of the Boy's Club of America. In depression years the membershipfee was thoughtfully matched to a boy's depressed pocketbook: ioc for sixmonths. Asfortune would have it, the club's perceptive librarian sensed Vic's.talent and steered him into high school art courses, then to Pratt Institute and the National Academy of Art. In 1945 after V-E Day his buddies in arms rushed to get the flrstboat home, but Vic wisely resisted the temptation, remained in Paris, and studied atthe Sorbonne's Ecole de Beaux Arts. This prepared him for a ten year stint with the accomplished letterer Paul Beers in NewYork, followingwhich he came to Photo-Lettering and mastered the exacting art of alphabet design. Vic is responsible for more than a thousand faces in Photo-Lettering's library -a prodigious number; probably more than anyone in the world has ever drawn, and many of them among our best. Walkiingtoward Grand Central one suminerafternoon in '55 our renting agent, Barney Zuckerman, hailed me. "Ed; that carpet company on the ground floor is giving up its space; why don't you take it over?" "Forget it, Barney;" I said. "We've got all our plumbing, air conditioning and everything setup and we'd need six months to move:' "Just take a lookat the space," he begged. "I won't show it to anybody'tilyouve seen it. You and me always gets along together, you know that. The balcony goes with it and Ill giv you a good deal, you know I always give you a good deal, Ed, you know what a good deal I gave you last time. I always give you a good deal, you can always count on me:' Next day I tooka look. It was beautiful. I could see us making as much ofa gem out ofthe place as Stan Nowak had visualized back in And we'd have show windows right on 45th Street midway between Grand Central and the U.N. What a place for the great future of alphabets! Lou Cannella carried out a little study on the time our messengers spent waiting for the elevators which, in those days, depended on how the spirit moved the operator. He found that street level instead of ninth floor would be the equivalent of moving Photo-Lettering almost a block nearer Lexington Avenue. Of course I had to get an ok from Mr.Joe Reilly, president ofelectrographic. He said that we'd better stay where we were, that you never knew what the future might bring. But he said it in such a way that I felt I 91

106 EVEREADY, WATERMAN, CELANESE, LADY PEPPERELL, SIMMONS, BAUSCH & LOMB, PATHE, SEALTEST, STRATH- MORE, HAMMERMILL, ZERONE, ZEREX, AUTO-LITE, ALCOA, HERCULES, N.Y. CENTRAL, NICKEL PLATE, PENNSYLVA- NIA, C&O, CANADIAN NATIONAL, CANA- DIAN PACIFIC, PERL MARQUETTE, SOUTHERN, UNION PACIFIC, WALDORI- ASTORIA, STATLER, BILTMORE, NEW YORKER, A&P, BEST moos, BORDENS, GENERAL MILLS, ROYAL SCARLET, BEECH-NUT, CHASE & SANBORN, MAX- WELL HOUSE, POSTUM, SANKA, LIPTON, CREAM OF WHEAT, SHREDDED WHEAT, KELLOGGS, POST TOASTIES, DRAKES CAKES, NATIONAL BISCUIT, RITZ, BOND, WARD, WONDER, BOSCO, CEICO, KNOX, JELLO, NESTLE'S ICRAFT, OXOL, WES- SON, CLOROX, 20 MULE TEAM, CHIPSO, RINSO, ma, KIRKMAN, IVORY, LIFE BUOY, LUX, PALMOLIVE, WOODBURT, CASHMERE BOUQUET, AQUA VELVA, BARBASOL, BURMA SHAVE, SEAIDRTH, WILLIAMS, MENNENS, COLGATE, KOLT- NOS, PEBECO, IPANA, DURHAM DU- PLEX, ENDERS, SCHICK ELECrROLFFE, REMINGTON, COlT, DOROTHY GRAY, ELIZABETH ARDEN, HELENA RUBIN- STEIN, JERGENS, TANGEE, POND'S, REVLON, AVON, CORINTHIA, DU BARRY, CHANEL, D'ORSAY, HUDNUT, SCHIAPA- RELLI, DOUBLEDAY, LIMITED EDI- TIONS, HARPER'S, POCKETBOOKS, RANDOM HOUSE, SIMON & SCHUSTER, MACMILLAN, DELCO, ELECFROLUX, FRIGIDAIRE, KELVINATOR, LEONARD, SERVEL, CORNING, LIBBEY OWENS, PTrFSBURGH, ANACONDA, AMERICAN BRASS, CHASE COPPER, REVERE, U.S. STEEL, CUT-RITE, PYREX, WINDEX, AEROVOX, CLAROSTAT, BUICK, CADILlAC, CHEVROLET, CHRYSLER, BE SOlD, FORD, HUDSON, LINCOLN, MACK MER- CURY, PACKARD, AUTO-LITE, FRUE- HAUF, SIMONIZ, TIMKEN,FIRESTONE, GOODRICH, GOODYEAR, HOOD, US. RUBBER, AMERICAN AIRLINES, EAST- ERN, PAN AM, TWA, DELTA, UNITED, WESTERN, NORTHEAST, BENDIX, CUR- TIS WRIGHT, CITIES SERVICE, CONOCO, ESSO, ETHYL, KOOLMOTOR, SHELL, QUAKER STATE, SOCONZ TEXACO, TI'- DOL, GARGOYLE, MGM, PARAMOUNT, 20TH CENTURY, WARNER BROS, UNITED ARTISTS, RICO, ANSCO, EAST- MAN, OZALID, RCA-VICTOR, DECCA, EMERSON, CROSLEY, ZENITH, PHILCO, BALLENTINES, CALVERT, CARSTAIRS, GUNTHERS, JOHNNIE WALKER, KEN- ThC10, PARK & TILIORD, RHEINGOLD, SCHAEFER, SCHENLET, SEAGRAMS, CANADA DRY, COCA COLA, CAMELS, CHESTERFIELD, KOHL, LUCKY STRIKE, OLD GOLD, PALL MALL, RALEIGH WINGS, BLACKSTONE, DUTCH MASTERS, FLEET- WOOD, WHITE OWL, SURREY, EDGE. WORTH, BULOVA, GRUEN, HAMILTON, LONGINESWITrNAUER, BAUER & BLACK, DAGGETT & RAMSDELL, MCKESSON & ROBBINS, LYDIA E PINK. HAM, SHARP & DOIIME, WHITEHALL, wouldn't be far off base if I interpreted it to mean that if we moved we'd better be sure to keep on being successful in dollars as well as fun. So Igave Barney a chance to present his "good deal." After pondering the figure for a minute or two I was touched to see that Barney really had some very genuine concern for Photo-Lettering; and perhaps for me too. "Ed, there's a rule of thumb that everybody in this blockgoes by. It's a good rule and I thinkyou ought to use it, because ifyou don't you may get in over your head and be sorry. tour rent should be about jlv'e percent ofyour billing neyer mora'that's a rule you can use to see ifyoull make it in the new space? Moving day on 45th Street was always between Christmas and New Years. This year it snowed, but worse than that we had to dismantle all our equipment to squeeze it through a narrow 33¼-inch door. When all was safely in place I went back to the ninth floor and wandered slowly through the empty rooms and nineteen years ofmemories: Harold. No one could ever have been abetter partner.jules, Steve, Frank, How they have blossomed through the years. Now they're men, almost 40 Jules is over 40, and Harold and I are 50. Hartley, Dick, Gordon, Herb, George, GI-iff, Rudy, Chuck, Vince, Ken, Mike, Lou, Charliejackie. What a wonderful group! Nineteen years and nobody has left Photo- Lettering except GIiff. Two marriages: Johanna and Dick., Anne and \?ince; and Dot Herterick married a Croton boy. The place has been mighty good to me. One of our sons is in college; another will soon be. Then there are all those wonderful letterers who have trusted us: first Tommy Thompson, and now a long list grown to over a hundred. And the loyal clients who made it all possible. The agencies and their faithful type and art directors:j. WalterThompson; BBD&O; McCann-Erickson; Morse; Benton & Bowles; Biow; Calkins & Holden; Compton; Dancer Fitzgerald; Donahue & Coe; Doyle Dane Bernbach; William Esty; Foote Cone Belding; Grey; Hazard; Kenyon & Eckhardt; Kudner; Lambert & Feasley; LaRoche; Lennen & Newell; William Douglas McAdams; Mathes; Maxon; Mayshark & Keyes; Robert On; Ruthrauff & Ryan; Young & Rubicam; Zlowe. The magazines, each with a unique art director. How their insights have led us on! Life; Vogue; Saturday Evening Post; Harpers Bazaar; Esquire; Mademoiselle; Woman's Day; McCalls; American Home; Look Glamour; Colliers; Ladies Home Journal; Parents; Readers Digest; Redbook, Seventeen; House Beautiful; Consumers Union; The Lamp; Scientific American; Country Gentleman; Everywoman; Family Circle; Nation's Business; Good Housekeeping; Cosmopolitan; Woman's Home Companion. The art services and designers: Lester Beal; Alex Steinweiss; Paul Rand; Harry Watts; Paul Bacon; Lippincott & Margulies; Walter Dorwin Teague; Sudler & Hennessey; Gianninoto. The pulps, paperbacks, and hard cover publishers: Ace Books; Avon; Ballantine; Book-of-the-Month; Dell; Doubleday; Harpers; Fawcett; Ideal; King Features; Macfadden; Pocket Books; Popular Publications; Random House; Simon & Schuster; Street & Smith; Time; Viking. And finally the manufacturers and others: General Electric; Longines Wittnauer; Western Electric; General Motors; NBC; CBS; Columbia Records; Warner Brothers; MGM; United Artists; DuPont; Eastman; Johns Manville; IBM; United Fruit; Eli Lilly; R,H.Macy; Metropolitan Life; New York Life; Sharpe & Dohme; Shell; Esso; Texaco; Ciba; Vick, Ford; Hart Schafiher & Marx; U-S-Rubber; LLS.Steel; Famous Artists Schools; The NewYorklimes, The News, andthe Philadelphia Enquirer. Bless them all.

107 1956 THE NEW QUARTERS gave us about ten times as much space as in 1936 Halfof it was topped with an impressive ceiling seventeen feet high. The rest had an eight foot ceiling with balcony above it including a totally independent balcony room with a distinctive window in the shape ofar arch looking out on 45th Street. Live plants set in the window woulc make it an ideal spot for The Alphabet Gallery. We tried to use itthatway but, alas, the room was not self-cleaning the plants were not self-water ing,the exhibitions were not self-rejuvenating. With Harold and five o our key staff moved over to ProType there were not enough hands avail able to continue such festive projects. Rejuvenating the big show win dows on the street was a tough enough job in itself. In happy contrast to these problem areas, however, was our dramatic pièce de résistance which needed no cleaning, watering or rejuvenation two enormous 17-foot pillars towering up to the high ceiling clothe( from top to bottom with the distinctive checkerboard aiphabetwall pape: in red! These were the first things a visitor saw when he entered Photc Lettering through the imposing well polished brass door. I believe it wa$ Aaron Bums who once said, "You never get a second chance to make first impression," and we been glad to commit that responsibility to these massive pillars ever since. Our exciting new home called for celebrating with an Open House. Invitations were sent far and wide. The response was tremendous as hundreds ofvisitors came to lookand listen and to get better acquainted. Years later we picked up the story, rightly or wrongly, that certain things seen at that open house were more than indirectly responsible for the development of the Typositor, a machine incorporating some of the features of our Rutherfords. After open house we faced a problem kept under the rug for twenty years: should we organize a night staff and offer night service? Most advertising agencies routinely called for "9 a.m. delivery" on orders for lettering typography, and engravings. Taking early morning delivery for granted is a time-honored agency habit, and one that made night activity on 45th Street second only to that on Broadway. While letterers, typographers and photo-engravers bowed to the 9 a.m. pressure, electrotypers staunchly refused to inaugurate night shifts. Officially we closed at six; but in practice more and more of our workspilled over into the night.jules, Steve and I -and Harold before ProType moved always rotated hours so that one or two of us were there untileight or ten, and if the work was particularly heavy we'd hold a third or fourth person to help. In truth it'mustbe said that night workis not as disagreeable as it sounds. There are compensations, the greatest of which is the opportunity to concentrate without telephone or other interruptions. At night you can do your very best, and that in itself is enormously satisfying. Looking backover the years I have little doubt that many ofour best days were spent at night Finally, then, we stopped telling ourselves that the need for night owls would pass away. We admitted that the time had come, and gave in, knowing very well that the decision could never be reversed. George Sohn was moving up fast He had used his eight photo-letteringyears to good advantage. He'd developed sound judgment, excellent iini

108 taste, and was ably qualified to carry out every step of the operation. We were all delighted with his offer to take over at night. Perhaps it was a natural: his father was a Linotype operator on the night shift! George's path to Photo-Lettering began with some aptitude tests taken after high school graduation. They pointed toward archaeology or art, and he chose the latter as more likely to lead to personal solvency. After two years at Pratt Institute with courses in lettering under the colorfhl teacherjj. Herman, holding a part time job in an art studio, and filling in with odds and ends here and there, he invested $4 in aneiv York Times classified ad "Situations Wanted MaleT and the rest is history. Not many who are artistically inclined have gleaned much from military service. George is an exception. Each promotion in the National Guard gave him more training in the skills of dealing with people and directing them constructively. The night supervisoryship was the first but not the last time that Photo-Lettering beriefitted from this training. Our manning ofthis shift in 1956 was modest enough: it consisted of George, and Ruben Tones. As the months passed, however, the fledgling operation grew and grew. It also developed expertise in certain unique areas. One that is not widely known had to do with the listing of actors' names in movie ads. These invariably came in at night. Sometimes as many as twenty names would appear in the bottom credit lines, and the size of each one was controlled by contracts written in Hollywood. The star's name was always 100%. Lesser lights could be 75%,60%,50%,35%, etc. dependingon how their contracts were written. The proportions had to be accurate because they were ultimately measured by legal nit-pickers out to catch us if they could. To further complicate matters it was necessary that all names give the appearance of having been set in the same weight letter regardless ofsize or condensation. Simple reductions and reproportionings were not good enough. This led to the drawing of 34 widths and weights of Hamilton Gothic, a plurality exceeded only by our enormous family oflenox Hills. After a few years Vincent Pacella, returning from military service abroad, took over the night leadership and measured up ably to its rigorous requirements. Vince had the art school background, mechanical aptitudes, warm personality, reliability, self starting zip and artistic perception that have made him a versatile photo-letterer and are rapidly making him an able type designer. I've always had a high regard for the advice he gives a promising newcomer: "If you want to be a photo-letterer never ride the subway without studying the ads in the car, Figure out how you'd photo-letter them in the most efficient way. Mentally match each style on an ad with one of ours. Then verify it when you get hold ofa catalog. R,gmember its name and number. There no better way to train yourself. keep doing it until it becomes a habit and you eqjoy it." No doubt it was Vince's thousands of subway and commuter rides that developed in him keen sensitivity to alphabet design and identification. Photo-Lettering has quite a few who are remarkably skilled in style identification, but I doubt ifanyone anywhere is as skilled as Vince. It must have been as long ago as 1940 when Harold and I began trying various ways to correct the photo-lettering machine's one persistent shortcoming: the inability to see a letter on the control table after it had been exposed, so that the next letter could be placed alongside it with frill accuracy and tasteful spacing. 94

109 A substantial percentage ofourjobs did not require the programming or meticulous layouts we usually prepared as a guide for the machine. In such cases the operator controlled spacing by tracing each letter as it was projected through the periscope ontb the visual positioning table, much as it was done in the earliest days of the lettering machine before the development of the opticon. This method was time consuming and no more accurate than the tracing. To overcome such awkwardness and retain the image precisely as projected through the periscope we tried experiments with liquid developer in a pan directly on the machine's positioning table similar to the method later used by Typositor and the first Staromats. But the liquids created an untidy condition, slowed startup, needed replenishment and a final cleanup. One of the excellent features of the Rutherford is its dry operation. We wisely shied away from the hazards of combining chemicals with machinery, and determined that whatever method was eventually perfected it must be dry. When FrankKopec returned from the Navy he mentioned that a cloth impregnated with phosphorescent material was cemented to the walls of narrow passageways in ships. The phosphorous became charged during daylight hours and kept its glow throughout the night. After the war there were many Navy surplus dealers and we found one who had some of this material. But it charged much too slowly and the images were very blurred. So the idea was shifted to a side burnerwaitingto be heated up when some fringes of time came along. Gradually we learned more and more about the characteristics of phosphorescent coatings, and the more we learned the more certain we were that this was the right direction to go. Phosphorus was clean, it was dry, stable, self-erasing, and could be made relatively insensitive to stray light. Most importantly it fitted perfectly into our method of operation. No change at all wouldbe required in ourthousands ofalphabetmasters; no change in the basic controls of our lettering machines; at worst it might involve some rewiring and alteration in the timing sequence, but that was a relatively simple matter. It tooklonger than we expected to develop a coatingwith the precise balance of blindness to subdued light, quick sensitivity to charge in bright light, comfortable after-charge luminosity, sharp image definition, and slow decay or erasure. An optimum balance ofall five characteristics was required before there could be any practical application. All the disappointments encountered as we inched toward this goal were wiped out by the totality of success which even exceeded our highest hopes. Indeed, phosphorus retention of images proved so compatible with our previous routines that it became perfectly practical to run combination jobs using both traditional and phosphorescent controls, taking advantage of the best ofboth techniques flail use of condensing and expanding lenses, controlled letterspacing, line-under-line composition, selective weighting, justification, size change of individual characters and the many other niceties that had, through the years, become the.hallmark ofphoto-lettering. Usually an improvement as far reaching as this necessitates related changes that tend to detract from the glamor ofthe advance: faster trains need better tracks; bigger planes need longer runways; mosquito sprays are hazardous to health; solar collectors are incompatible with shade trees. Not so with our introduction of phosphorescent controls-it was all lean, no fat; a BIG net gain. 0 -I- In thu Utustrotiott the (ettera has Seen exposed on the phosphorous.coatcdposttiofltfl9 tame at the sante time it was exposed onflfln (in the Ught-protectet( 9rey a=). The letter N is now hem9 positioned aiongskle thea- itiedi he exposed ott the pitosphoreseent table anti onjlim sinmltanee'usly. Thenetuiini letter wilt he positioned in correct relationship to AN. 95

110 WE'D BEEN USING THE RUTHERFORDS SO regularlyforcomposingwords that their original step & repeat capability had faded far into the background. But when Otto Herman walked in with a dozen or so beautiful little segments of contemporary borders we quickly saw an excellent reason to revive these dormant skills. The first borders were limited to rectangular shapes, but this soon led to circles and then to intricate patterns of rulings. As our stock of masters and our skill in handling them grew we developed a technique for matching any border to any dimensions with precision the overall size of the frame need no longer be governed by a mathematical relationship to the size ofits segments. Borders became a very popular addition to our service, particularly in the area of coupons with imitation banknote frames. The Penrose Annual comes from London every Spring. On the backbone it is identified by a number that does not quite match the year in which the annual was published. A little mathematics, however, reveals that Penrose Number I must have been issued in These annuals provide an authoritative record of development in every area ofthe printing industry: presses, paper, ink color separations and reproductions, every conceivable method of printing and binding and, of course, typesetting. There is probably not a new development or significant piece of equipment that has been overlooked. My introduction to the Annual came in the '30s when it mentioned our workin Rutherford and the Uhertype developments in Europe. Years later I visited Herbert Spencer, the editor, in London and this may have led to his suggestion that I contribute something to the 1959 Penrose. We were surprised thathe selected this contribution asthe lead story. But then it might have been the most timely manuscript received that year and won its spurs more by default than by merit. It taught me that many items get front page treatment, no doubt, by default. Even so it was a feather in Photo-Lettering's cap, and we ordered some reprints. Our next public appearance came ten years later in a very different kind of publication the NewYorkDally News. Murray Fuchs had been with us scarcely a year. He was a true Photo- Lettering enthusiast and this prompted him to write to the News suggesting that here was a good subject for a Sunday feature story. The first thing I knew about it was when Murray, normally quiet and retiring, came to me excitedly with a letter from Dave McLane, rotogravure photo editor. He wanted Murray to give him a tour ofthe place. It all worked out very smoothly. Dave and his writer,jan Moss, came over several times and got the story and pictures they were looking for. And no one could have been more elated than Murray Fuchs when it appeared in his favorite Sunday paper. Mother and less friendly appearance in public print started with a telephone call from one of New York's vilest pornographic pulp sheets ordering what seemed to be a new masthead in a style designed by one of our most respected letterers. The call came at night and was wisely tabled for further consideration next day. We, of course, flatly refused to do the job, and were shortly sent a copy of the sheet's editorial page boiling Photo-Lettering in obscene oil for what it considered our prudery and stuffiness. Rol

111 1959 THE GLAMOROUS STRAWBERRY RED CATALOG had done its job well. Those who'd been asleep to Photo's progress were finally awakened, and by 1959 we and our competitorshad told the story so many times to so many people that the need for further education was coming to an end. Catalogglàrnorbecame less importantthancatalogusefalness.the need now was for a well organized reference book. Two hundred years ago Samuel Johnson said: "It is not sufficiently considered that men require more often to be reminded than to be informed." IfDr.Johnson were talking to twentieth century users of photolettering he might have said it this way: "Packed away in an art director's head is avstjhnd of taste andjudgment, perception and preference, but often he cannot bring it to the surface when needed. A little reminder is usually enough to open the flow of memory." Our next catalog must be designed primarily to open the user's flow of memory, and the best approach I could thinkofwas to fit alphabet designs into a system patterned on Roget's famous thesaurus. One morning I happened to ride in on the train with Alexander Code Van Asch, a neighbor ofours, who at that time was the revising editor for the Thesaurus. He told me how Roget had first established six broad categories of words in a sequence that seemed reasonable and logical: ABSTRACT RELATIONS; SPACE; MATTER; INTELLECT; VOLITION; AFFEC- TIONS. Then each of these was subdivided into smaller categories. SPACE, for example, was subdivided into Space in General; Dimensions; Form, and Motion. These in turn were subdivided and sub-subdivided. A user of the early Thesaurus could locate a category if his mind was attuned to the same sequences as Roget's, butnotmany minds were. So an alphabetical cross index was eventually developed. This opened up the whole treasury of synonyms to everybody. Arranging alphabets in a logical sequence presents a similar problem. Our '55 catalog had established categories that seemed to me to be in obvious sequence, beginning with the simplest, most rudimentary designs and ending with the most complex. Everybody, however, might not agree with my logic; therefore a cross index was needed. In '55 we used an alphabetical index, but most users recalled a style by sight better than by name, so for the 1960 edition we devised a visual index in addition to the alphabetical one. Thus a user, not recalling the name of a design he had in mind, could quickly scan the visual index to find what he was lookingfor, then turn to the page where itwas displayed in greater detail and in company with additional weights and proportions of its own family. Other closely related styles were displayed nearby - precisely like synonyms in a thesaurus. Thus the categories tentatively presented in the '55 catalog were woven tightly into the format of our Alphabet Thesaurus - Volume I (1960), Volume 2 (1965), Volume 3 (1970). But as the styles multiplied even the generous dimensions of our format did not always bring all kindred designs together on the same page. This tended to set up a situation in which close comparison of weights and configuration was less than ideal. In 1970 we sought to remedy this weakness by issuing a compact One Line Style and Weight Comparator which also served as an index to all three of the larger volumes. An excerpt from the introduction tells the story: 97

112 This manual has been designed to place Photo-Lettering's entire library of alphabets atyour fingertips. Every effort has been made to build a book that is compact, informative, and easy to use. 'Written' styles -Brush letters, informal and formal Scripts, and Calligraphics are displayed in sections identified by thumb tabs 1, 2, 3 and 4. Sections 5 through 12 present a collection of some 3000 'Standard' sans serifand serifstyles, including all the popular typefaces. 'Specialty' designs are covered in sections 2 through 17. A visual summary of the basic styles in each section will be found on the inside front covers. Display lines within each category are arranged in their natural sequence: from light to bold and from narrow to wide. This arrangement makes the manual a true comparator, and aids selection by bringing similar styles into close proximity where subtle differences in design may readily be seen. The caption under each specimen line gives its style number, its name, a simple code showing its origin, and the page in Volume 3, 2 or 1 where it is displayed in a larger size with its derivatives and other weights of its family. The One-Liner was a big step forward and served as a good quick reference book for clients. But for internal use it was still not quite the final answer. It would be out of date within a few months, and at best it displayed only the most popular styles in our libraryofio,000 perhaps no more than Among the missing were hundreds of special designs, unimportant to most clients but often helpful to a programmer trying to match an art director's sketch closely, particularly ifthe sketch had been drawn without one ofourfacesin mindaswas sometimes the case. Being able to locate such a style promptly could make the difference between an approximatch and a close match. Programmers with long experience Jules DeWette, Steve Kopec, his brother Frank. George Sohn and Vince Pacella knew the fine points of almost all our faces whether they were in the reference books or not They had learned them intimately over the years and, indeed, were responsible for the development ofmany. But the task ofpassing along to the rising generation of programmers all the fine details of each design - and keeping this information current presented a serious problem. Clearly a solution must be found that did notcall for sharper memories than most possessed. I had a feelingthat the answer might be in a device I'd heard about long ago. Every summer when I was a boy my father went up to New York in search of teachers. Somewhere in that great city a central bureau kept a current card file ofteachers seeking new positions. This particularyear a very modern filing system had been installed, and when Dad returned home he described it to us one evening at dinner: "I sat down at a large table7he said. "Opposite me was a clerkholding several giant needles almost two feet long and less than half the thickness of a pencil. Behind the clerk was what looked like a library card indexjile except that near the bottom edge of each drawer I could see a row of about twenty-frye holes drilled directly into the wood. The clerk offered to demonstrate the new system ifrd describe one ofthe teachers I was looking for. When I said Advanced Chemistry' he went to the drawer marked Chemistry, pulled it out and set it on the table infront of me. Then he inserted one of the needles into the hole marked Advanced.

113 This needle has passed through thefourth hole near the bottom edge of each card; he said, giving me a sample card with several of the holes lanced. The fourth hole represents advanced chemistry. If a teacher is Qualified to teach advanced chemistry thefourth hole in his or her card has been lanced; it is then no longer a hole but an open notch, and a needle passing through it cannot hold back the card when the tray is turned upside down. If I now turn this tray over, the cards with the resumes ofall advanced chemistry teachers perhaps 500 of them will drop out of the fib. But you probably have some.other requirements such as experience, salary, age, marital status, regional location, etc. I'll insert a needlefor each of these in accordance with your requirements This done, he turned the tray upside down, gave it avigorous shake, and nineteen cardsfelt out on the table by gravity. These nineteen cards; he said, 'are the resumes of each teacher who has all seven of the Qualifications you are seeking. Out of about a thousand cards in that drawer these are the only ones that meet all your requirements. They are the only ones that have notches in all the positions into which I inserted needles. There are probably other cards with all except one of the notches; they would have all your requirements except one, but the needle through that single hole keeps the cardfrom dropping out. Ifyou wish to modzyour requirements all I need do is to change the needles and turn the tray over again:' It's easy to see how this method could be adapted to alphabet selection. A central file of Photo-Lettering's alphabets could be set up so the needles would extraótftom the file "as ordered" each and every example ofa particular style plus all others having kindred characteristics. Each card would display a single style, with notches at the bottom to code its general design, its weightand width, and other significant characteristics that aided identification. I found the manufacturer of this ingenious device. It is called a Keysort. Several refinements have been made since 1920 but the simplicity remains intact. So we tried it. As we affixed prints ofcomplete alphabets to the cards and registered their characteristics in notched codes along the bottom, it became clear that the Keysort is a very versatile, mechanical thesaurus. It does everything that a bookthesaurus does and much more. The degree ofselectivity, for example, can be varied. Depending on the number of needles inserted it can be a "ballpark" selection or a finely pinpointed one. After use the cards are returned to the pack en masse and require no careful refiling the clipped corner in the upper right prevents a misfile and the needles will extract each and every card accurately regardless of its position in the pack. It is impossible for a card to escape the needle's sure release. As with other card files new items are easily added, thus keeping the data current. And since gravity makes all the extractions there are no breakdowns, no maintenance problems, no obsolescense and, best of all, nothing to get out of order. I've called the Keysort a mechanical thesaurus. Others have called it a poor man's computer. I like both labels, and I always like machinery that does itsjob with the most reliable and cheapest power: Gravity. As I lookback at the three volumes of the Alphabet Thesaurus, the One-Liner index, and the Keysort refinement, I hope that this in-depth demonstration of the cross-index principle may ultimately have some far-reaching or long-range effect on type classification. Perhaps its logic 2W21051 I. 00XiXXU, EL 20, ' P,.byboo,00. box,. Rook Xiii XXOX Solo,' Xk!iiob 00590, lob KsoXsl.lR toi.00t ,, l2 ls V VoV0_ 1-vV V AfulItrdtscription of the iwbom is prcsentej on pc9c ISo.

114 will rub off on future catalogers. It is almost certain that the imminent profusion of photographic faces will soon demand a systematic means of classification, just as expanding collections of books in libraries led first to the development of the Dewey Decimal System and then to still better methods of retrieval. At present only the more experienced users of typography have the fine sense of distinction that would be well served by systematic type cataloging. Most are not upset by the lack of order in traditional type books. They take it for granted and live with it just as we take for granted and live with the disorderly spelling of more than half of our English words. We've become so accustomed to the inconvenience of disorderliness in these areas that we accept.it as a fact of life and fail to look for something better. Yet it may be that the future will find merit in the thesaurus system of alphabet cataloging and discover that our prototype demonstration was worth the effort. Jean Koefoed, of Reinhold Publishing Company (now Van Nostrand Reinhold), recognized this at the time, and as a long range service to the industry offered to publish, under the Reinhold name, all three volumes ofthe Thesaurus as they were issued. This has led to wide distribution of the books, and today they are found on the shelves of many libraries. Even Charlie Brown knows about them DURING THE 50S AND '60s many of our participating letterers designed special promotional pieces to spur the sale of their particular styles. These were often well conceived and quite elaborate. One of the most notable was Dave Davison's booklet "Ben and I" quoting Franklin's maxims, each in a different face. Mother was the often quoted serenity-courage-wisdom prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr in a classic setting of Davison Calligraphic. A third was Frank Bartuska's "Jabberwock with eyes of flame" designed in his alphabet of the same name. Additional delights were conceived by Seymour Chwast, Milt Glaser, Peter Max,John Allen, Hal Fiedler, Sandi Govemale,Jim D'Antico, Ismar David, Hollis Holland, Tony Paul, Dave West and other participants; there must have been twenty or thirty ofthem in all. These colorful showings were often prized as keepsakes and complete sets are probably in the private files of some of our more retentive clients. Unfortunately Photo-Lettering does not have a full set, having cast its bread on the waters with both hands. In the '60s our rate of alphabet additions almost doubled. We added as many as fifty new designs a month, and issued Thesaurus supplements early in '61, '62, '63, '64, '67 and '69. Between supplements we distributed an ambitious group of colorful specialty booklets promoting different categories of styles beginning with Art Nouveau Xenotypes in '61 and followed by Poptypes, Xylotypes, Pow, Americana, Tightype, PsywiffbefounSon pages irs andi. chedelitypes, Art Deco, Ultras, and Nostalgia. Ed Benguiat had a hand in all ofthese. He joined Photo-Lettering about the time ofthe Art Nouveau renaissance, and found a congenial atmosphere that encouraged his 10

115 remarkable creativity and zest for originality in letterform. He has become one of the world's truly great type designers, and Photo-Lettering is honored to have provided a good share of the surroundings that encouraged, bolstered, and applauded his development. At some point during the '60s we photo-lettered the famous Renault ads that abruptly broke with tradition by teaming up ten different styles of letters with ten different colors to make a page of letter-mosaic that won first place in design shows and, for a time, changed the direction of the typographic avant garde. All stops were opened and the orgy of alphabet intoxication reached fantastic heights. It was a lot of fin, and the fin spilled over into the lives of the Now Generation. Early evidence ofthis spillover was Robert Indiana's sculptured treatment of the word LovE. Totally different was Herb Lubalin's concept executed by Tom Camase in eloquent script. The word itself was a good one, of course, but the design of the letters was what caught the eye of millions and wakened them to the exciting way in which words can be drawn. This triggered thousands of posters in which letters became the picture. One important star of the period was Peter Max; but there were many lesser lights all the way down to those whose mischevious enthusiasm led to the disfigurement of subway cars. If the '60s can be called the decade of posters, then the '70s was the decade of lettered T-shirts. At best the posters and T-shirts showed highly decorative imagination; at worst they were dull and stupid. Yet through them millions became letter-conscious. The art that had traditionally been nursed by the very few was now embraced by a whole new generation. No longer would youth be unlettered. Awareness of differences in written form had indeed become as catchingas differences in music during the early days of radio; and those who turned their backs on the wanton vandalism of aerosol graffiti in the underground turned their hearts and hands to a brilliant renaissance of flat pen calligraphy. The demand for letters in color was on the increase. Until 1959 all photo-lettering was strictly black and white. We had thought about color but could see no real use for it since every job was ultimately photographed in cameras that worked best with blackand white. Occasionally television studios asked for white photo-lettering on a clear film background. This we were able to provide, although sometimes our white was criticized because it tended to be creamy and not totally opaque. It was a dark day in 59 when a client pointed out that Ad-Let, one of our least formidable competitors, was producing not only opaque white on clear film, but colors too. That could not continue unchallenged. Three or four months of heroic effort by Frank Kopec left us still far behind Ad-Let's quality. Then came a lucky break. Bill Griffin, purported to be the brains ofad- Let's color, quit hisjob and an art director atjwt suggested thathe come over to see us. The decade opened with new hope. Bill was able, resourceful, and imaginative. When we put him in charge of a crash program he quickly lifted our color service into first place. We named it SPEcTRAKROME, and it opened an entirely new market for Photo-Lettering one that we had been largely unaware of To understand that market it must be realized that the manufacturer of a packaged product regards the container of his product as all-imporpuffing JSJM:RENAULTDatI3hIne AL_ 4 unfi.nunate1v it is impossible to show exiunples of SpectraKront since iii,c one-of.a-kindoriginaf.s in color. Reproduction in black and white would be pointless 101

116 102 tant. Its appearance is, to him, much more important than that of any advertisement. And he is right. If you dumped all cigarettes into a pile without trade names or packages you'd never be able to tell one from the other. It's the same with corn flakes, aspirin, soap powder, tooth paste, oil, mothballs, etc, etc. In thousands ofcases the trade name and package design are the only way in which a buyer can identify a product. A well designed package serves both as container and advertisement. Unlike an ad or atvcommercial, a package design will probably notbe changed for a longtime, therefbre every detail is important and requires approval of the president and often the entire board of directors. Twenty years ago package design studios employed skilled artists who could draw, paint, or "noodle up" a dummy package with such realism that it looked almost like the final printed box. Almost, but not quite. Therein lay the catch. Presidents and board members may be good business men but they are notoriously poor visualizers of printing. Sad experience has made them wary of approving any dummy package that might not look exactly like the finished printed piece. This creates a dilemma for the studio or designer: to make printing plates and actually print a new package when it is still in a formative state is very expensive and lime-consuming; yet in many cases this had been the only way to convince corporation officials that a proposed container had merit. SpectraKrome solved the problem neatly. At relatively small cost, without the expense of printing plates or a press run, we could make finished packages in photographic color from a studio's black and white art These SpectraKromes were skillfully folded into three dimensional packages and looked exactlylike the finished printed container. We even filled them with corn flakes or moth balls to give them heft and rattle..jeff Biscardi, who ultimately became our chief SpectraKrome salesman, reported that someone in General Foods had described the usefulness of this short cut very aptly: "It saves us eight weeks between the time we begin a new package design and the time it is on the grocers shelf not entirely because of the speed of your color process, but because a SpectraKiome package looks so realistic that our officers are reluctant to make changes, and often give us an immediate ok]' The fact that SpectraKrome could make red roses yellow, cloudy skies blue, and a blanket of snow look like a lawn of grass led to other interesting uses, one of which has to do with the familiar red of the Campbell Soup can. That red is not just"red." Itis avery special color and enormously important to the soup manufacturer. On Tvthe hue mustbe exact In this particular commercial the can of soup was being poured into a kettle, and the TV technicians found that when they adjusted their color balance to Campbell red, the hand pouring the soup became a sickening shade of flesh color. SpectraKrome offered a solution: Change the shade of red on the can. Make it an orange-red so that when the TV color is balanced for flesh the can's new SpectraKrome hue will become authentic Campbell red on the screen. Mother interesting example had to do with the protection ofvalqable art. The J. P. Morgan Library in New York commissioned Hermann Zapf to execute the Preamble to the United Nations Charter as a showpiece of finest modern calligraphy. Upon receiving the exquisite original, however, the library officials had some second thoughts about sending it along with a travelling exhibition. They were fearful of accidental damage. It was a tough assignment, but we were able to produce a Spectra-

117 Krome facsimile on handmade paper matching the original so well as to be almost indistinguishable from it. This SpectraKrome travelled with the exhibition while the original remained in NewYork, Scores of such exploits are, for the most part, the achievement of Hongsup Kim, SpectraKrome's master technician and color expert. During the '70s he developed a process whereby SpectraKromes could be transferred to flat, curved, oreven irregular surfaces ofglass, wood, metal, cloth, cellophane, newsprint, or any other packaging material, thus adding another useful resource to the art director's larder ONE OF THE FRIENDLIEST, kindest young men I've ever met dropped in one morning and introduced himself as Edward Lias. An art director had steered him our way saying that Photo-Lettering might be interested in what he carried in his portfolio. He then spread out an astonishing collection ofscientifically-generated orbitingifee form line drawings for use as art or incidental spots well timed to the electronic and spaceborne era. We quickly named them Cosmographs. The forms - nearly a hundred were pen drawn patterns generated by interfering sound waves: chords and triads. As explained by Ed Lias in the text ofour subsequent showing, "Here science and art Jiterallyjoin hands in the unity and harmony oj'basic universal motion." At least as interesting as the Cosmographs was the person who made them. I had assumed that he was a research physicist working in a big laboratory somewhere. No; he was a minister! Years later I learned that his congregation was able to provide little more than token support for the young pastor and his wife, and that the exciting Cosmographs were produced on a home made tuning fork device set up in a corner of the pastor's kitchen in a desperate effort to balance the family budget The story has a happy ending. I can report that the Cosmographs were an immediate success and significantly aided the pastor, his wife, their newborn baby, and the devoted but struggling congregation through what would have otherwise been a painfully austere period ARTICLES APPEARING IN THE PRESS from time to time have reminded me that a unique mixture of art and business is taking place in a community with which I have strong nostalgic ties. Turn the calendar back to 1913 to May 13, The superstitious may have been fearful of that date, but the more courageous saw it as a good omen. My fathercame home on that memorable eveningin ajoyjül mood. Along with many others he had worked diligently for the unification of the towns of Winston and Salem into an undivided city. Other communities in the State were recipients of largess they had not earned or struggled for: harbors, rivers, mainline railroads, central geographic location, government offices, crossroads of trade, etc. None of these blessings had fallen to Winston or to Salem. But consolidation, in the eyes of the foresighted, would bring something even better. The advocates ofunity, I understand, were looking ahead to the day when the new city would combine its totally dissimilar strengths into the building of a worthy mark of distinction. 103

118 INA Prior to consolidation Winston and Salem were as different as any two communities could be. Winston was a busy manufacturing town, chiefly knitting mills and tobacco factories long before the latter came into prominence as a controversial issue. Jam told that at one time Winston had almost as many millionaires as the rest of the State combined. Salem had little manufacturing and no millionaires, but it had a long history of cultural striving which the more visionary planners hoped could be developed into the State's center for the arts amply supported by Winston's millions. Very little of this vision materialized during my boyhood, but I remember how Salem College began to plant the seeds by bringing distinguished musicians and other performers into its little auditorium whose 612 seats, if totally filled; would barely foot the cost of the event Mine Schumann-Heink, John McCormack, Efrem Zimbalist and Alma Cluck I recall as being within reach ofthe very modestbudget. Fritz Kreisler and Rachmaninoffwere not. During my last year in high school "uptown money" got the message. A top flight musical director was employed, and then an equally able assistant. Uptown money offered scholarships to worthy music students. Uptown money bought a fall set of band and orchestral instruments which we used joyously on all occasions. Uptown money sponsored music summer schools attracting talent j}om the north. More and more the uptown business people were becoming interested in the arts, chiefly in music which for generations had been Salem's major cultural asset But I remember, too, that Mr. Fred Hanes in the year I graduated from college gave a large collection of rare books and incunabula to the University library. That appealed to me, and was my first inkling that arts other than music might someday bloom in Winston-Salem. And how they have bloomed! First came the restoration of "Old Salem" back to its authentic 18th Century appearance. In the South this restoration is second only to that of Williamsburg, and has the distinction ofbeing a total community endeavor rather than, as Williamsburg a gift ofan absentee benefactor. Following Old Salem came the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Art, a regional counterpart of DuPont's famed Winterthur Museum near Wilmington, Delaware. Some delving into dusty Moravian Archives unearthed thousands of deserving musical scores, both instrumental and vocal, composed locally and in other Moravian communities in the 1700s. This led to the establishment ofthe Moravian Music Foundation with its inspiring Early Moravian Music Festivals. When the State Legislature offered to locate its now nationally famous North Carolina School for the Arts in any city that would raise $400,000 for the purpose, Winston-Salem pulled the money together almost overnight and had a check in the legislators' hands long before other cities even began to think about it. Out of this school have come many of the rising generation's professional performing artists: dancers, actors and musicians, perhaps the most recent of whom isjoseph Robinson, first oboist in the NewYork Philharmonic. The community's last art form to surface was visual. Its dramatic rise is describedby Bennett Schiffin the Smithsonian ofjanuary 1979: "Winston-Salem was a creative pacesetterfor de-eloping the arts in community life, and is continuing to explore the way. Being in the city 104

119 is, as you experience it cumulatively, not that different infeelingfrom being in Pamplonafor the running of the bulls. It is thatfestive, that devoted to what is happening and, injhct, that inspiring. "The central event is of course vëry different unless you are one who places bullfighting, in the Hemingway sense, among the arts. This communal event, however, is purely and clearlyfocused on the visual arts, as the entire city of 140,000 seems to be throughout the year on all the other arts. "Since we are reminded somehow by Winston-Salem of the smaller European cities of other times, it is not a disparate thought to be reminded of Siena in, say, the 11th century. We are not speaking of architecture or ofgenius, but of the spirit of the place with regard to the arts, and the welcome place of the arts within the daily lives of its citiz-ens. "You could havefound no better or more explicit expression of this than to observe what was going on in the spacious, airy city in the latter part of last year." To document his point Schiff then lists ten widely recognized leaders in the American art world who were in the city at the same time that he was. Then he asks: "Why are they here? "Because-and it is a considerablejàct in the creative life ofthe country -Winston-Salem was a pacesetter, the leader in community in'olvement in the arts long before the National Endowmentfor the Arts had any hope of getting started. "They are here at this time not because of this, but because of the continuation of the idea into thejhbric of the place. Most importantly, they are here because of the work being done throughout an entire region as promoted and shown by this city. Theyare here to participate in and pay tribute to creative Quality, an actmty which can malcçyoufeel very good indeed. "Winston-Salem, then, is doing two essential things. It is gmng young artists of Quality an opportunity to be seen regionally. And it is bringing their work to the attention of knowledgeable people who might otherwise, would otherwise, be unaware of it." Thus the dream of 1913 blossomed. Whether its spirit has touched any of the better things that have happened far away on 45th Street I do not know, but I like to think it has. I like to think that channeling a generous share of our effort and enterprise into supportfor the art and appreciation of letterforms has enabled Photo-Lettering to bring the work of known and unknown letterers "to the attention of knowledgeable people who might otherwise, would otherwise, be unaware of it:' 1963 DOROTHY AND I had not kept up with everything that was going on in Old Salem. This unique Moravian restoration is in the same part of Winston-Salem where I grew up-where Henry Pfohl and I operated the Big- Little Print Shop. As mentioned earlier, the home restored as a typical residence of the early 1800s - the John Vogler house -was the one in which I lived from age six through eighteen. The room where I printed the very first copies of THE NEWS is now restored as it was a hundred years before my time. To be guided through your boyhood home by costumed hostesses is an unusual experience, to say the least 105

120 IImt.i.at %lsitors to OUSaLcm MUflnS the restores Blunt Print shop in the southwest coiner room the Wachovia Museum. (A similar corner room in the Inspecto?s House just east,t$te Museum hon,edtfie Big-LittLe Pnnt Shop lftc29zi) JOB PRINTING, tn All ITS VIUCTIES, Il-rroi IL wiustifihe continued at this Office, fown ieh.tacd,omo JOB TYPE. Error. ii thu I,,, ciii to ihtt.kftiily d lii.cribor- - turn C. IILUI. A C. Dec. 25, 'S2 106 Old Salem includes the Wachovia Museum where on the day before Easter our Boy Scout troop ushered visitors from exhibit to exhibit. I always posted myse]fby the old printing press, the one thatjohn Christian Blum brought to Salem m1828 to print his almanac, a weekly newspaper, and some job printing as well. I liked the press and wished I had enough eloquence to tell the visitors a good story about old Mr. Blum. It is said that he was setting type for his next year's almanac when an unwelcomed busybody interrupted him. Giving vent to his annoyance he promptly threatened the intruder: "Ifyou don't leave this minute Ill make it snow every day ne4 February!" Such is the power of type. Dr. Frank Albright, director of museums for Old Salem, said that restoration of the print shop was being delayed because of its relatively recent date He had found, however, that the press was built by Ramage in Philadelphia in 1810, and I surmised that with the possible exception of Ephrata in Pennsylvania it was likely to be the oldest press in America still in its original community. Of course any remnant oforiginal type and other printing accessories had disappeared long ago, but the Moravian Archives held many examples of early printed pieces for guidance in restoring the shop, and my offer to bring together a suitable collection of type and accessories was promptly accepted. The project proved a fascinating spare time hobby for the next ten years. It tookme to hundreds of dusty type cases in scores of abandoned North Carolina print shops from the mountains to the sea. In Burnsville Dorothy and I learned that its printer, Mr. Edwards, had died several years before, but thathis print shop, a few miles out oftown, was still standing. We found it with the sign EDWARDS PRINTING Co. intact There was evidence that the press had at one time been operated with water power generated by a swift mountain stream. Additions to the original building followed the course of the stream downhill. All the type was too new to match anything used in early Salem, but one of the homemade frames, some ofthe type cases, and a battered marble imposing stone had precisely the right flavor. A year or two later we learned that the C/iowan Times, published in Rich Square since 1885, had quietly folded its tent when Mr. Raspberry and Miss Connor retired. Mr. Raspberry had been pressman since 1899 and Miss Connor, daughter ofthe founder, set type for the Times through most of its history. Both of them were still living and Miss Connor, at least ninety years of age, was able to go with us to the old shop on the edge oftown. The building had originally been a Quaker meeting house. Now it was hidden in a deep brush thicket and covered with blooming honeysuckle that perfumed the air with a fragrance totally foreign to printer's ink The steps to the doorway had disintegrated long ago, but Miss Connor was determined to go in, and we steadied her as she climbed our improvised ladder. Inside she sat down in a rickety chair and lived her life all over again while I rummaged through the type. "Yes, I set type here for sixty years. At least sixty years," she reminisced. "Our pressman came from HalijhxCounty that book on Halx over there must be his. Once Iwas bitten bya moccasin least everybody said it must have been when Isaid how it looked, all soft and heavy and coiled round myfoot. [stepped on it when Iwas helping my mother pick Vegetables peas I think Yes, it hurt real bad before I got to the house. The doctor came right away and cut myfoot to get the poison out. I was

121 oil crutches Quite a spell." Dorothy noted the items that had been left in the room after the last issue of the Times came off the press: overshoes, an empty Lava soap box, bellows for cleaning type cases, piles of paper and account books, a sweater lying on the rusty press, a green visor, an old broom. Miss Connor continued: "In my life IVe been all over Eastern North Carolina. rve been to Wilmington and Morehead City. I've even been to Ocean View in Virginia. rv-e been asfar west as Raleigh but I've never been to Winston-Salem. I can remember our paper one time advertised 'Smilin'Throughlt was a nice movie. Isaw it. I remember aheadline lsetfir the paper during the war in 1917; it said 'Our Allies Must Be Fed: Tell me about Old Salem. That must be nice to see an old print shop just take anything you want, Ill be proud to have it there. It's sure been nice sittin'here all mornin" Yes, Miss Connor, it was nice being with you that morning; and I'm proud to share in the craft you loved. Steve Watts, whom I have mentioned before, invited us to his home at the foot of Brown. Mountain near Front Royal in the Shenandoah where he and his wife, Virginia, had retired some years earlier. As we drove up a winding trail we were delighted tosee a flag on top of a high pole flappingin the October wind, and still more pleased to learn thatthe flag was hoisted only on days when visiting printers were expected! In one of the rooms Steve had assembled a nostalgic print shop equipped as it would have been in the 1920s with a 10x15 Chandler & Price press, wedge-shaped quoins, a toggle-operated lead cutter, and other tools that he and I remembered so well from printing days in Winston-Salem. But the type was not ofthat period. Itwas specially cast from matrices thatwere much older styles that Steve feltwere worthreviving. Before ordering a recasting from ATF he would send a sample showing to some of his friends, giving them a chance to participate in the revival if they wished. The tab was usually a modest eight or nine dollars for what turned out to be something like a 6A-15a font ofis point. The chief obj ect of the press, however, was to print The Pasttime Printer, a little 4- or 8- page sheet fill ofsteves printer-nostalgia, and issued 'for no profit other than the greater one of pleasure in my work." When Steve heard about the Blum shop he was sure I could find no text sizes of metal type earlier than Older type had long ago been melted down and recast in newer styles. Purely by chance the type he had had recast for his own text use was molded from mats made in1826, and almost identical to samples of Blum's original printing. It was a natural, and Steve generously gave it all to Old Salem. His health was failing and he had set only a partial galley for an issue of The Pasttime Printer that would never be completed. If he'd remembered the colloquialisms of his North Carolina upbringing as well as Miss Connor did, I'm sure he'd have endowed this priceless gift to the Blum shop with her words: 'Just take it, Dl be proud to have it there." The final episode in the acquisition of old type is probably without parallel. Blum's Almanac had been published continuously since 1829, but had changed hands twice. The first transfer was to Crist & Keehln in the late 1800s. After Mr. Crist died it was bought, in 1926, by the Goslin Printing Company where it is still published. I was visiting the two Goslin brothers,j.b. and Allen, when they took me back into a far corner of their shop, drew an old galley out of the 107

122 1844; 1876: attll2fl4c COVeTS,asemicoton. Ln4edItoacokm, bottom rack, and showed me a font ofabout two dozen bold square-serif numerals. "We use these,"]. B. said, "for the date on the cover of the almanac.when Dad bought the publicationfrom I(eehln thisfont ofnumbers came with it. They match the ones Blum used in 1829 and must be that old. As you see, they're badly nicked and beaten up, but we print by offset now, so wejust retouch the numbers needed each year."here was my chance for a deal: Photo-Lettering would retouch the font and run off the dates to the year 2100 if this original type would be given to Old Salem! It was a fair exchange. Ayear or so later we invited all available celebrities to the print shop's official acceptance of this treasure: two local printers, an engraver, a lithographer, three newspaper editors, a publisher, and a dozen or so admirers. I wore a printer's apron borrowed from Allen Goslin and, beforetvcameras and reporters, accepted with as much ceremonial flourish as possible the Blum Print Shop's original metal type back home on its original press quite likely a"flrst" for restored print shops inarnerica. PHOTO-LETTERING'S GROUND FLOOR QUARTERS had seemed so spacious just a few years earlier. Now they were getting cramped, and rumors floated in that neighbors next door would soon be on the move. The building had lost a number of its tenants, and in our 27th year we'd become one of its oldest and healthiest occupants. So it wasnt long before Barney Zuckerman showed up with his usual promise of a "good deal:' When we appeared ready to nibble at the bait, Barney brought in his boss, Mr. Berley. This was a sure sign that we were big-league. Mr. Berley was not as flexible as Barney, but we ultimately got everything signed up to our satisfaction and I'm sure to his too. After this annexation the building had no more convenient space to offer us except the basement, and ten years later we added this to our holdings for a total of about 20,000 feet. The larger quarters encouraged us to reactivate our guest book, but with a new twist: instead of asking visitors to inscribe their names on pages that would soon be turned over and forgotten, we set aside an entire wall for signatures. The names represent every area ofcommunication, and remind our visitors, as well as ourselves, of the importance ofletters in every phase of the world's work. The two faithful photo-lettering machines could no longer keep up with an ever-increasing demand for their excellent product. Fortunately we had a list of those who bought Rutherfords back in the 30s. Some were late models like our own but had been victims of indifferent operation, and were no longer in use.a hundred dollars could buy more photolettering precision than tens ofthousands would build. We were unable to get all of them back. One had washed, into the Ohio River in a flood near Cincinnati; two had moved from place to place in South America; one was dumped in a Chicago scrap yard only weeks before our rescue attempt, and the machine that Jules DeWette and Frank Kopec operated during the war was forever lost in Navy red tape. Even so, we picked up six. Four were restored to active service, the fifth could be used only for parts, and Dick Decker converted the sixth into a jumbo machine that photographed letters up to five inches tall.

123 It Was a great homecoming for the old Rutherfords. But, alas, Harold Herman was not around to share in it. As one by one these memories ofour early handiwork were reactivated he would have been the first to point out that what often determines the successor failure ofa piece ofequipment may not be its mechanical quality or lack thereof, but rather the amount of pride behind the hands that operate it. 9 Mr. Tom Griffith, my Sunday School teacher long ago, impressed me with a maxim that's a good guide for everyone everywhere, and certainly for everyone in business: "You never Pet somethingfor nothing. Don't try." If only we had the sense to conduct our lives in harmony with this great truth we'd make progress toward building a truly civilized society. Business, I have found, is really a game. Played wholesomely it can be lots of fun, beneficial to all, and uplifting for society. But when we forget that "you never get something for nothing' and let greed dominate the game, then we sow seeds that grow into weeds of trouble. When the truck delivered the lettering machines to 45th Street back in 1936 I was well aware that we were setting up an enterprise in the heart of an area that bore the deep scars ofgreed - scars ofwoundsnot all made by the living generation, but inflicted flftyyears earlier by selfish newspaper publishers employers of typesetters who had not played the game with generosity, but had exploited their workers outrageously and caused a rebellion that gave birth to the "Big 6" typographical union. Now the tables were turned; the union held trump cards and was playing its game with the same selfish greed that the publishers had practiced before. Every floor in the buildings on 45th Street housed two opposing camps, employers and employees, both of whom spent fur too much of their time trying to outwit and outmaneuver the other. A sociology professor had told me that fights between management and unions were unavoidable, that it was "The American Way' but it convinced me that sociologists were just being defeatists and that Mr. Griffith's maxim was better. How that maxim would fare on 45th Street only time would tell, but we could certainly give itatry. Giving a good try to anything so unconventional in that neighborhood required careful steering, and we kept our efforts strictly to ourselves. Electrographic, of course, was delighted with a non-union operation. I got the impression that in their eyes it was synonymous with astute business management and might even lead to getting rqore for less. But I'd lived with the fiustration that opportunism brought to Lee & Phillips, and felt that really good management should not court contrived windfalls. So Harold and I informally put together what we thought was a good solid policy, and moved ahead to carry it out as best we could. Here it is: The return to Electrographic for risking capital to get Photo-Lettering started should never get out of step with a fair and just compensation to 109

124 Photo-Lettering employees for their time, skill, imagination and dedication in keeping Photo-Lettering going. There should always be a reasonable, justifiable relationship between the two remunerations. Salaries should be such that if everybody in Photo-Lettering knew what everybody else in Photo-Letteringeamed, it would seem to all that the division was fair. Raises should be made primarily on the basis of merit, not seniority. Hard times should be shared by all. In 1936 this program seemed to us to make sense. Almost half century later it still does. It achieved what it set out to accomplish. It worked well for those employed by Photo-Lettering. It worked well for Electrographic. It may have worked as well or better than anything else on 45th Street. Mr. Griffith's Sunday School lesson cast a long shadow. Ouryears on the ground floor had seen substantial growth in personnel. But it was getting difficult for the old timers to light the traditional spark ofenthusiasm in some of the newer faces. We were not ourselves experienced leaders we were doers. We had always depended on the magic of team spirit and were now finding it difficult to instill that same spirit in some ofthe newcomers.they were on the team all right, but not always playing with enthusiasm. To this was added the increasing difficulty ofmaintaininggood communication between day and night. It was time to correct these shortcomings before they changed the character of the organization. - To this end we formed a "management team" made up ofthe nine, ten or eleven who had Photo-Lettering's interests most keenly at heart. We met at lunch on the first Monday of every month, and between times circulated a notebook in which each team member noted his concerns and added any suggestions he might have for alleviating his own problems or those of others. The notebook became the agenda for the next meeting. It was a big step in the right direction. A fewyears later George Sohn devised a good bridge for day-to-night and night-to-day communication: a 3-minute meeting at precisely 10 o'clockeach morning and 7 each evening at which time representatives from all departments were briefed on all current problems equipment out of order; absentees; overloads; underloads; messages from clients; new personnel or transfers; new equipment or procedures; general announcements. A taped record of the preceding shift's meeting was scanned in advance and summarized by the meeting's moderator during the first minute. Each representative reported back to his department, thus promptly circulating information to all. These meetings spread news around the studio quickly.they served as our daily newspaper. One of the management team's first tasks was to grapple with the problem ofkeeping our merit raises fair and square. Outsiders familiar with the injustices that plague so many such systems frequently askhow, in an organization as large as ours, we protect the evaluations from an unfairness that often arises from favoritism, overor under-evaluation, and just plain managerial carelessness. Traditionally our procedure worked well, but to improve it we sought the aid of a management consultant, Frank Manley, who became very interested in the unique structure of Photo-Lettering and helped us set up a custommade routine geared to our particular requirements, as follows: Twice a year each supervisor evaluates those for whom he is directly responsible by completing a form that studies an individual worker from 110

125 six different angles: Quality of work performed; Quantity produced; Attendancd dependability;job attitude;job knowledge ;Judgment. The first three of these are measurable. The last three are more subjective. All are clearly defined on the form so that each supervisor conducts his evaluation within given parameters. "Quantity produced;' for example, is defined as "the volume of work produced that meets established standards:' "Job attitude" is defined as "amount of interest and enthusiasm shown; cooperation with others:'and so forth. The form may be visualized by picturing a panel of six thermometer one for each category mentioned above. All thermometers are graduated by tens from 0 to 100. Each step is clearly defined: 10 on the Job Attitude "thermometer" is defined as "Attitude too poor to retain in job without improvement:' 50 is defined "Favorable attitude:' 70 is "High degree of'enthusiasm and interest:' 90 is "extraordinary degree ofenthusiasm and interest:' The supervisor marks his evaluation in the appropriate position on each thermometer-chart. Simple arithmetic gives an overall average. Up to this point the system has much in common with the best of other evaluation techniques. But now come important differences. In addition to evaluating those for whom he is directly responsible, each supervisor is encouraged to evaluate others in the organization whose work and work habits have come to his attention. Such evaluations do not, ofcourse, carry as much weight as that ofthe immediate supervisor, but they play a significant part in the overall judgment of performance. At the June and December management meetings all evaluations, properly weighted, are brought together on a large blackboard,the name of each employee is written on this board in a panel representing the level ofhis rating. Each name is discussed, and all supervisors are free to challenge any evaluation. If there is disagreement about the justice of a rating (and not infrequently there is) the supervisor who made it must explain and justify it convincingly. Ifhe cannot do so, ifhe cannot satisfy all others that the evaluation is fair and correct, then the name is erased and moved to another level, up or down. In this way any inequities get thoroughly ironed out.the meetingis not adjourned until all are satisfied with the fairness of the ratings as they finally stand on the blackboard. This system is not only honest in itself, but sharpens perception and helps develop qualities of leadership. Any supervisor who is not measuring up to the rigors of honest evaluation soon sees his own deficiency and is usually the firstto correct it. The supervisor reports back to his juniors, privately discussing the rating with each one, and explaining the reason for it, good or bad. Some find it helpful to have an individual evaluate himself fill out the form for himself before the discussion, luowingthat one is most likely to understand a shortcoming if he himself uncovers it. Salary changes related to evaluations are based on a mix between the health of Photo-Lettering and the prevailing wages in the industry at large. It is an excellent system, has served us well, and is held in high favor. It neatly screens out favoritism, the major risk of merit systems, and it encourages motivation, their major strength. Frank Manley's contribution to Photo-Lettering was so successful that we began to consider bringing in more fresh ideas from outside our ranks. The next candidate came from an unexpected source. ill

126 Walter Gray, the faithful, sensitive and able treasurer of Electrographic, felt that Photo-Lettering had grown big enough to have its own money manager or, in more up-to-date terms, "comptroller." some years earlier he had transferred to us from his own staffa most competent and agreeable office manager, Patricia Layh. Day after day, month after month, year after year she has kept our financial details in meticulous order details ofgreat importance to us and the welfare of our families. Now Walter was determined again to find precisely the right person and, being ofscottish background, was settling for nothing less than the best. Injohn Prentici he recognized the ability he was looking for. John brought with him a lot more than money management He brought a congenial personality and lots of practical managerial experience gained during his years with a medical instrument manufacturer, two lithographers, and a fabricator of electrical equipment. His financial education was acquired at the Detroit Institute of Technology with further study at Wayne University. Since then he had become highly lmowledgeable in personnel management and sales. He saw to it, furthermore, that Photo-Lettering never rested on its past, notfor one briefminute. No newcomer ever fitted in more smoothly, and this in itself is quite an accomplishment in an organization oflongtime photo-letterers. Now at last we were brought in touch with the ways of the world beyond 45th Street, and from those ways we could pick and choose as seemed best. I doubt if there is anybody in Photo-Lettering who has not learned something ftomjohn. Certainly I have. Often. One morning I was surprised to find anew publication on my opticon. It's masthead told the story: "Photo-Lettering Gazette Vol. I, No. 1. Published by the Employees of Photo-Lettering. All the news that fits the print:' It was a frenzy of fact, fun and fiction presented with a light touch that showed no fear of slipping on grammatic banana peels. The large page size, bigger than tabloid, gave room for pictures rangingifom the nurse injectingflu vaccine into a dozen or more baredphotolettering arms, to candid camera shots of the latest baby born into the "family," the P-t,baslcetball team, the gala Christmas party and dance, grotesque "Halloween faces;' or "what the fashionable photo-letterer will wear:' News items ran all the way from Robin Zicholtz's city-wide selection as "Miss Subways;' to the fifteen different nationalities represented in the studio, tojeffbiscardi's direction of Sweet Adeline singers, to the big Photo-Lettering exhibit at the Hilton, and the colossal super-duper menu prepared by Mike and Susan Roberts for the annual picnic. A special "Stop the Press" label was attached to Vol. I No.5 to announcejohn Prentki's becoming a grandfather of twins! Editorials addressed such subjects as "Energy Crisis makes unnecessary heating a crime;' "Do you know the difference between a hyphen and a dash?" or "What the Spirit of Photo-Lettering really is." Sports reports covered bowling, the contest between Jackie's Gang and The Oldies, or gave details of the annual fishing expedition and size of the catch. There were cartoons, puzzles, "portfolios" showing samples of art and photography by members of the studio, a directory of dining places nearby (some of them labeled with the warning pricey), recipes for regional dishes, the monthly Gazette Award for Achievement ('Kim has developed a new process for SpectraKrome on glass bottles. It's a great success and has resulted in many orders"). There were always short biographies of new personnel, 112

127 'andifom time to time a bit of history about the early days of Photo-Lettering. Each issue, carried a boxed scoreboard reporting the number of "perfrct" days free from blunders. A classified section served those who wanted to buy, swap or sell. Many hands contributed to this effort, and the staff invariably changed from time to time, but the guiding spirit and indomitable thrust came from Roman Calces, the Gazette's volunteer editor-in-chief confirmed by acclamation. Somewhere there must be a hail of fame that gives recognition to such volunteer efforts. I nominate the Gazette and its energetic architects for such kudos they have eloquently shown us "What the spirit of Photo-Lettering really is" I have been fortunate to witness several great moments in graphic history, but none more overdue than the day the New York Times finally dropped the period from its masthead. Newspaper mastheads traditionally placed a period after the name, but by 1909 most papers had given up the practice. Even The Enterprise, my father's little amateur monthly of 1885, had no period. But The New York Times was not one to rush headlong into such change without due consideration. Meanwhile the period appeared day after day and week after weekconsuming ink. I estimate, at the rate of $84 a year. It was not until 1966 that the Times concluded there was little to be gained from further procrastination, and.decided to bring its masthead in line with popular usage. It was felt, that appropriate expertise should be sought for the execution ofthis change, and that it could be combined with minor alterations needed at the same time. Photo-Lettering was honored in having Ed Benguiat selected to perform the amputation. The ailing masthead was brought into our quarters on the appointed day. When the operating table was duly set Ed Benguiat, after honing his trusted scalpel to a fine edge, administered four deft strokes ofthe blade, swiftly severing the period with a minimum of discomfort. It was an historic moment. One that will be long remembered in the annals ofjoumalism. I hope we returned the severed period to the Times as a valuable contribution to its archives. 4e Ntm pork imes IT WAS IN THE MID '60s that keyboard photocomposition began to be recognized as a serious threat to metal. We knew that by the time the 80s rolled around metal typesetting would, with the ModelT and dinosaurs, be relegated to museums. That prediction has almost come true. My trips in North Carolina searching for old type had shown me that most weekly newspapers were fast abandoning metal. They were using "cold" strike-on typewriter methods for setting text, and a Headliner or in some cases a ProType for display. Composition and makeup was usually produced in the local community, then sent away to a centrally located offset plant for printing. I was surprised to find such advanced methods in rural villages, and more convinced than ever that Photo-Lettering should become involved with keyboard. Earlier, in 59, I'd made a rather extensive survey of the seven photo keyboard machines, two strike-ons, and one strike-on justifier being developed at the time: the Fotosetter, Photon-Lumitype, Linofllm, ATF 113

128 114 Phototypesetter, Alpha type, Megatype, Monophoto, IBM Executive, Varityper, and Optype. I could not enthusiastically recommend any of these for Photo-Lettering although the Monophoto seemed to have good potential for book composition. By1965, however, Aiphatype was producing really high quality work, and we saw our chance to get into the act when Hallmark Cards, who had bought an Aiphatype, came to us for help in adapting special alphabets to their machine. I went to Kansas City to learn the whole story. Alphatype by no means measured up to the flexibility that we would ultimately need in Photo-Lettering but we dared not delay longer. Now was the time to act. We bought one. For months we explored the changes needed to bring the machine more closely in line with our requirements. Dick Decker made the mechanical refinements while Chuck Papirtis and I handled the art end. Here I must give a word of tribute to both these men who have an inexhaustible supply of patience and are never satisfied with second best. By agreement we paid Alphatype a fee for grids produced for Hallmark and in turn were authorized to make grids ofour own styles for our own use, but not for sale to others. Without that combination of attributes we could never have succeeded. The new controls we developed to match our own styles enabled us to offer a keyboard lettering service more customized and refined than anything on the market. We called itartron a combination ofthe words art and electronics. Now the 70s were fast approaching. We could see a distinct tapering off in the swinging free-for-all alphabet creativity that typographic historians will undoubtedly call "The Roaring Sixties." Keyboard speeds were in the ascendency. Electronic wizardry was encroaching on the meticulous craftsmanship that had brought photo through its early years. What lay ahead was unclear, but unless a good measure oftaste and craftsmanship was mixed with all the mechanical magic the result would surely be little more than mountains of mediocrity. Any craftsman that let the machine be boss was indeed headed for trouble. Our earnest goal, at least our first goal, was to limit Artron to the few discerning clients who could understand and appreciate it to keep it a specialty. In this we were only partly successful. Word of our ability to unitize alphabets without destroying their design character, to fit them to mechanical requirements without impairingtheir flavor, and to transfer into the keyboard much of our photo-lettering taste, soon reached the ears of manufacturers of some of the new photo-typesetting machines. All of them were struggling with alphabet bottlenecks and we offered a ready source of supply. Among the first to come to us for assistance were Compugraphic, Graphic Systems, and Alphanumeric. One of the features ofartron techniques applied to the preparation of type designs for ot.her machines, was the ability to simulate the output of the machine for which the face was being customized. Thus the manufacturer could see proofofthe quality of our workbefore accepting it and going to the expense of transferring it to his own machine. We were pleased to be of service to manufacturers, and felt that this was probably openingup a new and important area in which our pioneering tradition could be highly effective. How remarkably effective it was belongs to the next story.

129 1969 IT ALL BEGAN with a Monday morning phone call from Aaron Bums. I had known Aaron for a long time,-but only casually. Once we were surprised to find ourselves the sole objectors to what we considered a needlessly narrow interpretation ofthe Type Directors Club bylaws. Another time our planning of an article for Print magazine was abruptly postponed by news ofpresident Kennedy's assassination. Aaron, I knew, had played an important role in organizing L'AssociationTypographique Intemationale, familiarly abbreviated ATypI. I knew also that after years of strong support for metal type he had finally seen the light and was now totally committed to photo. Our paths had occasionally paralleled, but never touched more than briefly. That telephone call led to a meeting in Photo-Lettering at which Aaron presented his story with characteristic thoroughness. I will paraphrase it and take the liberty of using quotes. "Ed, We come to the conelusion that if the new photo-typesetting industry continues to plagiariz-e typefaces as they are now doing, every type designer will be so discouraged that there'll be no newfaces created. We may have already seen the last new textjüce. I can't thinkofan important one that's been drawn for ten years, and none is likely to appear until a certain amount of order replaces the presentfree -wheelingchaos. Lookaround and youll see that most manufacturers of new photo-typesetting machines are helping themselves to type designs with no more investment than a camera shot, and with no thought of compensating the designer. Lacicof copyright protection is responsible for this, but to change the copyright law or get it interpreted to protect the designer is probablya long and difficult task. In a certain sense these new manufacturers - whoseforte is the toolworlcof typesetting, not the design of type arc being compelled to plagiarizs. Linotype, Monotype and Intertype have paidfor most of the popular styles in use today. Theyare reluctant, qj.iite naturally, to license thesefrces to every competitor that springs up. This reluctance encourages plagiarism. You might say it evenforces it. "What needed now is a highly professional source to design useful newjàces, to prepare the art suitablyjbr all machines, to popularize the styles through advertising and promotion, and to offer them at a fair royalty to each and every manufacturer. Then there will be no rational excuse for plagiari4ng. I have talked to Herb Lubalin about this. He thinks the concept is good. He will give his name, taste and sklls to the promotion of such a plan. 1½ brought with me a collection offorty-jive alphabets designed in Herb's studio but held under cover until now. Here theyare. He's readyto contribute these to get the enterprise going. For my part, I will undertake the selling, line up the manufacturers, and help with promotion. IfyourArtron is what it seems to be you have the missing link. The project needs Photo-Lettering's special skills to handle what I'll call the technical-art side ofit all. It should be a naturalfor Photo- Lettering whose long history of standing upforjàir treatment ofdesigners is respected by everybody. How about it? Will you come along?" "It's a great idea;' I said, "I agree with everything you say; but it won't work, There'll always be a scoundrel out there on the sidelines who won't sign up, and will just appropriate the designs. The weight of his competition will gradually wear down the others and they'll begin to pull out one by one. Then well be back where we are today. But just in case I'm 115

130 116 wrong let's not waste anytime. While I'm thinking about it I might as well experiment with one of Herb's alphabets just to see how it would look in text. That light gothic he calls 'Avant Garde' might be a good one to try:' On partingaaron left me with two truths to ponder. 1. Ifyou withhold from an enterprise the tools it must have to succeed, it will surely get them by fair means or foul. 2. Every enterprise would rather be ethical than unethical ifit doesn't cost too much. I pondered those truths all right. I pondered them deeply during the week it took to adapt Avant Garde to Artron and run off a page of composition in 14-point a feat that in the days of metal type would have taken most of a year. More and more the project seemed to be a "natural" for Photo-Lettering. Perhaps it was the logical outgrowth ofall we'd been workingtoward from the very beginning. As pioneers in photo and now custodians ofthe world's largest collection of alphabets, trained in the artistic-technical skills of photographic letters, and fully devoted to their propagation, we should indeed be a major source of letters not, as in the past, simply for our own use, but now for everybody's and here perhaps was the opening we should have been looking for all along. I knew that spreading our wings in this way would take some convincing of Photo-Lettering's management team, but I knew only too well that in some hearts was a deep concern that the magic electronic typesetters were opening up vistas far beyond our early pioneering expertise, and that a role of trailing alongbehind the packwould be a bitterblow to the proud organization that had always been out front. So at the next management meeting I put my very best into painting the picture realistically as I saw it. It worked. I also got the green light from Electrographic, although it was clear that my words were falling on ears that did not sense the full significance ofwhat I said. Thus the die was cast. It was mid Then came long hours with lawyers distasteful to me but thoroughly enjoyed by John Prentld working out details of the partnership; incorporating the name "International Typeface Corporation'',dividing the shares, halfto Photo-Lettering and halfto Lubalin, Bums & Co.; appointing Aaron as president and me as chairman of the board; details ad infinitum. My thoughts flashed back to 1944 when just a couple of lines on the margin Of a coffee shop menu and a handshake sealed the royalty agreement with Tommy Thompson, an agreement that opened up equally important new directions for Photo-Lettering, and is fully honored to this day. The story of ITC is so widely known that it need not be repeated here. I leave that for the next generation. Sufficient it is to say that forty-seven manufacturers all of the major ones both here and abroad have seen the virtue of following the highroad, the ethical road, and have become licensees of ITC. This, in the eyes of thousands, fully discredits the shabby few who even in the 70s continued the practice ofcircumventing royalty payments by attaching spurious names to their direct photo-copies ofopular typefaces, or sought legal shelter by prefacing these copies with the intentionally deceptive "similar to" prefix "Similar to Optima," "Similar to ITC Souvenir' etc. While these misleading devices successfully evaded the clutches of the law, they clearly advertised the devious means ofthe dodgers who used them. Indeed they came to be regarded by many as labels ofethical weakness.

131 The surprisingly large number of manufacturers who espoused the cause of fair play by joining ITC brought type designers back to their drawing boards. Among these was Hermann Zapf, most eminent of all. To strengthen this growing support for fairness and to nurture its message of justice, ITC launched a quarterly publication "Upper and lowercase U&!c the international journal oftypographics." Its exciting make-up and contents reflect the high level ofherb Luba----- designing, and its current circulation of over 100,000 is ample testimony to the popularity of its ideals. New ITC type designs receive their first public showing in U&lc. This is their launching mat. Thereafter we watch with expectation as the new faces become more and more widely used and begin to appear in magazines, newspapers, books and other public print. I, of course, was very much involved with all these aspects of ITC. But my direct responsibility was to be sure that Photo-Letteringfaithfhlly carried out its creative-technical half of the bargain. This called for a strong beefing up of our Art and Artron departments. Soon we retired the Aiphatypes, replacing them with new MergenthalerVlPs which gave us more flexibility and abetter chance to simulate the mechanical characteristics of many of the different machines for which the new ITC faces were being prepared. My own quarters were moved up to the balcony to bring me in closer touch with ITC developments. Within a short time I passed over all Photo-Lettering responsibilities to my able successor, George Sohn, who had, in reality, been acting in my stead for some time and was now appointed president. He has shouldered these responsibilities with re-.sourcefulness and skillfully steered Photo-Lettering through its extensive adjustment to modem times. I marvel at how deftly this has been accomplished without losing the unique character that has identified our organization through four exciting decades. It was not intentionally planned that way, but in strengthening our new Art Department with the best available skills we discovered that everyone in it had been with Photo-Lettering for at least 25 years. We named our quarters the 'Alphabet Lab"which aptly described its function and objectives. Rudy Supper andjim Gellert, his assistant, carried on the precision fabrication of alphabet plates for our faithful photo-lettering machines which then were about forty years old and as sturdy and reliable as the day they were made. We leaned heavily on Chuck Papirtis for the countless decisions of taste, judgement, and sensitive compromise without which successful alphabet unitization cannot be achieved. Vince Pacella, head ofthe department, made the most ofhis many talents as man-of all-skills in every phase ofthe operation, in contacts with manufacturers, in scheduling, in seeing to it that we lived up to our many commitments and most of all in the use of his artistic abilities and taste. Vic Caruso's steady hand provided the fine touch so necessary in the work we would be doing for ITC. Frank Kopec was transferred to us slightly later and found full use for his varied talents and long training. I scaled down my time to three days a week as younger minds became more and more confident. That made up the departmentin the mid '70s over 175 years of photo-alphabet know-how among the seven ofus. Only a step removed from the lab were otherswhose abilities contributed enormously to the overall success of the endeavor: John Prentld who, in addition to his other Photo-Lettering duties, provided excellent liaison with the sales and promotional arm of ITC, and handled the finan- 117

132 cial details of both organizations, a mammoth job done with uncanny resourcefulness. Ed Benguiat and Tony Stan (the latter now having freelance desk space in Photo-Lettering) generously contributed their talents of taste and design. From time to time we called on the skills of specialists in other sections of Photo-Lettering: Frank Cacuciollo, Mike Dellegrazie and their staff in the darkroom, Al Harrison and 011ie Smith on the lettering machines, reliable Jerry Bogdan and his associates in Artron, DickDecker for the mechanical devices that needed to be built. Hongsup Kim in SpectraKrome, and Dave Shallcross from editing. Steve Kopec was always ready to help in matters of taste and aesthetics, and George Sohn dropped in frequently to keep it all clicking smoothly. - There were countless problems, of course; but by and large it was a first rate set up and one that could carry out, in a highly professional manner, the artistic-technical goals that we had set for ITC. Best of all, we felt comfortable in doing what we were doing. We were not groping our way in the dark, but were now doing in a big way for worldwide distribution what we had always done in a smaller way for Photo- Lettering. PHOTO-LETTERING'S LEGACY TO THE FUTURE WHAT WILL THE FUTURE SAY about Photo-Lettering's role in the typesetting revolution? It will, I think, find more significance in the artistic drive that Photo-Lettering provided than in the sparkit struckto light the original flame. Sooner or later that spark would have been struckby others; but without early emphasis on meticulous refinement the great typographic change might have been geared solely toward profit - to the detriment ofartistic quality. It was not our foresight, but rather the demands of our clientele that determined the direction of our effort. As a result of their pressure we explored every avenue offlexibility and artistry attainable by letters freed from metal blocks. Supported by their loyalty we were able to demonstrate day after day the extent to which photographid letters could approximate the niceties of hand lettering. The entire approach was one of gathering letters into words not like bricks laid side by side as in metal typesetting, but more like pieces of a puzzle fitted together into words with a keen sensitivity to the contours and anatomy of the individual shapes. This, I believe, is the major contribution of Photo-Lettering to keyboard photo-typesetting. It helped save it from being purely an engineering job. It helped make it far more than a highly refined typewriter. Except for this fortunate beginning and the clear establishment of artistic standards tied to hand lettering's optical spacing it would have been only too natural for engineers of photo-typesetters to have taken the easy way out and followed the coarse letter-fit of metal. Today it is a joy to see machine designers paying more and more attention to artistry. They are incorporating the all-important niceties of spacing into.their computerized programs, with the result that text setting is often closely akin to hand lettering standards, whereas manual but carelessly set display can miss the markgrievously. It is anticipated, that third generation typesetters (just beginning to come offthe line) will include the refinements of condensation, expansion, and obliquing so long a distinguishing characteristic of photo-lettering flexibility.

133 Closely akin to the art of spacing is the art of selecting good alphabet designs. No doubt this special expertise is acquired in many different ways, but an unusual subway trip recently brought to mind some of the experiences that have helped me develop a critical taste and appreciation for our twenty-six letters. I was riding on the Lexington Avenue line idly pondering the ads in the subway car. Most ofthe lettering and type was so-so, but in one panel I saw an ad that showed some imagination in the handling of the letterpair TZ.Just then the car lurched, and as it turned into 42d Street Station the wheels issued their all-too-familiar screech when the steel flanges 97 ground against the outer rail. A standee nearby said to his companion "That fl-sharp." "Yes7agreed the companion, "but it'sa little higher than standard pitch; more like the Philharmonic's, don't you think]" It was a good example ofhow each ofus is sensitive to things in which we have some expertise. Ito 72. They tod-s harp. Iflong ago I'd pursued a musical career I might by now have been screech-conscious rather than letter-conscious. The steps that lead to a sensitivity for letters are by no means as well marked asthose that lead to a career in music. Certainly they were not in my day. Printing schools in the '20s were so few and far between that I had never heard of them. I assumed that vocational training for printers ended early in high school; then you just rolled up your sleeves and learned by doing. After coming to NewYorkmy "doing" was under excellent guidance, and I learned some valuable fundamentals that built a good foundation for letter appreciation. Many of the details of typographic taste that we had to struggle with fifty years ago are now programmed directly into typesetting computers, so thatyoung typographers today can often get by without knowing much about the basics. Where this void catches up with them, however, is when they are ready to become creative to deviate from the norm. Without fill grounding in the norm one takes a big chance in deviating from it. To "do your thing" typographically without knowing what basics are being abridged or violated is artistically perilous. It may be appropriate, then, to recall some of the ways in which juniors in my time were introduced to the art of typographic taste, and how this ultimatelybrought to the surface a critical appreciation for a great variety ofletter forms forms as totally different and incompatible as Caslon on the one hand and subway graffiti on the other. Harry Roberts, my mentor was, as I have said earlier in this story, a champion of taste. He was determined that I would master the craft of typographic excellence in spite of my having brought to New York no more useful talent than an enthusiasm for letters. The word "typography," unknown in North Carolina, was new to my ears; but it had a sound as silver-toned as any I had ever heard. I desperately wanted to live up to the ring of that word; to be worthy of it. In looking back I'm sure that high among the qualifications for a career in type is a solid respect for the craft. That I had. In abundance. Mr. Roberts was not impressed with my boyhood typesetting. What had won him over, he said, was my ready ability to laugh: a chuckle that could be turned on at the slightest provocation and tended to be contagious. He felt it might provide a tonic acutely needed on 45th Street That appraisal did not strike me as a good omen for the future I had in mind, but I probably laughed it offand tried harder. Plenty ofsuccessflul careers 119

134 These two paragraphs illustrate one of the chief charactenstics of good composition. In the first paragraph the words are separated with what ty pesetters have tradition- in type have been lived without much pride in the craft and ally called common spacing. This is mown as three-tothe em (or six p it) spacing between words, with word certainly without a sense of'humor; butforthose ofuswho lack space increased as needed to achieve Justification. In the second paragraph the space between words is reduced other endowments these two attributes can be quite helpful - by one-third and justification, where possible, achieved assuming that they are generously augmented by an indiffer- - by reduction of the word specs. If you squint your eyes and look at the general texture of the paragraphs you ence to 5:30, and due appreciation of whatever stipend is in will see, in the first, quite a few white rivers running more or less vertically through the mass of gray. There the envelope on Friday. rivers occur where three or four word spaces happen to fall below one another, In the second paragraph there Thus I, typographically talentless, became Harry Robert's are significantly fewer rivers. This is a sign of good comprotégé. The training he gave me was immediately useful and position. It can, of course, be overdone. Then the text becomes difficult to read. Justification by reduction of always practical. He pointed out to me how the texture of a wordspace was quite time consuming in metal composilion, but with the flexibility of photo it is largely a matter page could be improved by reducing the space between words. of preference and taste. Now cast your eyes over the adjacent page and see how many rivers you can detect. He set one page with normal word-spacing, then set the same Try the same test the next time you read a newspaper. copy with less word-space. Held at a distance, or carefully looked at with eyes squinted, the first page showed irregular These two paragraphs illustrate one of the chief characteristics of good composition. In the first paragraph the words white streaks or rivers scattered all through the typesetting are separated with what typesetters have traditionally called common spacing This is mown as three-to-the-em (or six- where three, or more word-spaces chanced to fall under one unit) spacing between words, with word space increased as needed to achievejussiflcstion. In the second paragraph the another in successive lines. The more tightly set page prespace between words is reduced by ono-third and justifica- sented a smoother texture of gray. I was told that rivers are lion, where possible, achieved by reduction of the word space. tfyousquint your eyesandlookat the general texture considered poor typography because they tend to splinter the of the paragraphs you will see, in the first, quite a few white rivers running more or less vertically through the mass of page and mayeven detractifom its legibility, although the latter gray. These rivers occur where three or four word spaces happen to fall below one another, In the second paragraph point is debatable. I learned that Fred Goudy's wife, Bertha, there are significanuy fewer rivers. Thisisasignofguodcom had a reputation for setting riverless composition. Up in their position. 55 can, of course, be overdone. Then the text becomes difficult to read. Justification by reduction of home on the Hudson near Newburg she composed all off red's wordspace was quite time consuming ]a metal composition, but with the flexibility of photo it is largely a matter ofpref books, and rumor had it that she would occasionally insist that erencesnd lasso. Now csstyour eyesover the adisceni page and see how many rivers you can detect. Try the same lest he rewrite a line or two of copy to eliminate a troublesome the next time you reads newspaper. river. Doubltless it was one of his more agreeable chores. r,ettets in the type matching aheiwst6eksw remlftoinisfttoright. Metaltype) of coanc, always stasis backwcrcis ftmnrightsss kft, This U6r.rly of revening normal has Geeis taken frttlle itsserest 4c1ar5v. y I N THE TWENTIES it was customary to begin the chapter of a book or sometimes ablockofadvertising copy with an oversized initial, either raised or sunken, and followed immediately by caps or small caps for the first word or phrase. A well executed sunken initial was exactly as deep as two, three, or four lines of adjacent type. To achieve this, I was told, might require some juggling of the leading between lines as well as trimming off (with a saw) whatever excess metal impeded the letter's artistic placement. You hoped the first word of copy would not begin with L, A, D, or 0 because the shape of these capitals meant that a notch mustbe sawed out near the top ofthe initial so thatthe letters completing the first word could be butted up closely against the printed face of the large capital. Other shapes had other characteristics: T, V, W and Y required no sawingbut had to be projected slightly into the lefihand margin for artistic balance. One sure sign of a good typographer, I was told, was that an initial and all type to the right of it be manipulated in such a way that the awkward constructions of type's metal underpinning was not passed on to the reader's eye. Back in Big-Little Print Shop days metal had been king, and the reader stumbled along as best he could. In New Yorkthe reader's eye was king, and the typographer bowed to royalty. Another expensive little typographic nicety was hung punctuation in which the hyphens, periods, commas and quotes at the end ofjustifled lines (and often quotes at the beginning of a line) were projected slightly into the margin outside the normal column width, so that to the eye both sides ofthe column would appear straight, as in this book. And then, in sizes above 14 point, there was the matter of kerning which in those days we called notching, dovetailing, or undercutting. It is illustrated well by the word WATERING where careful sawing (notching) of the metal type was required to bring Wand T closer to A. 120

135 On Forty-fifth Street we were busily notching capitals to enhance legibility, but across town on Forty-third the New York Times paid no attention to such niceties. Day after day we would pickup the paper and shudder at the results. Sometimes the spacing led to misreading. In this example what we read as "Avery quickly built fortune eluding taxes"was really about a Mr. Avery who built a fortune by eluding taxes. These were the years when Bauer Giesseri, the German typefoundry, had its own selling agency at235 East45th, and when its chiefcompetitor across the street, Continental Typefounders, imported the best from other European foundries. All imports were molded on Didot measurements, which brought as much confusion to composing rooms as one would find in an automobile using metric under the hood, and American measurements elsewhere. To convert one system to the other was not easy. You multiplied by 14/ 13ths or vice versa. It was chaos! But the European types were exciting. Each new face had its individuality; some had greater appeal than others, but every new import called for an appraisal of its merits, an evaluation of its usefulness, an exchange of opinions with more savvy typographers, and through it all a gradual sharpening of sensitivity to type design. The Rutherford years did little to further my appreciation oftype. Our all-consuming effort was to release letters from their metal underpinnings so that they could be manipulated more readily in the ways Harry Roberts had already taught me without resorting to saw work or overcomingthe other metallic encumbrances ofgutenberg's invention. When finally we moved the magic photo-lettering machines to New Yorkin 1936 Ifülly expected to put into practice the typographic niceties I'd learned previously. But as I have said earlier a rude shockwas lying in wait. Our clients were not to be the same typographically naïve buyers that I'd served in the early '3os department stores, inexperienced publishers, and a wide assortment ofbusiness and specialty users oftypesetting but a new and very different breed: skilled advertising agency art directors who had long ago given up metal type as far too inflexible for anything but small sizes of text. They were now using hand lettering for all important headlines and were buying it from a selection of perhaps a thousand experienced letterers vyingto outdo one another in perfection. To the art directors there was nothing remarkable about photo-lettering's flexibility; we offered nothing that could not be done better by a letterer including spacing! We had opened shop expecting that our ability to space tightly such troublesome combinations as WAT in WATERING would be hailed as a typographic milestone; but now discovered that our clients also required perfection inthe spacing oftering as well. That was an entirely different story, calling for nuances ofbalance much more subtle, far more exacting. Our ability merely to overcome the buzz saw notching used by typographers did not go nearly far enough for these experts in art direction. Keener eyes than I'd ever known were now rejecting our best effort but were willing to train us into their big league perfection, and to help raise our sights from being merely better typographers to being better in the art oflettering. It was as if a country doctor had suddenly found himself in training for open heart surgery. And so we learned. And in that learningbecame sensitive not only to nuances of spacing, but to subtleties of letterform so numerous that to satisfy the ever-increasing needs of our clients would, we knew, require not hundreds but thousands of styles yet to be created. AVERY QUICKLY BUILT FORTUNE ELUDING TAXES II TWelve points in tile A,nerican ctii Boitith system of tpoqrapilic measurement is sfiown above on tile left. TWeLve points in Use uiaot system usesltn Continental Euaope issaown above on tile right. it was vnv difficult to &istinguisk between tile two by 54Et orfee( but even more difficult to was the diffrrence between eleven point Anterican end tru point Didot. 121

136 Undoubtedly the most effective way to develop a sensitivity to subtle distinctions in alphabet design is to be called on to satisfy a respected client's need without having at hand precisely the style that will fill the bill knowing all the while that what has been asked for is not unreasonable, but is indeed better than what you are able to give. That is a very sobering experience and one in which I have found myself more often than I care to mention. That is where you learn often at midnight the fine points ofletter design. That is where you acquire a profound respect for creativity in letter form. fm Amordcomplete showing of letter elements witibefoundon page isz. lye designer, must fie very carofut in chodsing motifs fm their 4phakets. Sonie hsotft we,lt iveu for certain letter, but tfor others. Context is ajkkle ally; smev or later it will desert you. In the example below context help, wit reoattieflmst two lines, but it does notluingftmr the WUM ODD. flbcoefe5hijrlm HELP WAnTED FOR 000 JOBS Every competent alphabet designer knows before he touches pen to paper that ideally the visual flavor he is trying to generate should be carried out in 52 letter shapes, 10 numerals, and punctuation. He knows that unless the face is extremely stylized it will have to be developed into several weights and perhaps drawn in italics too. He knows that for all his efforts to be materially worthwile the final result must be so superior to what is already on the market that it will be recognized as such and used by leading art directors who set the typographic trends. A good overview of the elements that a type designer works with have been sketched by Ed Benguiat. Shown here is a detail from the sketch reproduced in frill on page 182. The particular manner in which these letter-elements are shaped, developed, combined, and built into a cohesive whole determines the flavor or aroma ofthe style. Before a new type can go into production it must be accepted by an alphabet committee. It has been my privilege to serve on two such groups, the long standing Photo-Lettering committee which has reviewed thousands of designs, and the more recent ITC review board. These are highly stimulating meetings attended by six or eight exceedingly lmowledgeable critics. While each ofus may regard a design from a slightly different perspective, the total of our observations is not, as a rule, the sum of divergent appraisals but rather the rounding out of remarkably similar conclusions. In evaluating a new design I first look for a distinct flavor. It is not necessary that this be unique or entirely different, although that is desirable. It can be a familiar flavor but more intense, better conceived - or perhaps more subtle. It may be a more chocolaty chocolate, or a less lemony lemon. In either case I look for a flavor that is not uncertain or indecisive it must show that the designer had a definite motif in mind and knew where he was going. The drawing, of course, must be contemporary, pleasing, and well executed. It may have found its inspiration in some of the classic shapes or perhaps in the forms characteristic of a particular period: Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Beaux Art, Georgian, Victorian, Americana, Gay Nineties, Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, Cubist, Roaring Twenties, Art Deco, Dada, Abstract, Pop, Camp, etc. The period selected may well determine the usefulness and popularity ofthe design, but it should not prejudice a fair evaluation of the work's basic merit. Other considerations are very important too. I lookfor trouble spots: places where the shapes of our Latin letters have made it difficult to express the motifclearly andvigorously, or where the motifcreates some awkwardness as, for example, a sans serif calling for no curves and only 90 degree corners: such a design motif will run into trouble with the letters 0 and D which of necessity will be identical rectangles. It is usually not enough to have a motif carried out in only a few letters as would

137 be the case if it were based entirely on diagonal strokes. I look for unevenness, for letters that are over- or under-weight, for any inconsistencies that might flag the flavor. Every letter mustbe independently legible so that if it is seen out of context it will not be misread. Finally, the entire alphabet must be"in tune:' Here I follow a practice that maybe regarded as pure fantasy, but it has helped me turn the spotlight on that quality without which an alphabet cannot hang together as a cohesive whole. Let me explain: The oboe is the first instrument you hearwhen a symphony orchestra begins to "tune up 'The oboe gives the pitch. It has great penetration and can easily be heard ' by all the other instruments. Now comes a surprising coincidence: the letters 0 B B in the word OBOE and the lowercase letters o b e or preferably o d e are, by the nature of their design, key letters that give the pitch to which other letters of the alphabet may be tuned. 0 B E and o d e carry a big load in determining the character of a style. They are not dramatic shapes like a or g or s, but they sound the pitch clearly. First they must be in tune with each other, then the remaining letters should be in design harmony or in artistic balance with these three. All must be in tune. And now go with me one starry-eyed step further and let sheer caprice carry you into even greater realms of fancy not in appraising a new alphabet, God forbid, but in the quiet contemplation ofa beautifully composed page of type or in the enjoyment of a symphony orchestra: It has been suggested that there is a relationship between type and music. Perhaps there is, and certainly a whimsical case canbe made for it if you'll look through the eyes of Alice in Wonderland. This is not an exercise for the literalist, but for those fortunate enough to have seen that life is enormously enriched by whimsy as is also art I like to think that our letters share something in common with the instruments of a symphony orchestra. Now hold your breath. As I sit in the seat reserved for Alice and peer down from the balcony I see the chimneys of the four bassoons sticking up like the ascenders of b, d, hand I. I see the trombones pumping their slides in and out like descenders dropping below the line. The elaborately carved scrolls at the top ofthe stringbasses and cut-outs in their sounding boards are perfect replicas of f. The flutes are dashes and the piccolos hyphens. The French horns remind me of the fascinating twists in s and g. As the tympanist darts from kettle to kettle his flying tymp sticks dot the i's and j's and sprinkle flecks ofpunctuation all over the page. flowing along as a steady undercurrent are the vowels of violins, violas and cellos; and adding sparkle in between are woodwind, brass, and percussion consonants. Behind it all, planning it all, putting it all together and making it jell is the director be he director of music or of type. And so the performance moves on, like turning the pages of a book, leaf by leaf, measure by measure, chapter by chapter; Allegro, Adagio, Moderato, Presto, always going toward the finis or finale where at the last resounding chord you close the book, stand applauding until the curtain falls, and leave the concert hall to return your reading to its place on the library shelf 'til another orchestra at another time for another Alice plays out the pages of type again. a As the word 0r4 or Cr*? Even the Sect type desig,wrs o.i.. 111, Shutter tnto bone,, that cinbrass thnn forever thereafter. / A new style of type is ofcourse a fresh symphonic performance. 123

138 1974 ALICE'S WONDERLAND brings to mind a SuperWonderland thattouches all of our lives but, alas without benefit offantasy. Like Alice's, it's highly skilled in double-talk, it's unpredictable, often illogical, and too unmoved by reason. You'll find it under the Dome in Washington. Congress, in 1974, was being urged to update its old copyright laws and bring them into harmony with the realities of modem technology. Copyright regulations had not been revised since At that time no one foresaw that a Xerox would someday be used to rob authors of their royalties. No one foresaw that cheap recording machines would bypass payments to musicians. No one in 1909 had the slightest idea that someday a type designer's months of labor could, in a flash, be stolen by a camera. Copyright laws had lagged far behind modem technology, and pressure to update them was mounting. A Congressional committee was at workon the problem and had held a number ofhearings. In due course the Committee and the Copyright Office agreed that its attorneys and other staffmembers should be briefed on the fundamentals of type design and contemporary type technology. To this end the Library ofcongress and the National Endowment for the Arts sponsored a two-day symposium organized by David Sutton, design director of the Department ofagriculture. He was selected because the Department of Agriculture, strange as it may seem is, in this Wonderland, a major influence on government typography. The symposium was held in one ofthe Smithsonian auditoriums, and financed by attendees from universities, private industry, and various government bureaus. The agenda included a description of the new typographic systems; why type design is an art; how to classify typefaces; the problems encountered by the designer of a new face; and the relationship of technology to design There were sixteen speakers, four of whom John Dreyfus, Hermann Zapf Adrian Frutiger and Matthew Carter came from abroad. My job was to show the skeptical attorneys the nitty-gritty unemotional reasons why type designing is an art, and how typefaces can be grouped into orderly classification. For me the subject was a natural. As a critic rather than a designer of type I could be honestly objective, and my words came from deep conviction. I feared, however, that my best effort could not breach the deadpan "show me" expression on the ten or twelve with legal minds huddled together across the backrow like tweedle-dums and tweedle-dees. But this was no. time for fancy. Only facts would penetrate that backrow. So I did my best; and as I lookbackon this "best" I find that it is a good summary of most of what I have learned about design in a lifetime oflove for letters: "To develop a meaningful understanding of letter design we must be able to see the difference between the basic geometric shapes that provide mere letter recognition, and the creative designing that elaborates and enhances these shapes that gives them individuality, artistic properties, and enables them to be classified. "Cartoonists and type designers share a related art. The cartoonist caricatures his subject in about the same way that a type designer may be said to 4caricaturel the root shapes of his letters: he takes a strippeddown letter-shape and enhances it, making it more pleasing, or more legible, or in some way more significant to the reader's eye he makes it 124

139 more than just recognizable. He may drive his graphic point home by exaggerating certain features ofa letter, much as a cartoonist exaggerates a personal feature or characteristic in order to tell his story clearly. "The cartoonist and the type designer must, first of all, make his character recognizable. That is primary. Having done this, his creativity can come into play. He may add to, overstress or modify any shape i-but must not destroy recogniti on. Extraneous characteristics may be added but the basic shapes must be true to the root source.you can put football togs on President Ford, or a bright's sword in the hand of Mr. Rockefeller, but you cannot put Rockefeller's spectacles or hair on Mr. Ford's bald head. "This is the heart ofth? matter. The simple source or root ofa personal caricature is easy to find. The cartoonist can always refer to a photograph or go back to the person himself and see what he really looks like. But with letters we have to do quite a bit of delving, because the only letters we see in print today are not the letter-roots themselves, but some type designer's caricature or enhancement removed two, three, four or more generations ftom the true root "The following exhibit shows how we can strip away the caricature and ornamentation of a letter and begin to see its generic root structure its geometry. fl lie two uprights together in this manner and you get no letter recognition. r Angle the uprights. You still see no letter. c7 Reverse the angles. No letter. fl Lengthen one upright. No letter. N Angle the otherupright. No letter. fl Arch the tie. No letter. fl Forkthe connector to a peak. Still no letter. i But forkthe connector in the opposite direction and you instantly recognize M. Now note this: M M NI Ni The forked arms my be ofvarious shapes without damaging recognition. It is essential only that they converge at a central point. M H C) H The uprights maybe tilted, angled or bowed. 11 M The crotch may be low or high. NI F-i M M The weights of strokes may be varied. fl-1 M Proportions maybe wide or narrow. MM MM Accessories maybe added. M M M A Even decorations. But... ifthe tie-in points of the connector are lowered... H ifthe point of the crotch is destroyed... Ni ifthe symmetry of the fork is violated...big damage is done to recognition. "From an analysis like this it is possible to construct a geometric formula for the signal that says M: The letterm is identified by two independent but generally ascending and more or less symmetric linesjoined at or very near their tops by the ends or near-ends of a more or less v-shaped and generally symmetric pair of lines whose crotch or point of convergence does notfall below the imaginary baseline. 125

140 t4 "This formula describes what we have inherited from the past It spells out the geometry that signals M to the brain. In the truest sense it is the letter stripped of its art and in its most unadorned, indeed its most pliable form. On the other hand, the M that you see on the printed page is a caricature, a harnessing, an artist's personal interpretation of the formula. Every child uses this formula when he writes M just as he uses the formula of nose-mouth-eyes-ears-body-lail-legs when he draws a dog. Formulas ofthis kind abound. They are the starting point ofgraphic visualization. They have come from the past and belong to all. But what the artist or cartoonist does with the dog formula, and what the type designer does with the M formula depends on his own creativity and his own technical skill. As Paul Standard so knowingly put it: Art in letterform begins where geometry ends.' 'A new type design need not be a momentous creation in order to be useful and find its place in history. Indeed a worthy achievement for a new face is that it serve merely to fill one more gap in the infinite possibilities of letter forms, and enrich our type selection by just that much. Every artist who draws a picture of the ocean is doing precisely the same thing: filling in just one more gap in the infinite possibilities of nautical scenes. He is using the same basic elements that have been used by other artists from time immemorial water, waves, clouds, perhaps a sunrise or sunset, rocks and birds or sand and palm trees. He has probably studied hundreds of such paintings and will certainly be influenced by what he has seen in the past. In the eyes of the Copyright Office this does not disqualify his seascape from protection: it represents his own effort and is his own interpretation even though the work has much in common with what others have done before him, and even though it shows greater or lesser skill than those who went before. The fact that John Constable painted a famous landscape with Salisbury Cathedral in the background does not rule out protection for the works of other landscape artists who may draw the cathedral from the same spot. "William Caslon is not around to redesign his famous typeface to contemporary tastes and needs. We hope that someone can be found with sufficient skill to undertake the task; yet as matters now stand, the artistry required for such an achievement would be regarded as less deserving of copyright protection than a mediocre photograph of anything snapped anywhere by anybody with any camera. Such is the inexplicable ambiguity ofcopyright law interpretation. "Today a type designer's creation has a good chance, over the years, of earning a modest royalty unless it suffers the fate of being photographed without authorization. This lurking danger haunts every designer of letters. His year of hard work can be lost in a split second by a camera. His year cannot be shortened. His work is tedious. He cannot come up with a new idea every weekor so, as an artist paints a picture or draws an illustration. And he can do little to promote his typeface. It must win its own fans, and has no value until put into words by others. To be widely used it must be legible, which means that it must have a great deal in common with other faces. 'The genius of type designing is the ability to give subtle but pleasing modification to 26 very familiar geometric shapes, designing them so they will mesh harmoniously when arranged in different combinations. That is a big order. 126

141 'Almost forty years ago a highly respected art director at BBD&O, Harry Payne, gave me something to think about for the next forty: 4nybody can draw one letter; some people can drhw two; but it takes a real designer to draw three: 'The legibility straightjacket, of course, limits every type designer's freedom. This may appear to limit his creativity.just the opposite is true. He has developed a fine art of subtle differences that gives him reasonable latitude of interpretation and elaboration within the restrictions of legibility. His ability to design within and in spite of these limitations should more than ever qualify his creativity as a recognized form of art. Like other art, the type designer's art can be classified:' I knew only too well that at this point I'd be launching into one ofthe most sensitive issues ofthe whole symposium, and the one about which some of the attorneys were very skeptical. I'd been told that the sixtyyear-old directive barring type designs from copyright had been motivated largely by the lackof means to distinguish clearly between creativity and mere imitation. It was feared that this lackwould flood the courts with vague and knotty cases. Attorneys had claimed that type's lackofa system for classification helped support this view. To give sharp flavor to my point I described the thesaurus system of classification. I was glad to be able to hold up three heavy, impressive volumes of alphabet thesauri, to say that they were the world's largest collection of alphabets, designed by hundreds of artists, that all the alphabets were fully classified, and that the volumes were published by the well known Reinhold Publishing Company. As my final pitch I brought out a Keysort, demonstrated it, showed how quickly and reliably it extracted from the pack every style having a given characteristic. I believed then and I still believe that when the day comes that type design has legal protection it will be necessary to set up a master Keysort file similar to the one we have in Photo-Lettering. The designer of a new alphabet could cut notches in his own card when applying for copyright protection. The card could then be searched in the Keysort and its qualification for protection determined. It's really as simple as that. Some day Congress and the copyright attorneys will wake up and see that it is. But many of us may not be around when it happens. Rtccrtt iznpmvc.nznts in tee Kev,ort pcnnu as mmtv as zoo chaxuctcristws to he todd, and the different contuivatinns of these characteristics is.thnost infinite. The sstem is iifitstratsd on page ig'. On the night before the meeting in the Smithsonian - October 14, 1974 the panel of speakers gathered in the Hotel Washington for a final briefing. It was a long meeting and didn't breakup until 11 o'clock. I was tired, and while waiting for the elevator to my room and to bed I glanced outside on deserted 15th Street. A short walk in the refreshing autumn air wasjust what I needed, and it led me through Lafayette Park, past the White House and to the Washington Monument. There I looked down the long lagoon to the lighted Lincoln Memorial and remembered how MY parents many years ago had brought me to see the great sculpture of President Lincoln. It made an impression that lasted a lifetime. Train trips from the south always meant a change at-washington, and as a boy I learned to run from the Union Station to the Memorial and back in time to catch the B&O connection to Philadelphia where my grandfather and aunt lived. Thus in my early years I had several short but meaningful visits with Mr. Lincoln. To the extent that our differences in age and composition permitted, we became good fiends. 127

142 As time passed my trips to Washington were less frequent, and years would go by between visits to Mr. Lincoln. On this October night as I looked down the lagoon I realized that it had been nearly twenty years since I'd seen the Great Face. Much water had passed over the dam. I was almost seventy and had a lot to report. It was midnight when I climbed the broad steps. First I saw his face; then his wide shoulders; then the whole figure in heroic size with hands grasping the enormous arms of the chair. Midnight. There I was. Alone with Mr. Lincoln. Perhaps for the last time. But something seemed strangely different something I sensed but couldn't pinpoint. Nevertheless we communicated in the old way. F reported to him on the State of the World as I saw it, the State ofthe Nation, the State of our Village, Croton-on-Hudson, the State ofphotoiettering, the State of the Church, and right on down or up to the State of our Family. He listened quietly. Then I read the great inscriptions on both walls: the second Inaugural Address, and the famous address at Gettysburg. Now it was time to leave. I'd gone down on] ytwo or three steps and I turned backfor a last look. Suddenly I realized what it was that was different: for the first time in my life Mr. Lincoln looked younger! TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS THAT MIDNIGHT VISIT reminded me that there were four loose ends to my lifetime adventure that should be tied up just as soon as possible. The first had been dangling since Rutherford days when I saw that what is known in the trade as copyjitting determining the size of type that should be used to make a given amount Of typewritten copy fit into a given amount of typeset space could be done more effortlessly and far more efficiently with photo-type than the laborious and inaccurate methods used to copyfit metal type. Copyfitting metal type is cumbersome and time consuming largely because of proportional inconsistencies between different sizes of the same type style. It often calls for a good amount of cut-and-try or giveand-take. Photo-type, on the other hand, holds dependable proportional relationships between sizes. While this should, in theory at least, eliminate time consuming cut-and-try, the obvious advantages have never been developed into a workable system. Over the years I had designed various copyfitting slide rules and nomographs based on the area of a single average letter and its leading rather than following the traditional metal routine; but while 1 myself cuuld operate the devices faultlessy they proved too complex to arouse enthusiasm in others. Finally I spied a light at the end of the tunnel: the little ten-dollar pocket calculators now available everywhere would give the system push-button simplicity. By pairing one of these little calculators with a set of accurately prepared area tables, just a few taps on the keys could bypass all the troublesome cut-and-try, thus reducing copyfitting time to a fraction of previous routines. With the help ofartron personnel we typeset the required area tables and directions. These have now been printed in pamphlet form under the title ArtronArea Cbpyflttin. That tied up loose end number one. Now for number two: 128

143 I? 7! - ENGLISH PUNCTUATION has a few shortcomings that are nottoo serious, but might as well be eliminated since we can do it with ease, and thus move our written language a microscopic step forward. Letters are much older than punctuation, but without these little signals ofexpression our written words would be no more than along string ofhalf-intelligible codes. Writing in its earliest form had no spacing at all between words: theyrantogetherlikethis. Then, after hundreds of years, some scribes began to separate words with spaces. More centuries passed. Then sentences were separated with periods. But it was not until the 16th Century that Aldus Manutius, a Venetian printer, introduced a system for pauses and changes of expression that gave inflection to writing and made it easily understood. Victor Borge's hilarious skit suggests that conversation could be improved with audible punctuation -with pops, hisses, whistles, clicks, ticks, crackles, bangs and squiggles audibly punctuating our everyday speech! But as his act ends and the applause and laughter fade away you begin to realize that Berge had made a good point when he followed the sentence "Was I an idiot" with a bang and a squiggle his audible equivalent ofan exclamation point and a question mark. Sometimes our questions need both. How often have we felt that need!? Or when the query is ofgreater stress than the emphasis, why not reverse the signals?! This little gimmick could be a very handy tool if used correctly in fine tuning some of our writing. Scholars tell us that compound words gradually lose their hyphen and ultimately become a single word. "Today" is an example. In my father's time it was always spelled "to-day When I was a boy it was usually hyphenated, but not always. Today it never is. During the decades of transition, when to hyphenate or not to hyphenate was a matter ofpreference, most ofus tookit in stride. But not the typesetters nor the proofreaders! When they saw typewritten copy with a compound breaking at the end of a line they knew that trouble lay ahead, for ten-to-one the word would not breakat the end of the line in print. There's a very simple solution to this: When the word is compound, place the hyphen at the beginning of the next line. Otherwise leave it at the end. He was brilliantly redheaded but not at all red -faced as he apologized. And, finally, let's look at the one that trips up almost everybody in the U. S. Government employees get tripped up too. It took you only a moment to figure that one out, but if our punctuation were doing its job properly you wouldn't have stumbled in the first place. Like the other little ambiguities this one, too, can be easily fixed: And, finally, let's look at the one that trips up almost everybody in the U. S.. Government employees get tripped up too. None of these improvements are momentous, nor are they world -shaking, but they're all worth doing. Indeed these are one oflife's rare improvements that cost not a penny; and since punctuation is still in its infancy, why not make these changes and let punctuation become a teen -ager at last?! 129

144 GHOTI FACE KEEP WHEN CHIN THREE THE SHOP VISION DRINK WG0 BOOK SOON ON JULY 31, 1962 a New York Times headline caught my eye: "Q-less Alphabet Speeds Reading:' It went onto describe, with illustrations, the Augmented Roman Alphabet designed by Sir James Pitman in London for the purpose of introducing children to reading and writing a teaching aid to sidestep the irregularities of'english spelling and, ideally, to be abandoned after the child's firstfew months in school. What"augmented" the alphabet were a number ofwierd shapes intended to represent English sounds for which we do not have single letters. At that time I did not know that our language had 43 different sounds and that if we had 43 letters, one for each sound, learning to spell, to read, and to write would be a picnic. Unfortunately we have only 26 letters 17 too few to match each sound on a one-to-one basis. What should have been done long ago was to pick 17 pairs of letters (such as ch sh wh & ng) to represent the extra sounds. That would have been easy five hundred years ago, but the scribes and later on the early printers went completely haywire and, alas, contrived more than 500 ways most of them phonetically misleading to spell and write our 43 basic sounds! It's one of the most unfortunate things that civilized men have ever done. To demonstrate the absurdities of written English Bernard Shaw brought together three of our 500 eccentric spellings to make the word ghoti which he pronounced "fish" - gh as in rough, o as in women, ti as in motion. Similarly, pheighsch is pronounced "face," pphoughtluissi "foolish," and gheauphtheightteougli "potato"...ifwe combine some ofthe English spelling eccentricities.' What shocked me about the Pitman alphabet was the bizarre appearance of the new letters augmenting our traditional 26, and I naïvely set about to show the world how the same result could be achieved by using traditional letters either singly or in familiar pairs but always in strict phonetic combination. I hoped that the more conventional appearance of words would lead everybody to greater use of a regularized spelling, which would certainly be better than limiting it to temporary use by first graders only. Where Pitman, for example, had written "dii" I suggested sirnply"dooing." After a few weeks the plan was worked out well enough to entertain members of the Type Directors Club at one of their luncheons, but then I let it drop before taking on the world. Limericks that shàw how words can go astray by following the bad examples of other wayward words: A young lady when crossing the ocean Grew ill from the ships dizzy mocean. Said she, with a sigh And a tear in her igh, "Unto ships I have lost all devocean?' Several years later ourbilingual grandson and I were canoeing on the Croton River. Chris was eight, and had completed third grade in Mexico. "What subjects are taught in a Spanish speaking school?" I asked. "Reading, writing, arithmetic, geography..." he hesitated, and I suggested spelling. "No," he said, "we don't have spelling." "Then how do you learn to spell the words you read and write?" "Well, at the beginning of the year the teacher tells us the sound of each letter. Then we can read and write anything we can say. Wejust write words like they sound." I was dumbfounded. Slowly it began to dawn on me that the letters in a Spanish word correspond reliably to the sound of the word. And it wasni long before I realized that in Russian, Dutch, Czech, Portugese, Be sure when you're coasting on skis To avoid running into the tris, For it never is wise To put out your ise Or to let your own nose or tose fris. A lady who deftly crocheted A girl in the Westminster Choir A terrible temper displeted Had a voice that rose Nor and hior, On finding, when through, Tif it reached such a height That a dropped stitch or twough It was far out of soight Had ruined the lace that she'd meted. And they found it next day in the spoir.

145 Italian, German, Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Danish, Serbo Croatian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Swahili in every Western language except our polluted English - letters are used phonetically as they should be. They match phonetic sounds, singly or in reliable pairs and triplets or sometimes, as in French, quadruplets. In otherlanguages learning to read and write is as simple as the early alphabet inventors intended it to be! 'Here I was, face to face with the 26 letters I'd held in such esteem all my life, suddenly to find that they were untrustworthy only in English! In other languages letters were not fickle. I dusted off my earlier efforts and now tackled the task of spelling reform in dead earnest. It didn't take long to learn that for 400 years others had also been trying to regularize English spelling. This included such celebrities as Ben Franklin, Noah Webster, Theodore Roosevelt, Melvil Dewey, Horace Mann, Alj}ed Tennyson, Andrew Carnegie, Bernard Shaw, Mark Twain....on and on. Failure followed failure largely because adults who had already mastered the arduous task of learning to spell were in no rffmood to go back to school and learn a new way just to make it easier :for their children. The closest we ever came to success in spellingreform was in 1906 when President Theodore Roosevelt headed a movement that persuaded twenty-three newspapers, many magazines, the Government Printing Office, and the New York City school system to simplify the spelling of twelve words that year, thirty the next, forty the next, etc. If never got beyond the first year. c; As luck would have it, Prof. Stanley Hess of Drake Unviersity invited me to speakduring the University's year of special events celebrating the opening of a new art and journalism building. No doubt he thought I'd talk about type design, but the subject was left up to me. I purposely picked a non-revealing title for my remarks: "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog:' Under that umbrella I could talkabout almost anything, and I knew that ten months would give me ample time to work up a good case for spelling reform. As I moved further into the subject it became clear that while I had the advantage of seeing how other reformers had failed, and could steer clear of their pitfalls, nonetheless I was heading squarely into the trap that had thwarted all previous efforts: asking for a spearhead of several million selfless volunteers willing to endure the inconvenience, discomfort and scorn of using a new spelling in the hope of winning others to the cause. Such a call for converts, it seemed to me, would be a pretty poor way to end my presentation to the Drake students. A million-person spearhead should not be necessary. There must be a better way. Then a wonderful thing happened. Misfortune sometimes has a silver lining and this time it certainly did. I had a heart attack followed by six weeks of recovery at home during which I could think about the project carefully and without interruption. It was during those weeks that I came to grips with the big obstacle to reform, and realized that in computerized photo-typesetting we now have a dramatic new tool that can detour around the roadblockto spelling reform. No longer need the spearhead be a million committed zealots. Instead it could be a computer program in the heart of the photo- The twecve words chosen for spewnq rcfonn in '906 are these: tao aftho tans, thxuout thoro thorofarc pm grain decatog, caiatog damagog peiiagog piolog For a young man with football physique An elderly Lutheran colonel And now that you've read these all through His head was exceedingly wique; Was snooping in St Peter'sjolonel; You should ask yourself"what can I dough?" While he much loved the maid Fine-combing it through This wit was designed His courage would faid And not finding yough To fix In your migned Whenever he started to spique. He lamented There's noble Etolonel'' Our great need for a spelling that's nough.

146 1t is ynwniuv agrees that in the flrt step toivrti ruonn the short vowel e (as inf4 shonl4 he written e in such nvnic as coy, otto, hesl ftenf, ftevcn, set, stsv, etc. The tuttsttation on page 1 then.5 the izyboanlnvri"hs&vl' Sting automaticauv cha,i9e4 to "HA\'" as it passes tiwough the pftoto-tvpcsctting computer. typesetting mechanism -a program that would automatically convert traditionally spelled input into phonetically spelled output. The spelling ofthe printed word could be reformed overnight! Perhaps the best way to present this idea is to repeat albeit without the aid of slides part ofwhat I said, or hope I said, to the Drake students on that snowy night in Des Moines. Lackof slides suggests an even better way to illustrate how painlessly spelling reform could be initiated. So the rest of this stow will be spelled precisely as it would be on that happy day when we forge ahed and take the first brave step toward reform.* Let me now describe to you students how spelling reform, step by step, can be achieved without danger of failure and without eny significant discomfort to readers. Let me show you how this can be done by means ofthe printing press. "Today's newly trained typesetter is quite different from yesterday's Linotype operator. He taps out words on a computer-compatible keyboard connected by punched or magnetic tape to a computerized phototypesetting machine. As the typesetting computer receives words ifom the tape it digests them, relates them to pre-coded technical instructions, and sends signals to the photo-composing mechanism telling it what words to set and precisely how to set them. 1f for example, the keyboard operator taps out the letters a-n-y, the computer will routinely signal the composing machine to set a-n-y in a specific type style, size, width and spacing. It will also pre-calculate thejustijication, quadding, centering or indentation, and when a full word fails to fit on the end of a line it checks back into memory and finds out where the word should be divided! This sleight of hand takes place at astronomical speeds. "If properly programmed the machine's computer could do even more. It could receive words in traditional spelling, referto a table ofnew spellings, change the old spellings to new, and pass them along for typesetting in the new simplified form! There is nothing particularly novel about this: for years computers used by the military have been unscrambling secret coded messages of far greater complexity. What is new is that the typesetting revolution makes it possible for computers to take over the hitherto impossible job of simplifying the spelling of printed English to do it as a routine automatically, consistently and uncomplainingly. Every time a keyboard operator taps out the letters a-n-y the programmed computer could send out the signal e-n-y. And so, without eny change in our writing habits, without eny re -schooling of authors, editors, copywriters, reporters or typesetters we are alredy, today, on the threshhold ofsimpli5zing the spelling of printed English with just the flip-of a switch. If spelling reform is ever achieved, automatic transliteration will spearhed the change. From this day forward we should look to the computers of the typesetting industry to solve a problem for humanity that will never be solved otherwise. "Computerized transliteration lends itself equally well to an instant overall change, or to a gradual step-by-step shift, probably beginning with the clear short vowel e written as 'e' in such words as eny, ffendly, meny, redy, hed, sed, agen, gest, heven, and so on. That is where reform can begin. Experience with this first simple step will determine which of several options should be next. Perhaps an obvious consonant change like 'k for 'ch' in words like kemistry and skool; or ce' for the long vowel in cleen, leed, seet, meen, etc. There are plenty of obvious improvements 132

147 to carry us through a dozen or more early steps. Then it may get a bit sticky and call for a balancing of alternative solutions, but by that time well have developed the expertise to lookfar ahed and carefully plot the sequence of steps all the way to the end. "If after taking some of these steps we find it prudent to go no further we can stop reform right there and still be better off than we are today. That, incidentally, is one reason why spelling reform is less of an all-or -nothing commitment than the change to metric. "Now I know that some ofyou students are wondering about personal or business letters and handwritten notes that never get into print. You are thinking about Aunt Sophia, and Grandmother, and Uncle Amos. Perhaps you are thinking about all the re-training that will have to be done. Lose no sleep over such matters. When computers lead the way, the rest of us can follow at our own pace --if we want to. Meny will pick up the new spelling from the printed page. If it makes sense well adopt it, as fast or as slowly as we wish. Others will continue to write traditionally. No matter. We need no drive for converts. No one should ever be urged, to update his spelling. -Those who from childhood have spelled traditionally will always be able to read both ways, and to write traditionally until our quaint orthography dies a natural deth. That's how it's been in Holland, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Russia, France, Turkey, Korea and other countries where ;impróveflients in spelling have taken place as pronunciations changed. "Readers, ofourse, can be expected to resist change. How strong that resistance will be well never know until we try. But since we can end reform at eny point we have nothing to lose by taking the first step. To minimize reading resistance we must do everything possible to make refornied spelling easy. The changeover mustbe so gradual, so inconspicuous, so natural, so logical and sensible, so comfortable for the reader, and introduced so subtly that he is hardly aware of being wooed away from his childhood spelling. And this is precisely where computers rise to the occasion. They can slowly but surely feed new spellings into the mainstream of printed matter, feeding them in so gently that the man-in 7the-street should have little reason to be upset. "As I mentioned before, we can begin by usinge' in all words that have the clear short-e vowel sound. Month by month well monitor public acceptance through a series of opinion polls, enabling us to introduce each new step from coast to coast or worldwide with the best of timing. 'There is a good chance that acceptance will come faster than we anticipate. Graphic change is now quite common, as those ofyou studying art and journalism well know. You might checkthis out, however, by comparing typical posters, magazines and advertising today with a similar sampling from a decade or two ago. How quickly we've adjusted to new visual presentations without even knowing it! The public may surprise us by taking it all in stride. "Let's now consider in detail the benefits of spelling reform. "Of course we can see what a boost it would give to the spred of English as the world's 'second language what it would mean to foren students struggling to learn English, to foren commerce and trade, to international communication, to negotiations between nations. That should light a sparkin the minds ofyou who are studyingjoumalism. "Butwe don'thave to go that far from home. Thinkaboutthis: We who can read and write English have built a society that depends on wide- 133

148 APrimer of Speffing Reform We use OUT numbers accurately in an orderly. logical way. $ $5 $7 These spellings, too, are orderly and logical because the letters match the sounds_ sediment fizz But the same sounds when used in,other words are often spelled with different letters: said physique 100,000 words haw irregular spellings! Thars"Why Johnny Can't Read" Tbat's"Why Johnny Can't Write" Hecanrememth all the L'Tegulañtia Johnny can't see why we always use our numbers logically - but spell so many words Illogically. He's got a point Think what gobbledygoolcwe'd ha)c if our adding were as irregular as out spelling! $2 12 $ We can make our spelling logical by spelling the way we speak. Not like this sediment fizz said I physique But like this sediment fiz sed fizeek Then Johnny can learn to read. And Johnny can learn to write, THE END spred literacy. As part of this new society we offer broad educational opportunities to all --to all, that is, who can read and write. Those who cannot are left odt. We've provided no role for illit?rated and we've done nothing to make reading and Writing easy enough to be mastered by all. Listen to whatjohn Steinbeck the highly respected author, has to say about it: 'Some people there are who, being grown,forget the horrible task of learning to read. It is perhaps thegreatest single effort that the human undertakes, and he must do it as a child: "Millions cannot roaster this needlessly complex prerequisite to education. Frustrated illiterates and semi-illiterates, deprived of a meaningful role in society, become the core ofourbig anti-social problems. We're appalled when we hear that twenty-five percent of our school children - the rising generation face life with serious reading and writing deficiencies, and we blame every culprit but the right one: English spelling. "We're told that reading and writing failure is the chiefcause of school dropout. We're told that youthful dropouts are, to a large extent, the fuel of our anti-social problems: juvenile delinquency, crime-in-the-streets, hard core unemployment, poverty and, to some extent, drug abuse. Yet nobody with a big voice is saying that we should attack these titanic social evils by reforming our haphazard, frustrating spelling the major cause of dropout. Why not? Why areni our social agencies, our police, our prisons, reform schools, 'Ned Start' programs, BOCES, our welfare workers, and our schools why aren't they out in front fighting for spelling reform? A good ges is that up to now they've regarded the task as far too formidable. And up to now they were right. But no longer. "Federal and State social agencies could easily take the lead. Their problems are enormous, their work load is growing hevier every day, and in the long run they stand to gain a great deal from reform. Commenting on the fact that over half of the country's prisoners cannot write, ChiefJustice Berger of the U. S. Supreme Court sed: 'The percentage of inmates in all institutions who cannot read or write is staggering... The figures on literacy alone are enough to make one wish that every sentence imposed could include a provision that would grant release when the prisoner had learned to read and write: "When our social agencies begin to see how transliterating computers can be used to spearhed spelling change so 'we the people' canjustfall in behind -they may speak up for reform. Their voice is big. It is big enough to get the job done. Theirgiant push could get the ball rolling. "Keep in mind that only a handful of literate adults know how very polluted our spelling is how far it misses the mark as a visual minor of speech. It's a graphic stutter that we've tolerated for generations. And,now it's blocking our social progress. Even so, few recognize it. Most I adults who have learned to spell oppose spelling reform, and those who cannot spell have no voice in the matter. Social morality impels us to provide food for the hungry why not spelling for the illiterate!? L' "The immediate job, your job, is to speak up to talk about it in your dormitories, in class, wherever you have an opportunity; to write about it, to build public awa:renessjustasthe environmentalists are doingwhen they hammer home the air and water pollution story with such force that public opinion is finally being aroused and Congress will soon take ac- Thön. When the public demands it Congress will pass laws requiring manufacturers to build typesetting machines that produce rational spelling '--just as auto manufacturers will build pollution-free exhausts.

149 You, as potential crusaders, should know that the history ofenglish spelling offers no good reason for its baffling irregularities. Our spelling is not a sacred heritage willed to us by ancient scholars. It is a chance composite of laissez-faire influences generated chiefly between the tenth and sixteenth centuries: the work of Anglo-Saxons who mixed runic characters with Latin letters; of Norman conquerors who wrote English words with French phonetics; of chancery scribes who increased the length ofwords because they were paid by the inch; ofmonatic scholars who leaned toward Latin spellings; of.foren craftsmen brought to London to set type in English as best they could; ofetymolog- 1cM errors; of scribes who substituted round letters for straight to make their writing more attractive to the eye; ofunschooled compositors who 'radded letters at random to make words fill a full line. N6i until years after all this wretched garbling took place did the first Mulcaster wordbook appear, yet neither it nor SamuelJohnson's great dictionary in 1755 made eny attempt to regularize our spelling. They simply nailed down the confiision and gave it.irnmortality. "Here at last is your great opportunity as an educated young person going out into the world to.. And so, with all stops wide open, I launched into an appeal for converts; not converts to engage in a hopeless battle, but converts to spred the news of computerized transliteration the best hope, the only hope, for a way to get the big job done. Sonw of tftt,-uni (cttcrs used in witing carfv Engflsft. Thnce were dioflci wlwti ptintftig "nit to En$ansI. Ridingbackhome ftom Des Moines Dorothy and I decided that we'd better move quickiy to get computer transliteration out of theory and into practice. Vaguely I supposed there ought to be some easy way to do it: the 850 words ofbasic English might offer a short cut Perhaps I could interest someone in the detailed work of setting up a spelling reform dictionary. Possibly someone working on a doctorate in linguistics or communication. Or a spelling reformer just waiting for a chance to get his teeth into something workable. My own interest was in typography and computer transliteration not in the lexographic problems ofdeveloping a phonetic dictionary. With the right person on the dictionary end and Mergenthaler or IBM volunteering for the computer part we Could put it all together in a year or so. Then I could bow out and leave it in younger and more energetic hands. But neither Mergenthaler nor IBM came through, and finding the right person for the phonetic part took a full six months. When I finally found him i wondered why it had taken so long. He'd been there all the time. He had good typographic taste and a good feeling for words, although he was not what you'd call a professional lexicographer. He had a good sense of phonetics which had grown out of training to correct a speech impediment. His hobby was singing; this gave him sensitivity to sounds. He came firom a long line of silver-tongued ministers and dedicated teachers, which might have some indirect benefit. His wife was an avid reader and hobby poetess, discriminating with words. He himself had access to a highly sophisticated photo-typesetting setup, and had a brilliant ftend with access to an even more grandiose computer. Best of all, he was enormously enthusiastic about the project, was redy to begin immediately, and askedno salary. I could have saved halfayearby taking Ben Franklin's advice: "Ifyou want a mission accomplished, go yourself. Ifnot, send somebody:' 135

150 136 The frend with access to the computer was the same Ed Lias who had developed the exquisite Cosmographs just a few years earlier. He had changed his vocation from preaching to teaching, and was now in New Jersey, a member of the faculty of Ocean County College in Toms River. His scientific interests had led to experimental use of computers in certain areas of teaching, and then to the installation of a large computer center at the college. When I talked to Ed about spelling reform he immediately offered the use of his computers for experimentation, and all the work since then has been centered there. Ed briefed me on how a layman could prepare meaningful information to help set up a computer program. At first we thought it might be possible to strip words oftheir prefixes and suffixes, transliterate the root, and restore a simplified prefix or suffix. Someday somebody may find a wayto do this, but the exceptions were toonumerousto make it practical in the early stages. So I set out on the task of preparing a dictionary of words in parallel spellings traditional and reformed. An invitation from the master of spelling reform, Dr: Godfrey Dewey, to spend a couple of days with him at Lake Placid taught me a great deal. The Lake Placid Club was established around 1912 by Dr. Melvil Dewey (Godfrey's father) who developed the Dewey Decimal System used for the classification ofbooks in most libraries. The Club served as hedquarters for what is now the Phonemic Spelling Council, and all club profits were to be used to further spelling reform. These two days in Lake Placid were memorable far beyond expectation. When I came into the club lobby Dr. Dewey was standing at the reception desk talking to the clerk. I knew him immediately it couldn't be enybody else a tall man, erect, gray hair andbright eyes;justthe kind of person who would make a great leader for reform. We climbed the broad, ornate, wooden staircase, vintage 1912, and went to his office overlooking the balcony. Dr. Dewey explained that his eyesight was failing and that he must use a large magnifying glass to see print. Whatever he lacked in eyesight was frilly made up for by his mind: keen, sharp as a razor. He had studied the material I'd sent him and felt it had merit, otherwise he would not have had me come. He was particularly fascinated with the idea of computer transliteration. The best reformers, he sed, had always agreed that a typographer could contribute a lot to the movement, but none had ever shown more than passing interest. He hoped my interest would be long lived, for the need was great. Dr. Dewey had pretty well given up hope of widespred spelling reform. Out of necessity he had resigned himself to working on a no-new -letter initial teaching alphabet or, as he sed with a smile, "an 'initial learning medium' is what they like to call it now an i.l.m."this was the same direction that SirJames Pitman pursued after the House of Commons ridiculed his proposal for an overall spelling reform. Where Dr. Dewey differed from Pitman was iii seeing eny need for new wierd looking letters to fill out the alphabet. He felt, as I did, that bizarre letters were an unnecessary gimmick, that the same end could be achieved by establishing explicit pairs of traditional letters. My feelings differed with Dr. Dewey in only one respect: I hoped that with computer transliteration the reform movement need not be confined to first graders that it could be widespred; for all; for everybody. Most of our choices of pairs or "digraphs" were identical. In the few cases where there was dissimilarity my choice had been prompted by a

151 typographic sensitivity to adult reading patterns. We both were aiming at the same ultimate objective, he using letters more sparingly and therefore more basically; I (with computer transliteration in mind) usingthem less frugally so that the adult reader could make the changeover with greater ease; It should be clear that neither approach was competitive; that both had an independent value. We discussed meny borderline phonemic* problems, some of which I had alredy encountered, and some ofwhich lay abed. To alert me to the nature of phonemic pitfalls he described a unique characteristic of dropshaped glass globules called "Prince Rupert Drops:' These have been made by glass blowers f±om time immemorial. As the blown glass drop cools, a tinybead forms atits topmost point. Ifthis bead is clipped offthe whole glass shatters, signifring that the lines ofstress are all tied together in that tiny bead. 'this illustrates the danger," Dr. Dewey sed, "that spelling reformers often encounter. A seemingly insignificant spelling change that appears to solve one phonemic problem may have jar reaching adverse effects on other such problems. Spelling reformers, eager to arrive at Quick and easy solutions, are prone to make ill conceived changes that willfence them into cornersfrom which they cannot rescue themselves. You cannot be sure that your system will workor that it will cover every phonemic situation until you actually apply it to thousands of words. I have transliterated i000 words in my Dictionary of World English. Rpman has done aboutfour times as meny in his Dictionary of New Spelling, and that's what it takes to develop a really usable system. Thereis no shortcut. You may ]ookjor one, butyou wontfind it." Dr. Dewey must have sensed my earnestness because he insisted on giving me one of his two copies of Walter Ripman's dictionary, out of print for a generation or more. It has been a great help in pointing beams oflight into darkphonemic recesses. We talked about the different systems that dictionaries use for mdicatingpronunciation. He had not seen the Random House system I used for reference, and was pleased with it. Long ago, he said, one of his 4áher's objectives was to get all diciidnariesto agree on a simple spelling to indicate pronunciation. Thehope was that it might ultimately replace traditional spelling and that reform would come about in that way -an excellent idea, it seems to me. The Simplified Spelling Board (predecessor to the Phonemic Spelling Council) worked hard on this and finally came up with a system thatthey offered to Webster, the major dictionary ofthat time. The Webster people liked it and agreed to use it in their next edition. Later theynotijied the Board thattheywould not lookwith favor on competitive dictionaries using the same system. This, of course, defeated the whole purpose of the project and a letter was dispatched to Webster accordingly. No reply came, and the Board waited anxiously. When the next Webster edition appeared it unfortunately used a very intricate and highly detailed system to represent pronunciations, and has continued to use it throughout the years. On the second day Dr. Dewey's daughter, Miss.Margaret Dewey, came to pick us up for lunch. This gave me a chance to see their home and the tremendous library. As we three sat down at table Dr. Dewey spoke impressively: "Christ is the hed of this house; The unseen gest at every meal; The listenertoall conversation.". I've often asked authorities to explain to Inc the tifference between the wont, phoaentic and phonetic as applied to spe(ftng r4bnn. Thç"ve never given Inc a goat answer. Even the &ctionaiy is vague. I've conchafed that Phonemic is more scholarly and certainty lucre ilewthfethig. So taheyour choice. 137

152 There is vnuaft ambiguity in the diciionasy definitions of homoograpk, I,o..oJIw.c and honun'm. For oia purpose a 1ioiaan.f4 is a wand with only one traditional Engliskspelling bid hf. pronw,cuiau deperaling on whether it is used as a noun, adjective, or verb. For crainpie: a house in which to house than. A homophone is the opposite of a honegraf4. it is a word with two or mon trashtiona( English spellings but only one Pronunciation. For example: hear and hem; sigitaandate. A homonym isawordwltltone spelling ansi one pmnwtciation but two or man meanings. There an thousands of hontanv,ns. An actrtine eemn pie is the wand point whith has ShdiffàrntJefl,dtions but only one spelling and pronunciation. In line with Dr. Dewey's advice I raised my sights from 850 to 4000 words and began transliterating his complete dictionary into what we now call "Soundspel." I shattered Prince Rupert drops all over the place. Every evening I'd sweep up a dust pan fill. Often when I refined a spelling to make it more comfortable to the eye my avowed aim the whole phonemic structure would buckle. Ultimately I found a few significant deviations from the scholarly Ripman-Dewey-Pitman base; deviations that did not shatter the whole structure, and that provided a net gain typographically and offered more comfort to the adult reader's eye. No doubt future researchers will find still more that are acceptable. Ed Lias entered these 4000 words into a computer program and we fed in random copy for transliteration. Scarcely half the needed words showed up in the transliteration. In computer parlance, less than half the words "made a hit" It was a big disappointment To get more words into the program we secured Brown University's tape of a recent study by Dr. W. N. Francis and Dr. Henry Kucera of the University's Department of Linguistics. It covered a million-word sampling of contemporary running text selected from a wide variety of subjects: news, editorials, the arts, hobbies, skills, religion, science, biography, general fiction, science fiction, humor, romance, mysteries, mathematics, humanities, natural sciences, annual reports, government documents, etc. Proper names and unusual technical terms were deleted it being felt that these, at least for the present, should not be changed. For each deletion a word was added from the Merriam-Webster most used word list of 35,000 or from the McGraw-Hill list of 20,000. The total is substantially a composite of all three lists: almost 45,000 words. These words nearly triple the number in Ripman's dictionary have now been transliterated into Soundspel with traditional and simplified spellings in parallel. They are programmed so that traditionally spelled input will generate a simplified tape or disc output that may be used for typesetting without eny need for re-keyboarding. In this form it will undoubted be useful to future researchers. The pronunciation standards for Soundspel are the broadcasting industry's NBC Handbook ofpronunciation, the Random House Dictionary ofthe English Language, or Webster's NeuilnternationalDictionary, whichever sanctions the least deviation from traditional spelling. Punctuation, typesetting command codes, unusual technical terms and proper names (unless identical with common nouns) pass through without transliteration. Homophones present no problem for this reason: Context, in speech, always determines the meaning of a homophone. Such words as "hear" and "here" are therefore transliterated heer; in like manner "fair" and "fare" are transliteratedfair. Homographs, however, present a problem. Here the written word, such as "house;' traditionally has a single spelling for both verb and noun, but the pronunciation is different and depends on context. As a noun, it ends with an s-sound in "Our house is green." As a verb, it ends with a z-sound in"the new building will house more students."the computer must determine if the transliteration is to be hous or houa From its million-word sampling Brown University gave us a printout of every occurrence of a homograph in context (six words before the homograph and six words after it). From this we developed tables of words immediately preceding and following a homograph. Thus when a homograph is encountered the computer searches through the appropriate table to de- 138

153 terrine, from its enviroment, whether the word is a verb, a noun, or an adjective, and transliterates it into reformed spelling accordingly. In my years of work with spelling reform I have been privileged to meet or correspond with most of the leaders of the movement. My first important contact with a major American group was in 1973 when the Phonemic Spelling Council accepted an invitation to hold its annual meeting in Photo-Lettering's Alphabet Gallery. What struckme then was the same thing that has impressed me meny times since: with few exceptions spelling reformers are older people -often considerably older. A reformer of seventy is just in his prime. That makes me feel chipper, but it's not good for the movement. Young people's-enthusiasm rides-high -for a day-or two-but-is-soon-dampenedbyihepeofother'activities. Meny of the reformers are deeply concerned, retired school teachers who lookback with keener perspective than they may have had in the classroom. Miss Olivia Patmore is one of these. She now lives in Los Angeles, but her entire teaching career was in Canada. Miss Patmore thoughtfully observes that in the United States our pronunciation, our idioms, slang, some of our sentence structures and indeed meny of our words and even some spellings have moved so far away from British English that its time to give a more realistic name to the language we apologetically call American-English. She would call it, appropriatelyarnencan She would have all words in American spelled in a phonetic American way. Schools would teach American to all children. More advanced students could, as an elective, study British English spelled and pronounced in the British way. Here may well be the psychological gimmickthat makes reformjell! WhatAmerican school board could refuse to teach 'American"? What publisher -with perhaps the exception of Oxford University Press could refuse to print American books, magazines and newspapers in "American"?! Photo-typesetting transliteration is the long-sought practical way to bring about spelling reform and its many social and economic benefits. It is our best hope for dealing with America's alarming and increasing illiteracy our best hope for teaching the ten percent who do not read or write, and the additional twenty percent who read and write very poorly. It offers good possibilities for making our language a universal "second language:' It is the most imaginative and promising step we can take in our uphill fight against dropout and the serious consequences of dropout: juvenile delinquency, crime-in-the-streets, hard core unemployment and poverty. Control of our anti-social ills is indeed a worthy goal. Our photo-typesetting computers can play the key role in reaching it. Not long ago I attended a high school commencement in avery small community. There were only eight graduates. Six ofthem received diplomas, two "certificates of graduation:' When I inquired about the difference between a diploma and a certificate I was told that the diplomas were awarded to those who could read and write, certificates to those who could not. Non-readers passed their courses by using tape recorders. The teachers agreed it was unfortunate that two of their graduates could not read, but hoped that perhaps greater use of recorders in the years ahed would reduce the need for literacy. That sort of thinking should come only from cassette salesmen. For the rest ofus it should be a call to arms. What needs to be reduced is not the need to read and write, but the monstrous complexity of our inane system of spelling that disgraceful roadblock to literacy. For our purpose the somewhat unusual tit,d transliterate is more accurate titan frgpj Case. rhe &finitionoft&frmwris "to change Utters into contsponding characters of another alpitnilet," whereas the latter is dcfined as "changing from one language into another" 139

154 We have the tool to do it: computerized photo-typesetting. How fortunate we are as the Twentieth Century nears its close to be coming up Jul1 circle at last, where typesetting in modem dress can take the lead in erasing the blight that has contributed so much to illiteracy in the English-speaking world. That day can be right around the corner. Its dawn will restore to our language fl.ill use ofthe world's greatest invention the invention whose earliest forms, conceived jive thousand years ago, are forever inscribed on the wall of the tomb of Saqqara's King Onis. Goodbye illiteracy, goodbye! THE LAST STRAND waiting to be fled up had been hanging loose since Johnny Lynch, art director at BBD&O, warned me meny years ago, "Ed, you'd better keep good records of what's going on in Photo-Lettering. Someday people will look backand want to know all about it. Someday that history will have to be written." I smiled at such a wild improbability, but agreed with ever-meticulousjohnny that the photo-lettering I'd just delivered to him -which I thought was excellent -might be a shade lighter than his sketch. Sure, we'd fix it; history could wait A few weeks before the Smithsonian opened its greatly expanded printing exhibit it must have been ten years ago I talked for an hour or so with Dr. Elizabeth Harris, the curator, relating meny of the tales that came ftom early photo-lettering days. When it was time for me to leave she sed, "I wish we'd made a tape of all youve told me this afternoon. It should be in the Smithsonian records." Well, here it is - a jubilant salute to the spirit ofrudolfkoch's Creed: OUT OF PASSIONATE CONVICTION WE ARE TYPE DESIGNERS, PUNCH CUTTERS, TYPE CASTERS, COMPOSITORS, PRINTERS & BOOKBINDERS; NOT BECAUSE OUR GIFTS ARE TOO SMALL FOR HIGHER THINGS, BUT BECAUSE THESE ARTS ARE, IN OUR EYES, INSEPARABLY LINKED WITH THE HIGHEST OF THINGS. 140

155 An Album ofhighlights in a Life with Letters

156 The Bulgarians celebrate May 24th Alphabet Day - with parades, a bookfair, exhibits, folk ballet and special events in recognition of the vital role that the Slavic alphabet has played in developing their society. The photographs were taken in Sofia on Saturday May 21, 1966 during the final rehearsal for the parade. 142 At right is a section of the first page of Soft a's newspaper Rabotnichesco Delo on the morning of Alphabet Day showing, in color, Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius holding high two letters symbolic of the alphabet they introduced to Bulgaria a thousand years ago. The underscored newspaper headline is translated as follows: May 24 Day of Bulgarian enlightment and culture and of Slauic Literature. Day oft/ic Bulgarian Press. A trip to Sofia for this event is indeed a memorable pilgrimage for those who live with letters.

157 tujl.1r414l flpotrrn.ip,;t:*ni.rsin;,tlndov. C a AGOTH E040 I6IEAO OpraH Ha ueurpanhhw HOMHTeT,.a BbnrapcHata 4oMyIIIleT.I'lecua napinn,fl...p...?i*.1i%i Ut,..3c,. 24 MAN - flek HA BbJIrAPQcATA n pocbeth H KYJ1VYPA llo BHCOKO H HA (flabghckata 3IJAMETO IIHCFIEHOCT. flem HA &bnrapckiw --'!AT n--a- -- HA COWONCTH4ECKATA l{yjitypa! 'I == a a a - '---" a --- r:- "rtt -a a --a a.-- 2tt r -. - tz. ---a a 'a a '.-...',,._ _ a a a a- d ' - -a - - '--a --a--.-a -- --a --a-fl..'

158 -4 HE 3EWS.4 ITHE NEW -8 Thurs., 3jay 27. Z0 ndc 59etlo13. erqaratoi'y- School PICNIC. GRAMPA SLb crown ffpjd t4otll NEWS 2ytrs 5rLts Is taming this week; LETS TRY A LITTLE STUN Early copies of THE NEWS (above) printed at age 7-9 from rubber type laboriously fitted idto channels across the cylinder of a toy rotary press (p.8). The Foxy Grandpa illustrations were detached from rubber stamps and tied around the cylinder with thread. Graduating to metal type in 1915 (below) was a great triumph. The type was odd size hand-me-downs from 1885; the press, a3x5 ' Kelsey. The umbrella engraving was a more recent castoff than the type, but the illustration for The Wicked Tiger, clearly boy-made, was arduously cut from a scrap of wood and planed down to approximately type height. THE NEWS 6EI"l'EUI3ER ti, 191t. Dr. Kinyoun is i;ia[euting the Scholars of the public eiiools in 'Winston-Saleni. p -, C, - Co I, Co r z THE V!CE El) TIGER Continued from last time the thicket of l'nhes erasned and bent under his lowering weight. A moment nnd tlicii the niaji rudietl to a tall forest tn. e and w;th iiptrhuman strength, I e grasped the t n with his knees and (to be contrnu. d 144

159 CHRISTMAS ISSUE 'a1rm Nnnø Sagnint iiiun Stne 4lti*irna Vol. 6. No. 5. Winston-Saleui, N. C. CHRISTMAS Substitute ambition for Fate and Industry for Luck.,nnn,nfln "Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone." Teacher: Jones, can you give me a sentence using the word indisposition?' Joics: Yes, sir. When you want to light, you stand in dis position."!!uba NC!!!! There goes your pi, but it don't niatter, ecause when you phone 1423 Its Fixed S. PORTEF,4: Celebrate Christmas by getting a Haircut, Shave, and all of the other things we do. C. F. MOESTER Consolidation in 1918 of the neighborhood's two boy-printed newspapers resulted in THE SALEM NEWS being printed at fairly regular intervals. The last issue, however, was the 1919 Christmas magazine edition printed in two colors. After age 14 we concentrated on job printing. The red white and blue 75 bond (below) financed the purchase of a paper cutter as described on page 15. The bond was a3-panel 2-fold certificate modeled on Liberty Bonds of World War!. Financial typesetting was, ofcourse, a challenge of loftiest proportions and called for the proud display of most of the type styles in the shop No, 0 Big-Little Print Shop will pay to the hearer at the lti-l.i it]e Shop at Winston-Sale ii N. t. NOV. 9 QW _ 3.01 No,2 $01 Big-Little Print Shop will pay to the hearer at the Big -li lilt Shop at Winston-Salem N. Lie, JULY M 14 lfl cxpn1, No, 3.01 Big-Little Print Shop will pay to the bearer ate he Big-Littte Print Shop at Winston-Salem N. C. on MARCH M 1 1.fl/1919 Treas. ijtg-3eitttr lirint '17up cit 3L;ks,,3tJt l ' ;u4 1h iiit C*h9) lit 4 % Interest Silver Bond TOTAL ISSflE $18.75 IN 25 EQUAL BONDS No. 19 Ø' eai//le/itshiio lae /. aket cn JrItg'neffl J1tEini.94t4 a Q1nIcn-.Zr1en..,'I.Wae. on lofl. 14' IS9, in i%.,nnrn4ina an//i.6, haid,nfeae4i q 4$'s cent 4. tje I na.n,4ayai/. on I/.e/e'i4i'da; c/j(aac4 /rdj, and oemiea ninel't,en ni.wfeen. d 6. d.....4i'.,arfr1; i' 39>t..sh 3.i,94 sa'.6,4a;a1 a aa atl.i 4' 145

160 A., S_t Pogt.. Salem Square and the buildings surrounding it as they appeared in about 1830 and approximately as they are today. The thawing was made by E.Avogler probably from the corner room of the house where I spent most of my boyhood. In the background is the Moravian Church steeple, and to the left, partly hidden by the little fire house, is the College office building where, in a semi-basement room, Henry Pfbhl and I operated the Big-Little Print Shop during our last years ofhigh school. On the extreme left of the picture is the Wachovia Museum now housing the restored Blum Print Shop with its original 1810 Ramage printing press. The two buildings well to the right are Salem College's oldest. Today its campus covers thirty acres liberally dotted with academic facilities During my boyhood the scene was not very different from 1830 except that trolley cars of various colors and vintages rumbled down the street every few minutes, the lights were electric, and telephone poles interrupted the view. But the Church was still the center of the Salem community, the outdoor Easter service was the major event of the year, automobiles were few, and snow was a longed for rarity. The sketch below is of the same period and from approximately the same perspective, with the Church diagonally across the Square from our house. The arrow points to the little building next door (no longer standing) where Henry and I printed our newspaper - including the memorable end-of-the-war extras. While a career in music was often favored as the most readily obtainable and perhaps the most cherished of cultural accomplishments, the ambience of Salem Square proved to be no less conducive to nurturing the early stages of an exciting life with letters. Paw ZIT 1 146

161 Two memorable years in Dayton with the a capella Westminster Choir at age 21 and 22 left an imprint that can never be erased by printers ink Music is rightly looked upon as a perfbrming art, but lbr a singer in a choir directed byjohn Finley Williamson it is something very different. It is the opening of the door to a new world: it is almost like being for a moment in a society that lives by its utopian ideals. In those early days of the choir's development its sopranos, altos, tenors and basses came from many different states, represented a wide variety of backgrounds and varying degrees of talent. Some, like myself were much too likely to stumble badly when sight-reading music. Only LoRean Hodapp had a truly trained voice. Yet together these sixty or more voices were as one, and on tour held secular audiences entranced with the sacred music ofpalestrina. Bach. lvanov-lppolitov. Melius Christiansen, Tertius Nobel. Clarence Dickenson and many others. Each of us knew that our contribution to the choir was really very small, yet at the same time we had the inspired feeling that this contribution, tiny as it was, was vital to the total ensemble, and that a single slip would significantly damage the whole. Few situations in real life have so much in common with the dream ofsociety at its finest. Certainly the act ofsinging in such a choir comes close to the feeling one will have if mankind ever reaches social utopia. Thus Henry Pfohl (fourth row, right end) and I (by the aisle, third row, right) experienced twoyears together in a world very different from anything we'd known before. It may well be that the reason these years have had such lasting impact on my life is that I did not mar them later on with the frustrations of career in music. The Lord bless you and kv... you. The Lord lift his coon. It. nance up - you, P )1j The Lord bless yos, and kpt you. The his Cous. te.oance up. Ofl 3100, 700. Lt* "12-- hit his cows. te - nance op The Lord bless you and kj you. The Lord lift his coon. te-nasce up. on you, ad Cie, you 147

162 A at and barny. A special cold pro Gnish and on' _ osoal teztore gin to this ngcontent sheet a a.,a,ltr dhth.oioa thone and qmlity all itnown. Mast, ow, it baa the highly weaned duzallaiszic of ianpazthigbuh color aiad aniontico to the prfrsd alamoage. 71xappanTn.cldnas&tnn6ce fimtmna rid, bacltgtotmd which athasra the beauty Jjwirttdcdoa. mod gitnindi.dtnliy to the flniahed piece ' -Among ftts Wan's mcs.n. Alarrung IU coia The whine 41bs Ws it the wt Parian ti,t; she odors (1nd bloc, topaz yellow. mandazit,, opal gsay, and brew glern)acr iss two shada: a light shade fortiart.vgls. and a Jailer dnde thr Co.er teight. 11,1 &f%mul nsty gms tdr emota kemodinotherppm and pa.à the k-_. wjwaj 6w dcn...--s6daddxsannecokc dis -shntja - c y...j she &wloç..cut ofprw,.r. The two weights winntorunydsgnedx mrsobsteasoo with each othm md nba, thtn oneddxmukhureeobc satisfying n-the mszzas timandfreighu ofd,is dxcr make in adable ap WtijM W all standard measorolait PC Cover and stock [dxdnka sbad4 coma in size 20% lya6 inchd and weigha zo poonda pea thousand - The - and Jeckleedga fin the thtss way Tat stock [dx to. sinde] a in sin as by 3 S inches and weighs 160 poonds per thousand. In this lighter weigh. dx - and dale ton the hag way...1w. wt.wsacep- s.,n Wa be overlooked. Became o(is ampk body arid tinting Sn Jar stax weight it well ada4td kr Ftaath-dd co,aawbctt tray in daa& it sought The sheet is sufliciendy well Sad to.aln I des,kle for lctrcfnds and a'.dndnsaax,00neaarsothwa arid.6d;... ChmeoweaTea.ppeadstsch AIam be4..baoudxczsry / Thanks to the good fortune of having a remarkable mentor, teacher and supervisor in Marty Roberts, my early typographic layouts in New y ork were either quite conservative or what! considered very avant garde. On the one hand I was given an opportunity to design traditional pieces like the Japan Paper Company specimen above, and on the other I was steeped in the popular Art Deco Bauhaus style typical ofthe F.AStokes ads. Occasionally a client would let 101, the c o m f o r t the inexpressible comfort of feeling s a e with aperson: having neither to w e i g h thoughts nor measur but pouring them all right out juff as they are chaf-7-grain-together certainthatafaithfulhandwill s i f t them, keep what ieworthy, and, with the breath of kindness, b 1 o 148

163 ijst JBLISHED.1 May Lombeiton Becker, BOOKS AS WINDOWS Why nit no. 'dii. b00%l Not it fw nk,ei ohet po. 3. th,000h heel Mey tetho.ioe S.S ha 'etitien.ttetoinobonhte sh*e. o4.et she hoe., oh,.' ettin0 the etot i.e S bath. and iteneh thee' the eat en!,a lit.. vfl,oi Adnnto.e, it (endito' did - 1h -. neon, 4* Ia,.fley Wear -ot.t.m i.er bat non.i" ur total loot $ Of rout OQk$tLLli ln.b.ipct.nean,n.y.h.eetdit. A. Stoke. Ca Petit.keeo. Ui 4th Ant, itt. Itibone.. Read The Best Bindloss Novel Yet! LARRY OF LONESOME LAKE By Harold Bindlots Author of "The Fronti eratron' Color andswill-mowing oci;on cork thin odvonrure4torrcet bring about a lonely ranch in the witds ol the Canadian Northwest. Adnetttrt and sudden peril involve two charming young wonren ond the hero myntertaunly diso p -pears1 At you' bootihop $2.30 STOKES,?tibliatters. N.Y. FUGITIVE'S RETURN 'S. 04 e1.04o - By Susan I. wontlt o hot!- dos.',mug. - content. d nay' Glaspell At,*hst4MteetJ0 - NewYe,he, it. A. states COMPANS pa., ret HOW HIGH IS 'up" When higher buildings are built, architects with head. itt aches will build them. When better building products are made, architects will drive their clients insane till -. they promise to use them. They will, that is, if you an sell the architects. Those gentlemen in the 5,004 ton- notch architects' office, that use ARCHITECTURE an SEEM Ia be the finest little volunteer sales force ever invented. me inject a contemporary adaptation ofrebus into otherwise straightforward copy (right), and a few accepted what I called onomatopoeic typography type spaced as it's spoken. The best Sample of this, printed on handmade paper, was averse entitled "Understanding" (below). If you get them properly steamed up, they'll sell such scads of your product. It'll keep your cashier bow- legged carrying the gold down to the bank, All this $ $ $ $ $ $ -. provided you can sell those hard-boiled ARCI'41'ltC- bit' ---- " I TURE reader, and keep them cold. 0 o r dne l'q t 4 ARCHITECTURE THE CREAM OF THE ARCHITECTS I - A W. S.y, 5,004 or 72* of our total net paid circulation of 7,059 is,in the name of on ARCHITECT CHARLES SCRIBNERS SONS Publishers of ARCHITECTURE and Archileclurol Books eons ci (emend Cpa CAOO '05 ANOIntS SAN,ienac,sco 149

164 MODELi, built in Baltimore. This is the forerunner of the Rutherford Photo-Lettering Machine. The film negative ofa complete alphabet was wrapped around a drum as shown. The series of reduction gears in the larger drawing played a part, unsuccessftilly, in spacing different sizes ofletters. The story of this experimental model begins on page 33. There are no photographs or records of Model MODEL 3, built in Baltimore. This is the first model to use a glass alphabet plate. The plate was mounted on a flatbrass frame with a cutout so large, 28x5", that it was necessary to bolt a heavy steel bar to the frame to restore some rigidity. The glass negative improved alignment sufficiently to enable two or three machines to be sold, and offered enough promise to interest the Rutherford Machinery Company in purchasing development and manufiicturing rights. This model was moved to Newjersey in

165 MODEL 4, built in Rutherford. This is the first machine of professional quality. Several of these were sold.the alphabet plateswere quite similar to those on Model abut presented serious production problems. The solid cast iron base of the machine weighing over a thousand pounds, proved highly satisfactory and enabled far more precision to be obtained than on the previous angle-iron models- The opticon (above) is described in detail on page MODEL 5, This is the Photo-Lettering Machine in its final stage of development. The glass alphabet plates were now mounted into lightweight copper channels fitted with lugs (airows) that could be filed down to bring the letters into permanent and accurate alignment. Standard equipment included anamorphic (reproportioning) lenses, a precision justifier, a motor drive for letter selection, quick transit across the control table, solenoid exposure operation, and darkroom loading. These were the machines we brought to NewYorkin October1936 to form the heart of Photo-Lettering the machines which have since proved to be virtually indestructable. 151

166 FIRST NNrIoxAI4 Bin FIRST NxrIoxAI4 Btixn FIRST NNnoNs14 BANK FIRST XVFI0NAI4 Bsxa FIRST NvrTONAL Btx FIRST NNFIONAII Btxn FIRST NxriOi,at lisini FIRST NATIONAL Bsxii FIRST Xvnoxu Btisn FIRST NxnoNAI4.B1sixn FIRST NATIONAL BANK FIRST NATIONAL BANK FIRST NATIONAL BANK FIRST NNn0NAL BANK FIRST NATioNAL BArca FIRST NAnoNn BANK FIRST NAVnON.%j,. ItucK FIRST NATIONAL BANK FIRST NATIONAL HANK FIRST NATIONAL BANK Shown above are the sizes available (at halfmduction)±om amasterplate. On the right is an early example ofreproportioning bere condensation could be achieved without increasing letter height. 152 N OP MA L The page opposite shows typical examples of photo-lettering in the Rutherford period. It is likely that both the Old Bernheim and the Rogers Church Goods lines were produced on a Model 3 in Baltimore. Some of the newer styles had outside shadings. These shadings were on a separate plate. Carefully following a control guide made on the opticon, the solid letters were exposed one at a time; then the guide was shifted and the outside shadings superimposed letter by letter alongside the solids, and through a contact screen. Such work was executed double size and some retouchingwas required. FIRST XvnoNu Bnui FIRST NxnoNs1 ILkxii FIRST NNn0NAI Bsn FIRST Nxnoxsi Bsxii FIRST NAnoNu4 BtNK FIRST NATIONAL BANIl FIRST NNFION%JA BANK FIRST NATIoNAl4 BANn FLILtST NVFIONAI4 B%Nn FLnST NvrIoxAt BsNn

167 PLwrcpranztjwctersn NEW AMSTERDAM BUrLDING OLD BERNHEIM DISTILLERY IV I *nj3rrø fltnui! 13ontø (ha. imlm^rl^- mal (I I 7Q&k/fl 7Oakinp Co. rc7rf.n,'wti 153

168 [(^q 4!' z 154

169 ii, _ c 0 -t tn-lu to 0 0 0) 0 - LI) rc ta -.ct 3 C&) - 2 Core 0 0 a.2 E c.0 0C to 0 2 c-co E. t 0 a o C 0 -S cṯ C C CO 2 0c g0 o o a to -t a 0 I- 0 0 t o -. c 0a c (9 a F LI L 0-2 z -o a 0) C) -o 9 o F C U C 0) m C C CO 0 E E 30 0 t O,_ t t 0 0) o -. s C 0) w o a -u 9 o to C t 3.c 0 -r a E g 9 2 t;i F 2 0 <ah '55 Ik - 4 -

170 t U. C g az ct.- o C -S 20 swc!ue Ic C C) c_c -_-,0 o).0c).co 0 - to t0t C) B E B I 1) 0 '-I 0 flit $t! C u C- K E.o&t fl-c) CC 2ot&.o. C) C) CC) CC CC)to to C OV 3 :.. 2 C C_C CC.2 C) C.5 CCC ft C) 0o... C) C 8 o C2C) 0-.e4 >C C CC C).2 C.) C)Cflt 0C)BC)C)L 2CC) 0 4 ) rr r'-!3 ;C 4 t t 1 a & 3C.CE C.) WZ ge o.s oz C d.0 C) C 20$ CC. ".5.2 C) CC C).5 0 C 0 C) 0. a 2 CC) C C C to. C.) to O C CC - B C) ' g c c r-2e &.E.5 C) 0 F,ck-'.5 C) C) 2-i2 S te !& C)OCCCC C 0

171 vcc'flc b zo C). 0 0C) < AU th (C 1%'7 o U C) 0 &C) S C) co >0- U ou ui-o ja to t t oo 19 a III 7 C a S tel V S C C Sio * 0).0 C) tz IiAi!1UI 1) I og c id 157

172 ore impottaflt c.0gotm fbi otttafli0" p%ace$to j -, The ENEMY is listening Is wants to know what yp know KEEP IT TO YOURSELF AMERICA j CALLING TO Take your ptace in CIViLIAN DEFENSE & 1, 'Nt palm Nt Clear the tracks 11j,11 SlAIVIAEOU FOR DON'T THROW AWAY liammunition! t 1. Thelong stubs = away in one month would weld 120 tanks 'I Get in the SCRAP AMIflC2bflanflS METALS PAPER OLD RAGS RUBBER Get ft back thwatps S IA' 0 d Aid OSIflt.iEi*,aonn flàflsnflhu.n.1 flffi.thn sa J.4..,. GET IN THE The display above is reproduced directly from Photo-Letteriiigs 1948 postwar catalog and shows dramatically how the clarion voice of our Murray Hill Gothic saved rubber, silenced careless talk, rationed the meat, sold war bonds, cleared the tracks, sped production, collected 158

173 Americans! SHARE THE MEAT as a wartime necessity YOUR FAIR WEEKLY SHARE..cIIn.S...C. ^ ildw..st.idr...id HER? VII TIEWU! Keep within your share,:.j WE ARE NOW IN THIS WAR We n all in it all ie way -, S Id I" S 0* w Me IM.3. NeWS dam kini 5*1 - at S 0* *_t-t SIl lii. ARL BUT WAR BONDS RATIONING means SHARES S sharealike MORE PRODUCTION.. We have just begin to fight! yr MIDWAY GUADALCANAL NEW GUINEA BISMARCK SEA CASABLANCA ALGIERS TUNISIA.; will ANS for liberty the scrap and took on with tireless ener1 the countless vital jobs that led to victory. No doubt the day will come when historians look back and discover that Hitler had no equivalent of Murray Hill. That will be the time to write the chapter entitled "How Murray Hill Won the Wan" 159

174 4r low C- CC, mp exhibition or - f'c*c17 ant cy bows hollamb AC the ALphAoec cimleay zio east 45ch stgeec &UIuN j AU6USC ANC) SeptemBeR. 195t In 1951 the New york telephone book listed 582 art galleries, not one ofthem devoted to the art oflettering. Asa gesture toward correcting this sorry slight to one ofthe city's most exacting art forms, we rearranged our quarters so that the former office and reception room could be converted into what we appropriately called The Alphabet Gallery. The first exhibition, (photo above). opened in November '51 with the work of C. E. Coryn whose sensitivity to Didot shapes had won him the admiration ofcipe Pinellas, Marcel Guillaume, Jerry Slater and others at Condd Nast. Printing News sent a representative to 160

175 un n 11.1k i.\1n Ji'U. Olt(Jhhitl._(._ - - bcdefg ABCD hijkim1 ABCDC It4 EFGH rcuijz i1jiit rc½ IJKLM KIMNO I p oop I Op9ISIU NOI'Q PQRST qrsii I - RS - -, [ % WXY niiz VWXZ WMZ J / / / 'S -. An Erhi&Won of Lettering Designs by SAUL HAUPT r-j Al THE ALPHABET IrALLERY Z16 EAST 451H N.Y. JUNE AUGUST a the opening and loyally covered subsequent shows in detail. For each exhibition we printed a small French fold leaflet which served as a keepsake for visitors. Attendance varied greatly but occasionally reached ten or fifteen a day. The gallery continued to function until 1955 when a new photo-lettering catalog proved so successful that we reluctantly turned the room back into production. Today there are probably not enough professional letterers to warrant such a showplace, but there are more than enough accomplished calligraphers to support a gallery devoted entirely to calligraphy. 161

176 BEUEVI3 IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY Maker of heaven and earth: d in Jesus Christ His oifly Son r Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virjin Maly: suffered under Pontius Pilate, 'was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; the third day He rose ajain from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sixteth on the right hand of God the FatherAtmihty: from thence He shalt come tojud5e the quick and the dead. BEUEVL1 in the Hoty Ghost: the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints: the fonjieness of sins: the 1tsuntctionof the body: and the life evertastin& J(!Iiawarl Ho,.w ('St9-,9I0' ijjj)flifl±13i WsLIu,,, Sttffc c1852' lflj$l flf5haveseen the of the Comm5 of the lord; The Apostles' Creed, photo-lettered for L ife magazine in Daisy Akocks calligraphic style, was reproduced in several colors and gold as a dramatic introduction to the Christianity Issue. This was the first double issue that 14& had ever published, and no effort was spared to make it suberb (page So). Six pages of hymns followed the Creed. The musical notes were transcribed by Miss Alcock but the text was photo-lettered using anamorphic lenses to place each syllable under the note on which it was to be sung, thus circumventing the common practice of spreading syllables apart to fit the music by inserting hyphens between them, as shown on the bottom of page 147. of*lis terrible swift sword; truth g marthüt ojt. G1otj Ioty! HaUc

177 Reproduced here in about quarter size and without benefit of color is a complete A to Z set of Photo-Lettering tiles used primarily as keepsakes. The tiles were issued yearly one at a time beginning with Christmas The first keepsake. AB, was fired in Wedgewood blue. Colors of subsequent issues covered the entire spectrum. The full story of the tiles is told on page 88.

178 PAPER NAP/C/N 91/YR CHUCKEp Jutt uge-thjg ShoppIng Guide TPAPP IN OUt? kzing- iz 21" BROTI-IEP...kVE'PE ONE FAMILY Befope you daeidq agk ihig queiori now you ean buy KITTEN O[ the magazine that make living eagier.. Your Oar PQrPormonea k\imfar Picture with all gereen front Sbih' the secret olsoqndsleep... Via Brown ehpekq tube ehargctwjtjg 17195E *tto 84.i 4?Eucec,400 For bigger Profits sell Florida Fresh Frozen Concentrates if you knew then you would help Never before hac any farnoug tire prote ted Your KNOX h9t can faka it! TO THE Weit Iudic AND oufh America ON THE FLAGCHIP UP Odom by Civaudan This is the first of several spreads displaying selected pages from our 1955 catalog reduced to hall size. Photographic lettering was still so new thatmany art directors were unaware of its potential or skeptical ofits viability. Our library hadgrown to 2700 master alphabets and called for a visually stimulating presentation combined with an orderly method ofstyle classification. Each group of styles was identified bya thumb tab correspondingto the mdc; shown on page 181. The 1955 catalogwasthe initial step thatled, in 1960,10 full fledged development ofthe thesaurus system described in detail beginning on page 9. In the margins ofthe following pages are examples ofchallenging problems solved by our photoflex department - problems which had traditionally required the services of an artist or a letterer, but were being expected of Photo Lettering. The effects were achieved by combining the flexibility of photo-lettering machines with camera or other techniques. Since these specimens were produced before the fifties theyfbrni a unique arch iveoflnckphotographyin finc. The equipment responsible for flexibility wasbuilt in ourmachine shop by Dickoecker, and the most versatile operating technicians were FrankKopec and Herb Wagner. 164

179 GROW! below Reezog COLUMBIA RECORDS IbriEconomy Run AMERICAN DRUGGIST WHILE BOBBING APPLES I Never before such a welcome. the d!ftbi&ncehc Wet StrenØhl V sold go We Dispensers Veep Water-B(g Blue Marlin! MOST POWERFUL MERCHANDISING AlPS psoderd- Chlorophyll tooth paste RCA VICTOR NEWSPAPER MAGAZINE CAMPAIGN! Portables Our drivers like Rwd Truck handling ease SepMmbfl7ISahjvsflsf Hey, Robert Q. what's the bread you name PRO 'TWICE PS EFFECTIVE Sib? BAD BREATh crmhon TERRY cloth 74e8ES7 Home/Id! AU.IHE SHIPS AISEA 'S Now! Extra Profits on d'ihiiyqoigfli, Gdt tthjü Winter Sofskin Sales / / I 165

180 (Ok&twakedS9ok%40 poa kue S? 4..1ft44iae&n 7Li4'4/..,,.. MI CO4VK 6&MU W4C0 MAMPION PnkmnØit R& óe Vthey Cafat (jl&4e Gç1okwe 4111:1 6(&pJwCOenwinAs a49 rc l.n!b1shs N.]n..i. M.."dM?...,.I:B.., JtfQ, dc,, n).n Y?frfld!7-166 (1st (C ROWAVE

181 Cot&w e49*ktce CO% 'PJ4*tz4keL LI S'DnzU1 rg,,,, - ALL 4 Gfte1+ a&44$atle QzáZuA! 11 IA +towt w(iv 6A Wotvn(Des I Ø.*.!. Q4 74tkmswwm4utf6 90L ot4e4oiotaqeciot! d,ctioctacecl &1l4JwCDssw.tL * caoietmxoodah&ta' W Ot& kfmo- & Murray Hill I_, ff,jjqy,f4(4!wj//pfi/dfllll In TMfiiIiiJ$'i LiIJIJ r H 167

182 S / Ic _ - AL//fe 'I tjlf[t!1' / iii1ti II! / 4' r 4szna #'4'sawa' [ i t _ / WwSS *tv III!lIjj / / " NIh I Shill PENN & ir hick Ten j

183 aa e Sr c/ 1 4! '! I ril4 1 (9? q'c&e a73 c63s 4dtaeasá s * E1y l Idttltd by.t t*t* l ft,yytpttlty.d ft ttttt itt..tt..tl],t.qtl,.t,t!ttl. it abitlithi ilyit, pt.iii.ipb.b.i, dftyliyid iiititilpy lit it. mit..t.tltt ft. d..t. ktfttity-iittt.i hut1 ttttik. ii.hd.t.t.t'.,t.b..bk. hy lightt. itbhitii. ftdtd. ihrntts.i yhi ifthi tt y. ii hit.it.t.. ii l i hid bit ni tib i i tilt. dihitti tuttdhbt.titt. bi dubs. liitt..-ft. ittt dh.yhi hit.,., t. ihi btih,, 'k vut.th. Phtti-Lttt.tb,c b.ti.y.t.h'p. Th,ytbmbtlh, it Fri iii 'itihitut k, thu btdltidbtihty 'ii hit. pt.ftti it thu daujittith Phitt't.itbttbti rubti.,tu.utitft pit.._u. d.pu,du,t t.pbb hit. t.titl,tt..tuyhly a.tt,h ltttuut, el RiM WLVa If it - bqunm - till. a- 169

184 CARLO 'FlTZGERALD abrien YEARS AHEAD NewYoiI Bennuda DIRECT IN 2% NOUII$ 'a MILE" DRIVE AMAZING NEW DRY YEAST 'I0, Cash Prizes irn RIDA and its visitors OVER 10,000,000 FAMILIES READ THE III18TON WISCONSIN OKLAHOMA COLORADO MINNESOTA MICHIGAN MISSOURI ARKANSAS WYOMING INDIANA GEORGIA FLORIDA KANSAS TEXAS IOWA For Quality Solvets, lodustry looks to Csso Exclusive DuPont formula speeds car polishing LAVAL MAGNETIC flwl MILKING Just 2 sales and your dealers move a case the BEST all-round gasoliiu FASTEST ONLF NONSTOPS r'y II AT TOUR FORD DEALER) New Beamiess NOW RHEINGOLD ELEC11ON EXTRA Procter & Gamble's GLEEM has GL-70 WINNER! DCI service N NEW YORK 170 PSYCIIOiOOICA[ /1/--'

185 NURSINC is the Caner! GENERAL TELEPHONE SYSTEM SERVICE F THE NEW SERVEL GAS REFRIGERATOR CAPERART SOMETH/NIT/OUTABOUT FORD HAS BEEN SllhAIllh/T/.88#1 IN 20 YEARS ABC NETWORK AMAZING 1117W CLiP! THETARE KEEP YOUR SALESMEN ON TOP last Picture ofthe Tear ESISTANCE TO WINTER ILLS RMCIOR PHILCO STROMBERG CARISON HOIPOINT FRIGIDMRE THOR NORGE KELVINATOR MAYTAG BENDIX ZENITH pj0p F1ATilCW7AflilA49L:: ight decay... freshen mouth all day EMERSON GEIft1RlC Tide's a washday miracle! alga VOICE OF THE GIANTS ABC NETWORK CHICAGO MARKET SMASH Igi7MTi#ilhiii SELLING 41I IASIEII MISS RHEINGOLD More than 2OOO Trips to the Moon! Murray Hill PN \t.t:::/ # N è p N /tgvq. / an a - %' ' \ N / a ii a IP a /ff is a v a %'S.\ YOU READ HAVE MODERN LIBRARY 171

186 THERES NEVER BEEN.&cl, plant a a communilq... Vanishing Sex: Can we foretell the Future? Beauty begins at the top MON New fi.aniejh.e beaded-top evening dress Did rom Stop Reading in the Third Grade; WARDROBE time and worksavers Thule. Is major fact LEADERSIIII! FABRICS THE OR NA PUfl GATTONS INC. THAT Ll1T1S IN THE CLOUDS PALM BEACH IrauscouhillellIaI Senice Cashmere Bouquet. Soap 71w magazine for 7V1/fl4' Won/tin 7 - flslffi?t - as - le. q?,4 tsk i4_ I). it -d S - -,...h..t- fla4a,u.h M*4 t.4..-h as n di i.i.i - 'di a. St - i. fiitn a as at - - ib_ - r-..la.in._ittt1a-.n- fld,t.:ifl..nttlit.n $51 as AtiidL - IA O O.Wi Y4 C tcircirne1 t &,08 (7, " - a ttot5 0 SI ' * O c S 2 5 4i V 4' Al - a V 172

187 *dpi ym ftti. h...,4fl Ift,-by1t,.pftpilfl tft ft ftft ftft? h..,1 ftftiikftft.ftiftt$d. PARIS..with prices Now much LOWER NEW MEDICINE Her silverplate he proud to own SELLING BETTER HOMES. Meal-time brighteners... Uf\'bIJUI.TEI) SE1MCE on the 201h Century the new 'Sillcen-iiet' awl more hair QodeyShelvaelorSeft Most P pular Televisio h Gladiators of the Broadcasting World FORHAM FOR HAMBURGER More than Boston Beans ALL-WEATHER Rim Relure He My Favorite Husband BilleT f/clot EVENING HOUR Open ilair Curlers You Can Grow fttk t Murray Hill a C flsc' '2 \kltimoflt 173

188 Gala Jh1 thought of Daisy the removal outs offices CHARACTER--first the aster Egg a new ttca%3ec 170lit IIAPPF PilOYY2ORAPhZ3? Thi-s New Ee1nsive ThII1 NAJ2JI0NAL LEAGUE 1ptionn] Imported, Fabric REGENT the &xmi j smoke at am ps HeIPG's the soap fot Baby! THE, PACKARD DELLIXFI CLIPPERS Miss Wendy Pa..e flbl-day FASHIONS frnyóeeifñ'o Je*L. P!!18 elegance bejond Tuesday Wednesday (JOUR ThWY DAIS! MII,.d Aft.&B' rtrn fl= 174

189 1gilore Case/ F. Happy 11oine 4 '%thothjs 11th Swans Down CONEINIENTtI TOUCH MakeYour Own at Home!Jf1'FIIUIKLWIIIFJIIJJIJ PROMOTION LOG Revolutionary dress ABM STRONG PURE FOAMS so Smart lcohing... it true what they say about Chinese Doctors? I 'M MDSUM( mattress with all these extras THREE FEtTHIB$ BRJDAL SflOWEB., For that flea! Maple Flavor ' I.1" 'JOWl (1C$I(Jll al U'81J$ CM ii lieu HEAT FE YEll American Woman Lounge Furniture h,aitay Murray Hill y,.fll.tlhi 175

190 MMIN father in there P4 the galloping goose... TEE COOPER V2U0S STUDZIC EA2WBOOK Aa-!IvtRI AH rish 9) ttttt SMOO2'Jj 4 otd I: THE SI-low THE BOZITHERN NEW ENGLAND TELEPHONE COMPANY The 1100-v vented 2A S;Lt C' music ell, Flo ttrofllfl t'43 bett9 New En1and Kitchens hualilulinaur MET HER MATCH tong LO2T VILLAGE 4 ouu,ua r '.. 'UNCAVA tale of ESQUIMAUX LANE BENDIX DUOMATIC WASHER-DRYER Old styluhootinq France Lost Te3cas SOLD FASHIONED TELISION TELEVISON TELEV!S16N UMBREWWEATHER 176

191 177

192 10n1Th! ci...] u'iii iu ii:rui ni x Io Throughout the '60s and into the 70s Photo-Lettering issued a colorful collection ofspecimen books ranging in size SYCMDLITY3 updates between issues of the Alphabet Thesaurus. The others were whims of the moment presenting letters in n:mr.rnr woodrypt SS fltn nncmzln-c Cr 178

193 o4tzki ITj F from 12 pages to 128 some ofthem printed on stockas exotic as butcher's wrapping paper. Six of these books were focus with whatever aesthetic craze was currently exciting to the in-group. It was a merry-go-round of fan and frolic. 179

194 180 In 1953 we developed the ProType machine which was scarcelymore than a drawing board with some photo-oriented trappings. Indeed its controls were manipulated in much the same way as a draftsnian uses his tools. That was not accidental. In the early '30s we had nursed the Rutherfords to mechanical perfection with micrometer and microscope. Now with twenty years hindsight we would prune away the mystique and keep only the most basic photo-lettering essentials, to give the art a bicycle.simplicity for which we had acquired deep respect But.ProType had the misfortune of being born in a decade. where push button sophistication was king. The story is told beginning on page 84.

195 i * ITC Quorum Book abcdefghkirnnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ O(&.,:;!? *$C%) Excellence in typography is the result of no thing more than an attitude. Its appeal co mes from the understanding used in its pta nning; the designer must care. In contempo -J WEIGHT WIDTH ROUNDS DESCENDERS I I II i o o o cz:,,..i >oujo>'n Iothth l,ujowi Ci Cc 0 0 ' -J -4 Oo o0 Cr An alphabetical listing oftype names serves quite well for selecting styles from a small collection ofjces. But as the collection grows into the thousands a more visual method of cataloging and selection is required. so that styles lost to memory may not be overlooked. The thesaurus method is described beginning on page 97. In its most sophisticated form, however, it is shown here. The system uses the Kevsort 0 procedure of pinpoint retrieval as follows: All styles are grouped into general categories and subcategories as shown below. In this illustration the Keysort card (above)displays ITC Quorum Book. It has been notched along the top for category Band sub category.3. (The notches in a tray ofcards with this particular coding are in prefect align. ment. Any misfiled card, therefore, breaks the alignment and stands out vividly.) Along the bottom edge the card is notched with characteristics of width, weight, shape of rounds, x-height, and length of descenders. When either of two terms might be used to describe a characteristic, both terms are notched.to extracffrbm the hundreds of cards in a tray only those few with precisely the weight, width etc. that meets the artistic requirements of the job under consideration, long needles are inserted through holes in the entire pack at the points representingthe particularcharacteristics desired. Then the tray is turned over and the desired few cards drop out, leaving the rest held in place by the needles. 181

196 I I I )\} \ Orr V N\\P=======/! Lii U 'C H I / 0 2r, oli - (Th ft S ^^30^^ j7 182 LDER EII)

197 H H Pm LPLJ H H --l LI H Pfl Hni H ^71, H H L-f-A H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H N C C C CC)d C E C t C 0) UI (CI- I (4_C) C).0 C) UIt (C C (0 UIC C) (C UI C UI UI.0 C) (4-C)C) 9 0 C -,. C C g E. 02, UI C)C C) C)t.O0. a (C 0 0) L (C UI (C 0 C) _C C C C) C a UI C)Q(C E - C9 0 C) COQ C UI0CI UI C) C UI - C) C a C UI t UI IDh. lli!iiili(iiil SI Mffl a LLA LU LH. H H HH H H x >< H H H HH DED H 183

198 Co If) C) C C tto - (0 oct '0()0 tn 0 -O 0 oct 0-c t t - 0 V (C 0 Ct Cr O o E C, O o t S'.2 0 ) o oiaulvj nhijdpqmjdjv ) 0 E -2 o.0 ofloti'ct! 1 g-5..2 'CE SR 0:0 5 H H oct om-. E (fl Ct (-(0 N Ii ; I I C-, (3 z II L...J g ii 1 Opticon a I'J o J c I_mi cj OpticonL,, ' It:1 ad 6uidcyou luotlfln,u Ciovioqvq!!.2 2 E.2 f' O.Acfl.t.0 ro C)Cfl 00!& T ac.2 C2 'Jr Jules D. 'c c> N In Haro(IH. opficon ucotzdo C? D3U2113 I C) C (3 z Ci fluv43 d'm H200 a- V Alphabet Plate Mahing i Cr 0.E 50 o 0 Sti3 Ct C- - C) CJ xc) -v5 r)r)rnrfl 0 COO CO (fl N N C0 CO NC,) (N ON (C) C, to Alphabet Plate Cwnem 184

199 I W 14 o ill) 1. ' 1 4 -' I ijc

200 Have you ever considered the meny benefits of a simplified phonetic spelling that sounds just like it's written? A spelling that children, adults and foreign students can learn quickly, without laborious memorizing. Most countries have such a spelling. We could have it too. The first writers rigidly matched letters to sounds, but those who came after them polluted the system, botched up its simplicity and, for no good reason at all, left us with several hundred different ways to spell our 43 simple sounds! Let's go back to phonetic spelling and give our children a real hedstart. Let's, give them tools to read and write enything they can hear or say. And now, at last, it can be done without adult re-schooling because computer magic will do the tough part for us -automatically. Interested? Read on... The spelling in the paragraph above is very slightly simplified. It represents the first step in a series of step-by-step simplifications. The paragraph below is semi-simplified. It represents about the mid-point or 20th step in a series of simplifications. Hay you ever considered the meny benefits ov a simplified fonetic speling that sounds just like it's riten? A speling thai: children, adults and forin students can learn quickly, without laborius memorizing. Most cuntryz ha y such a speling. We could hay it too. The first rieters rijidly matched leters to sounds, but those hoo came after them polooted the sisterri, botched up its simplisity and, for no good reeson at all, left us with several hundred diferent ways to spel our 43 simpl sounds! Let's go back to fonetic speling and giv our children a reel hedstart. Let's giv them tools to reed and net enything they can beer or say. And now, at last, it can be dun without adult re-skooling because computer majic wil do the tuf part for us - automaticaly. Interested? Reed on... The paragraph below is frilly simplified, completely phonetic. Hay u ever considerd ± meny benefits cv a simplified fonetic speling that soundz just liek it's riten? A speling that children, adults and forin stoodents can lum qildy, without laborius memoriezing. Moest cuntryz hay such a speling. We cuud hay it too. Th furst rieterz rijidly macht lets to soundz, but thoez hoo caem after them polooted th sistem, bocht up its simplisity and, for no guud reezon at aul, left us with several hundred diferent waez to spel our 43 simpl soundz! Let's go bak to fonetic speling and giv our children a reel hedstart. Let's giv them took to reed and net enything thae can heer or sae. And now, at last, it can be dun without adult re-skoolina becauz compueter majic wil do th tuf part for us automaticaly. How? Reed on

201 Author's manuscript in traditional spelling Have you ever considered the many benefits of a simplified phonetic spelling that sounds just like it's written? A spelling that children, adults and foreign students can learn quickly, Without laborious memorizing. Most countries have such a spelling. We could The Keyboard Operato; types in traditional spellin; as always. Finished typesetting in simplified spelling Hay u ever considerd di meny benefits cv simplified fonetic speling that soundz just liek it's riten? A speling that children, adults and form stoodents can turn qikly, without laborius memorisng. Moest countryz hay such a speling. We cuud hay it too. Tb furst scriebz rijidiy macht leterz to soundz, but thoez hoc caem after them pobooted di sistem, bocht up its simplisity and, for no good res. Zen at anl, left us with three hundred diferent waez to spel With ten percent of our population severely illiterate and another ten percent unable to fill out ajob application blank or read the label on a bottle, it's time to remove the major barrier to reading and writing by eliminating the irregularities of English spelling. For centuries this was a utopian dream, but today all our printed matter could be set in regularized, simplified spelling automatically, just by reprogramming our photo-typesetters - without retraining any keyboard operator. Reading simplified phonetic spelling for the first time is like going back to the town of your childhood after twenty or thirty years absence. There are many changes, but you can find your way around and you'd soon get used to it. Y +4 Photo-typesetter The photo-typesetting machine is programmed to convert the traditionally spelled words received from the keyboard into simplified spelling as it sets the type. 187

202 SOT]NDSPEL ALPHABIU' KEY This is the complete Soundspel alphabet, with footnotes explaining how the system achieves a relatively comfortable visual relationship to traditional spelling. Children, adults and foreign students who learn this 1-page system will be able to write, in Soundspel, anything they can say in English. The concept is not novel: it is, for English, an equivalent of the phonetic spelling used daily by all who write in Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, Swahili and hundreds ofother western languages. Some day a system like this may free us from the ordeal of memorizing the spelling irregularities that are found in more than ioo.000 English words. a ae at age dgo b ch bit church f g d dot aa ar air at, aw father hard fair auto saw m&oon e ee 4 er' eer edit meet baker cheer systdmatic bdgin io h I ie'iu fit at it ice editorial got easily champion auditorium k,c M II ng j kit Oat let men net judge blar?ket sip 0 hot atdm oe 4 of open oil P q r red pet arnt - t th u Lint this L! in V W valve wet wh whet x's exam expert 00 or ooze order (dffice) memorandum rr arrow Ssets sorrow hurry ue unit dccumt!late jir urgent y" z yet zones victory3- ia5 0u, ow out how sh shut uu put zh azure Short vowels (aol o) In unstressed Syllables are often given a neutral pronunciation close W the sound "oh" (ago, system, easily, atom). Phonetists call this diluted sound "eohwa'l 5 When'ar and 'or' are followed by a stressed vowel (maroon, memorandum) the a and o are pronounced as an unstressed "UII", and the 'r' begins a new syllable, See note' - The vowel-sound ½-ee" (half-ee) is heard In the firsts of tetween'. It is never stressed, has about ball the duration of ee, and some of the tonal qualities of short 1. At or near the beginning of a word it is written e' (event, debate, reality); further on in the word It is written y' (pitothil, sillyness, victory); and it is written Tin the unstressed vowel combinations Is to I. (editorial, champion, auditorium). 188 To keep certain words looking familiar, final may be dropped from a soundspel word ending in ee (weø), Is (aiibi9), as (goo). The pronunciation of'ur' end 'or' is Identical. 'ur' is always used in stressed syllables (urgent), 'er' in unstressed (baker). In casual speech, final and semi-final ar' and 'or' are often pronounced like er' (couar, dootoral). If is pronounced 'ng' when followed by Ic a,, or x (blanket,banquet,jinx). When 'o' Is followed by If, as, ng, th (office, cross, long, cloth) it is always stressed and usually pronounced like the c In 'or' (or like the 'aw' In 'saw') o When a e 0 u are followed by 'rr' the vowels are stressed and keep their normal shortvowel pronunciatiom 'In unstressed syllables 'us' becomes a very short diphthong pronounced ¼yu (like the second'u' In accumulate). 10 Both 'th' and 'x' have voiced and unvoiced pronunciations: Voiced th (as in this); unvoiced th (as In thin). The voiced x (a "gz" sound as In exam) Is always folloãed by a vowel; the unvoiced x (a 'ks" sound as In box, expert) is never followed by a vowel. At the beginning of a syllable yls always a consonant (yet, beyond). At the end of a syllable it is always an unstressed vowel (holy, victory, pityflul). See note'. Soundspel has two self-evident abbreviations: u= you, th= the; three traditional spellings: to= W. do.-do, -fat=-flul; and. In keeping with other languages,a lowercase pronoun: 11.

203 Typical page of Soundspel Dictionary Hyphen indicates no change in spelling. Number at right shows frequency of occurrence in a million words of modern English. TRADITIONAL SOUNDSPEL SPELLING PHONETIC chapeau...shapo...1 chape chapels...chapelz...2 chaperon...shaperoen...1 chaperone...shaperoen...1 chaperoned...shaperoend...1 chaplain... Chaplin...5 chaplains...chaplinz...1 chaplet chaps chapter chapters...chapterz...17 char character... karracter characteristic...karracteristic... 1 characterize...karracteriez...6 characterized...karracteriezd.. 25 characterizes... karracteriezez..4 characterizing...karracteriezing 1 characters... karracterz...41 charade...sharaed...1 charades...sharaedz...1 charcoal...charcoel...15 charcoaled...charcoeld...1 charge... charj chargeable...charjabl...1 charged...charjd...63 charges... charjez charging....charjing... 9 chariot...chaniot...3 charioteer...chanioteer...1 chariots...chaniots...1 charisma...carizma...1 charitable...charritabl...5 charitably...charritably...1 charities...charrityz...4 charity... charity... 9 charlatan...sharlatan...1 charlatans...sharlatanz...1 charm charmed...charmd...3 charmer charming charmingly charms...charmz...2 charnel charred...chard...1 chart charted charter chartered...charterd...4 charters... charterz... 4 charting TRADITIONAL SOUNOSPEL SPELLNG PHONETIC chartreuse...shartrooz...1 chartroom charts charwoman...charwuuman... 1 chase...chaes...19 chased...chaest...1 chases...chaesez...2 chasing... chaesing... 3 chasm...kazm...2 chasms...kazrnz...1 chassepot...shaspo...1 chassis...shasy...1 chaste...chaest...1 chasten...chaesen...1 chastise... chastiez...1 chastised...chastiezd...1 chastisement... chastlzment... 2 chastising...chastiezlng...1 chastity... 2 chasuble... chazuebl...1 chat chateau...shato...3 chatelaine...shatelaen...1 chats chatted...chated...2 chattel...chatel...1 chattels... chatelz...1 chatter...chater...8 chatterbox... chatterbox...1 chattered...chaterd...3 chatterer... haterer...1 chattering...chatering...6 chatting...chating...2 chatty... chaty... 1 chauffeur... hoefer... 4 chauffeured...sfloeferd...1 chauffeurs...shoeferz...1 chauvinism... shoevinizm... 1 chaw cheap... cheep cheapen...cheepen...1 cheapened...cheepend...1 cheaper...cheeper...12 cheaply...cheeply...3 cheapskate... cheepskaet... 1 cheat... cheet...3 cheated...cheeted...4 cheating...cheeting...1 check...chek...99 checkbook...chekbuuk...5 checked... thekt checker... cheker... 1 checkerberry... cliekerberry... 1 TRADITIONAL SOUNDSPEL SPELLING PHONETIC checkmate... chekmaet... 1 checkoff...chekoff...1 checkpoint...chekpoint...1 checkrein...chekraen...1 checkroom... chekroom... 1 checks...cheks...18 checkup... chekup...2 checkwriter... hekrieter... 1 cheek cheekbone...cheekboen...1 cheekbones... cheekboenz...5 cheekily cheekiness... cheekynes... 1 cheeks cheeky cheer... 9 cheered...cheerd...2 cheerful '...11 cheerfully... cheerfuly...5 cheerfulness... cheerfulnes... 1 cheerily cheering cheerleaders... cheerleederz... 1 cheerless...cheerles...1 cheers...cheerz...4 cheery cheese...cheez...10 cheeseburger... cheezburger... 1 cheesecake... cheezcaek... 1 cheesecloth cheeseparing... cheezpairing... 1 cheetah...cheeta...1 chef... hef chefs... hefs... 1 chemical...jemical...67 chemically... kemicaly... 5 chemicals... kernicalz... 4 chemise...shemeez...1 chemist... kemist... 1 chemistries...kern -ii cherish cherish cherker cherry... cherub chess cher Its called 50 Years Hence Honible!snt she ofnght!!

204 190 Index The letter "m" following a page number refers to a marginal note. The instmction 'see page" followed by a Roman numeral I refers to an introductory page. References beyond page 140 relate to illustrations. Abecedef, 77 Abrams, George, 75 Abstract art form, 122 Ace Books Inc, 92 Addressograph-Multigraph Corp. 84 AdLet, Inc, 101 Agha, Dr. Mehemed Fehmy, 78 Albers,Josef;72 Albright, Frank. 106 Alcock, Daisy, 79, 90, 162 Alice in Wonderland, 123 Allen, John, 72,100 Alphabet(s) catalog displays, classification of, ,124-7,181 critiquing and selecting, 119ff. designers of; 65, 90 identification 01;94,98-100,181 master photo-lettering plates of; 40-41,150-51,156 periods of; See also particular period phonetic, origin of, 1-2 phonetic, use of in English, 130ff, protection of design, 76-77,115, royalty to designers, Slavic, 2-4, style showings, style classification of ,181 thesaurus displays, tuning, technique for, 123 Alphabet Day, 3-4, Alphabet Gallery, 73,93,139, Alphabet Lab, 117 Alphabet Thesaurus, 90,97-100, 127,181 Alphanumeric Inc, 114 Alphatype, 114,117 Amateur printers, 7,11-15,105, American Artist; The, 72 American Banknote Company, 45 American Home, 92 American-English, 139 American Type Founders Co, 10-11, 16-19,22,76,113 Americana, art period, 100, 122,178 Amsterdam Type Foundry, 80 Anamorphic lenses, 40,72M, 80,152, 156,162 Anatomy of letters, 122,125, Anscombe, Francis, 25 Anti-social problems, approaches to correction of; 134,139, Apostles' Creed, 79-80,182 Aquatania s_s., 37 Aristotle, Greekphilosopher, 4 Art Deco, 48,100,122,149,178 Art Direction, 80 Art Nouveau, 10, 37,42,100,122,178 Anton, 114, 115 example of seepage x system of copyjitting, 128 Asheville, 24,30 Association Typographique Internationale, 115 Augmented Roman Alphabet, 130 Avant Garde, 116 Avenues, See Streets and Avenues Avon Books, 92 Bacicslanting, 56 Bacon, Paul, 92 Bagge, early inventor, 43 Bahamas, 57 Bahnson, Mrs. Fred, 20 Ballentine Books Inc, 92 Baltimore, 33 Baltimorean press, 8 Bands, See Orchestras and Bands Bank stationery 34 Bamhdrt Brothers & Spindler, 10, 19 Baroque period, 122 Bartuska, Frank 73,76, go, 100 Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, 58 64,92 Battle of Britain, 5879 Battle of the Bulge, 67 Bauer Giesseri, 121 Bauhaus period, 29, 122, 149 Beal, Lester, 92 Beeber, Herman, 89 Beers, Paul, gi Bell,LP. Co, 13 Benguiat, Ed, 72,73,90,113,118,122, 183 Benöhr, Gertraude, 81 Benton & Bowles Inc, 92 Benton punch cutter, 19 Berdanier, Paul, 52 Berger, ChiefJustice Warren, 134 Bethke, Amos, 46,57 Bicycle simplicity, 84-86,180 Big-little Print Shop period, 13-15, period, later references, 32, 105, 120 Biow Inc, 92 Biscardi, Jeff, 102,112 Blair, John Fries, 13 Blum, John Christian, ioô Blum Print Shop & Almanac, 12, ,148 Blumquist, Arthur, 52 Bogdan,Jerry, 118 Bolza, Albrecht, 5 Bonagura, Tony, 73,76, go Book-of-the-Month, 92 Borders, ornamental, 96 Borge, Victor, 128 Boring, Edwin, author's grandfather, 8 Bosco, Alfred, 67 Boyajian, Robert, 76 Boy Scouts, 13 Brennan, Francis (flank), 62 Brodovitch, A]exey, 72,78 Brooke, Rupert, 62 Brown University, 138 Buckley, William, 74 Budapest, 63, 89 Bulgaria. 2-4, Builen, Henry Lewis, 18 Burns, Aaron, 93, Burrage, Edgar, 6 Burner, Miss Anna, 26

205 Cc Cacuciollo, Frank, 118 Calces, Roman, 113 Cailtins & Holden Inc. 92 Calligraphy, 76,79, 81,101, 161 Camera copying, unauthorized, 76,115, 124 Camp, artfad of late 60S, 122 Campbell Soup, 102 Canson-Montgolfier, handmade papermaker, 29,37 Carnegie, Andrew, 131 Cartouche, acrophonic designation, 1 Capitol building, Washington, 21,124 Card game, 49 Carlyle, Paul, 73 Cannella, Louis, 74, 91-92,184 Carnase, Tom, 101 Carnegie Hall, 27 Carter, Matthew, 124 Cartoonists, 124 Caruso, Victor, 91,117 Cary, Melbert, 28,31 Caslon, Ralph, 79 Caslon, William, 50,79,126 Catalogs, Photo-Lettering 1936 edition, edition, edition, edition, edition, 72, edition, 89-90, ,'65, '7o, Alphabet Thesaurza Volumes 1,2,3, , supplements, Cavanagh, J.Albert, 67 Censorship in the South, 13 Cezanne, Paul 37 Chace, Gordon, 67,74, 92,184 Chapel Hill, 21,23,26-27,30 Chapel Hill Weekly, 24 Chappell, Warren, 5m Charlie Brown, too Cherokee Indians, 24 Chicago World Fair, 9 Chinese typesetters 30 Chinese writing romanized, 2 Choirs church, 27,147 Dessoff, glee club, 24 Westminster 27,147 Christmas, 57,88 Churchill, Winston, 4, 58,72 Chwast, Seymour, 100 Ciba Pharmaceutical Co, 92 Cincinnati, Art Academy, 33 Symphony Orchestra, 27 Circoflairs 69, Clark Manufacturing Co. 44 Clasication of typefaces, , ,181 Gay, Dr. Albert, archaeologist. 17 Cloud Nine, 36 Cobb, Irving, humorist, 14 Colleges and Universities Brown University 138 Cincinnati Art Academy, 33 Columbia University, Drake University, 131ff. Duke University 23 École de Beaux Art, 91 École de Lairs, 81 Moravian College, 25 National Academy of Art, 91 North Carolina School for the Arts. 104 North Carolina, University of Chapel Hill, 21, 23,104 Ocean County College, 136ff. Pratt Institute, 91, 94 Salem College, 8,14,25-26,104,146 Westminster Choir College, 27,147 Colliers, Columbia Broadqasting System, 71, 92 Columbia Pictures, 92 Columbia Records, 71, 92 Columbia University, Communipaw Avenue 11,18 Competition, 13, 58, 77, 89 Compton Advertising Inc, 58, 92 Compugraphic, 114 Computerized transliteration, 135ff, , Condé Nast, 58,16o Congress, U.S., 124 Contact principle, in setting display manually, 68 Cormor, Miss Sophia, ioô Consume, Union, 92 Contempo Inc. 92 Continental Typefounders, Copyfitting, 29,128 Copying, unauthorized, 76, 115, 124 Copyright, 76, Coryn, CE., 67,73,160 Cosmopolitan, 92 Counterfeiting, 5,35,61 Country Gentleman, 92 Cousins, Norman, 4 Crist & Keehln, printers, 12, 107 Crootof Harold, go Croton-on-Hudson, 61,73, 128 Croton River, 130 Crown, Milton, 72 Cubist art form, 122 Curving, 56, 69 circoflair, cylindrical, 166 fan, 157 ogee, 169 spherographic, 173 Custom photo-lettering, description, 156 Cypress, Acey, 90 Cyrillic, 2-4, 'ri Dacheau, Rene, 9 Dada art form, 122 D'Amico, James, go, too Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample Inc. 92 David, Ismar, 76,90 Davison, MJvL (Dave), 67,73, too Decker, Johanna, 92 Decker, Richard, 67,69,73-74,86,92, 114,118,164,184 Dellegrazie, Mike, 118 Dell Publishing Co Inc. 92 Department of Agriculture, U.S., 124 Depression, The Great, 36-37,43,45 Des Moines, 132, Dessoff Choir, DeWette,Julian, 34-35,38,46,48-49, 64, 67,74, 92,98, i08,184 Dewey Decimal System, 136 Dewey, Godfrey, Dewey, Margaret, 137 Dewey, MeMI, 131,136 Didot, typeface, 78 Didot measurements, 121 Directo-Plate Co, 39 Distortion, 57, 90. See also Photoftex Dom, Pete, 72 Donahue & Coe Inc, 92 Doubleday & Co Inc. 92 Downtime projects, 75 Doyle Dane. Bernbach Inc, 92 Drake University, 131 Dreyliis,John, 82,124 Drop shadow, 56, 67,165 Dry operation, 95 Duke University, 23 DuPont gardens, 27 DuPont, E.I. & Co, 92 DuPrè, Marcel, 83 E Easter, Moravian service, 16, 146 Easter band, 16 Eastman Kodak Co., 64,92 Ecole de Beaux Arts, 91 Ecole de Lairs, 82 Editing photo-lettering, 51, 90,156 Electrographic Corp. 47, 49, 52, 86, 109,116 Electronic(s) techniques in photocomposing, 68, as key to spelling reform, 131ff, 187 Elevated trains, 18,30,58, 61 Employee relationships, Emporia Gazette, 24 England, 57-58,78 English as a second language, 133,139 Enschede, type foundry, 81 Enterprise, The, 7 Erie ferry, 41 Erie Railroad, 35 Esquire, 92 Estimating, 22 Esty, Wm., Co. 92 Ettenberg, Eugene, 4 European type foundries, 10, 28,79-81, 121 Evaluations, system of 110 Eueryu'o man, 92 Excoffon, Roger, 82 Extra!, 14

206 F Faces. See Alphabets Family Circle; 92 Famous Artists Schools, 92 Fawcett Publications Inc, 92 Ferwin, Anthony, 57 Fetter Lane, London, 79 Feuerhake, Herb, 75 Fifty Books of the Year, 31 Fiedler, Hal, 100 Filmotype, 68,84-86 Flexibility, 40, 118ff 152,156 Flexo-lettering, 68 Floor layouts, 49,160-61,177,184 Focal plane adaptation, 56-57,157, 164mff. Foote, Cone & Belding, 92 Ford Motor Company, 92,156 Fortune; 74 Fotosetter, 113 Fraktur letters, 4 France, 58, 67,81-82 Francis, Dr.W.N., 138 Franklin, Ben, 4, 21,131,135 Freeman, Paul, 76 Frutiger, Adrian, 82,124 Fuchs & Lang Co., 32,53 Fuchs, Murray, 96 G Garamond, type, 18 Garth, Bill, 87 Gay Nineties, 122 Gelberg, Dan, 90 Gellert, Jim, 117 General Electric Co, 92 General Foods Corporation, 102 General Motors Corporation, 92 General Printing Ink Corp. 32,34 Ghoti, 130 Giarmirioto Associates Inc, 92 Gullies, Williams, 90 Glamour, 92 Glaser, Milton, 100 Glee Club, 24 Glogower,Jay, 90 Gluck, Alma, 104 Gode, Alexander, 97 Golden, William, 62 Goldman Band, 16,18 Goldman, Henry, 87 Good Housekeeping, 92 Gordon press, 20 Goslin,J.B. and Allen, Goody, Bertha, 120 Goudy, Fred, 31, 77, 120 Gouvernali, Sandi, 76,100 Government Printing Office, U.S., 131 Graphic Systems Inc, 114 Grand Central Station, 74, 91 Gravity as reliable power, 99 Gray, Walter M., 112 Greenwich Village, 32,41 Grey Advertising Inc. 92 Griffin, Bill, 101 Griffin, Frank, 74,92,184 Griffith, Thomas, Guillaume, Marcel, 160 Gutenberg Bible, 5,89 Gutenberg, Johann, 4-5,35,50,81,89 Gutenberg Museum, 81 H Hallmark Cards, 114 Halloween, 13 Hand lettering 51,118,121 See also Calligraphy. See also Letterers alphabet gallery exhibits, 73, red hot, 75 Harpers Bazaar, 78, 92 Harper & Bros Inc. 92 Harris, Elizabeth, 140 Harrison, Alfred, 118 Hart Schafflier & Marx, 92 Hartz, SL, Enschede foundry, 80 Hassler, Charles, 80 Hazard Advertising Co Inc, 92 Headliner, (machine), 68,83, 113 Headliners of New York Inc. (process lettering), 68 Beam Department Store, 36 Hebrew alphabet, 2 romanized design, 62 Hell's Eltchen, 30 Hemingway, Ernest, 4 Henrion, F.H.K,, 80,90 Herald Tribune, 70 Herman,Jj., 94 Herman, Otto, 96 Herterick, Dorothy, 64,92,184 Hess, Stanley, 131 Hieroglyphics,i Higonnet & Moyraud, 68-69,87,113 Hill, Edwin C., commentator, 38 Historic restorations. See Restorations and Museums Hite, Harold, 90 Hitler, Adolf, 57, 62 Hodgltinson, Geoffrey, 74 Holland (Netherlands), 58,80 Holland, Hollis, 72-73,100 Holland Tunnel, 47 Holt, Gustav, 64 Homecoming for the Rutherfords, 109 Homophones, 138 Hoover, Herbert, 37 Horman, Harold, seepage vi, 32, 34-35,38,42-43,60,74,82,84, 86-87, 92,94,184 Horman, Phyllis Playford, 34,60 Homan, Noelle, 60 Horman, Roger, 60 Hotels Paris-Dinard, Robert E. Lee, 22 Travelers, 18 WaldorfAstoria, 30, 69 Zinzendorf; 22 Housatonic River, 22 FfouseBeautjfl4 92 Hymns, 16, 18,24,63,79,80, 162 Hyphenation, 129 Ii IBM, 92,114 Ideal Publications Inc, 92 Illiteracy, , Illustrators Inc, 75 Immerman, So t, 90 Indexing, system for letter forms, ,181 Indiana, Robert, 101 Initials, placement of; 120 International goodwill, 58 International Printing Ink Corp. 32 International Typeface Corp. 115ff. Intertype, 68,115 Inventors and Inventions Alphabet, The, 1-3, Alphanumenic, 114 Alphatype 114 Arfron, ,128 ATh Phototypesetter, 19,113 Bagge, 43 Burrage, 6 Compugraphic, 114 Cosmographs, 103 Dacheau, 9 Decker, 69, &6,114,180 Filmotype, 68,84 Focal plane reproportionig 56-57, 166m, Fotosetter, 68 Goldman, 87 Graphic Systems, 114 Griffin, 101 Headliner, 68,83 Higonnet, 68 Homan, 33-34,39-41,36,69, &4-87, 94-95,180 IBM, proportional spacing typewriter, 114 Japanese photocomposer, 35m Ilm, 103 Lanston, 9 Has, 103 Linofllm, 86,113 Linotype, 6-7 Lumitype, 69 Megatype, 114 Mergenthaler, 6-7 Mergenthaler VIP, 117 Monophoto, 114 Monotype, 9 Movable type, 5 Moyraud, 68 Optype, 114 Pantotype, 9 Photo-Lettering early step & repeat 33-34,150 further development 39-41, commercial operation, 51ff, , phosphorous image retention Photon, 68,87-88 Process lettering, 34-35,59, 69 ProType 84-87,180 Rondthaler, 39-41,56,69,84-86, 94-95, 128ff 180 Spectrakrome, Staromat, 95 Todd, 34 Typro, 68 Uhertype, 43 Varitype, 114 Xerox, 55 Islar Thompset lithographers, 34 ITC (International Typeface), nsff.

207 Ji Japanese American, 61 Japanese writing romanized, 61 Japan Paper Company, 29 Jefferson, Thomas, 4 Jersey City, 10, 21 Johns-Manville, 92 Johnson, Edward, 79 Johnson, Samuel, 4,135 Jugendstil, 10 Kk Kansas City, 24 Kaufman, Herbert, 32,35-36,45 Kaufinnn, Richard M., 67 Keepsakes, 88-89,100,163 Kelmscott Press, 9 Kelsey press, 8, U, 144 Kennedy, John F., us Kenyon & Eckhardt Inc. 92- Kerning, 120 Keyboards, early electronic, 68 Artron, t3 Kaysort, 99,127,181 Kim, Hongsup, 57,103, 112, 118 King Features Syndicate, 92 KingJames, 4 King Onis, 1,140 Klingspor Type Foundry, 81 Koch, Rudolf 80,140 Koefoed,Jean, 100 Kohl, Howard, Kopec, Frank. 53, 64, 67,74,92,95, 98,101,108,117,164,184 Kopec, Steve, 42, 49, 53, 64,74, 92, 98,118, 184 Koppe, AT., 39,43,45 Koven, Mack, 90, Kreisler, Fritz, 103 Kucera, Dr. Henry, linguist 138 Kudner Advertising Inc, 92 Li Ladies HomeJourns4 92 Lake Placid Club, 136 Lambert & Feasley Inc. 92 Lamp, The, 92 Lancastria S.S., 57 LaRoche, CJ., Inc. 92 LaRussa, Tony, 75 Layh, Patricia, 112 Lee, Montague, Co, 29,31,70 Lee & Phillips Inc, 31,36-37 Lee, Robert E., hotel, 22 Legacy to the future, 118 if Legibility, 123 Lennen & Newell Inc, 92 Letter elements, 125, Letter forms classification of, ,124-27,181 critiquing and selecting, 119ff designers of 65,90 geometry of 125, identification of 94, ,181 master negatives of, 40-41,150-51, 156 protection of 76-77,115, specimens of tuning techniques for, 123 vocabulary for shapes of 90-91, Letterers, freelance designers, 65ff, 75 Alphabet gallery exhibits of 73, handlettering, 52,75, 118, 121 participating, 65-67, 72, 90, 100 red hot, 73 royalties to, winning the support of 66-67, 72-73,90 Lettering Inc, 59, 69,89 Letter recognition, 124 Lias, Edward, 103,136,138 Liberty bonds, 12 Library of Congress, 124 Lift 68,79, 80,87, 92,162 ligatures, 5 Lilly, Eli & Co. 92 Limericks, 130 Lincoln, Abraham, 4,127 Linofilm, 86,113 Linotype, 7,9,43,115 Lippincott & Margulies mc, 92 Literacy, problems of , London, Long Distance, 63,78 Longines-Wittnauer Watch Co. 92 Look. 92 Lord, Thomas & Logan Inc, 30 Lubalin, Bums & Co, 116 Lubalin, Herb, 101,115,117 Lumitype, Lynch, John, 74,140 Mm Macdden Publications Inc, 92 Macy, RH. & Co, 92 Mademoiselle, 78,92 Magazine Art Directors Show, 78 Magazines. See individual publications Mama, (3ennany, 4,81 Major Bowes Amateur Hour, 70 Malecki, Ed, 88 Management Policy, 109 Management Team, flo, 116 Manley, Frank, consultant, 110 Mann, Horace, 131 Manual of Styles, go. See also Catalogs, Alphabet Thesaurus Marsh, Sam, 52, 54 Manutius, Aldus, 129 Mathes,J.M.Inc, 92 Matisse, Henri, 37 Maxon Inc, 92 Maxwell House, 56 Max, Peter, Mayshark & Keyes Inc, 92 May the Twenty-fourth, 3, McAdams, Wm. Douglas Inc. 92 McCalls magazine, 92 McCann-Erickson Inc. 58, 63,74, 92 McCormack, john, singer. 104 McLane, David, photographer, 96 Meccano, 19.34,38 Megatype, 114 Megee, Garnett, 72 Mergqnthaler, Ottmar, 6-7,50,87 Mergenthaler Linotype Corp. 86 Mergenthaler VIP, 117,196 Merk, Willie, 47 Merrymount Press, 9 Metal handset type, 5,7-15, 18ff 29-32,144-45, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc, 92 Metropolitan Life Tnsurace Co, 92 Miller, Irving, 62 Miss Subways, U2 Modification, reproportioning, 90. See also Photoflex Monophoto, 114 Monotype, 9, 31,43, 68,79, 115 Montague Lee Co., 29,31,70 Montgomery Ward, Moore, Chas, 74,92,184 Moore,Jack, 73,74,92,184 Moravian Church, 16, 26, 146 Archives, 104,106 College, 25 Easter Service, 16 Music Foundation, 104 Old Salem Restoration, ,146 Morgan Ubraiy,J.R, 3m, 102 Morris, Ross, 64 Morris, William, 9 Morse International, 92 Moss, Jan, 96 Moss, Toby, 63 Motif, development of letter form, 122 Munich, 81 Murray Hill gothic. 55, 63,158-39, Murray Hill, telephone exchage, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Art, 104 Music church, 16, 27,104,162 instrumental, 16, 18,104,123 organ, 83 typographic, 32,123,162 vocal, 18, 24, 27, 147, 162 Nn National Broadcasting Co, 92 NationalCouncil of Churches, 82 National Endowment for the Arts, 105, 124 Nation'sBusiness, 92 Nay, U.S, 46, 64, 67 NBC Handbook ofpmnunciation, 138 New Richmond, Ohio, 33 News, The, U-13,105,144 Newspapers, amateur Enterprise, The, 7 News; The U-13, 105,144 Salem News, The, 13,14,145

208 Newspapers, daily and weekly Chapel Hill Weekly, 24 Chowan limes, 106 Charlotte Observer, 14 Daily News, New York, 86, 96 Daily Tar Heel, The, 23 Emporia Gazette, 24 japanese America 61 New York Herald Tribune, 70 New York Times., 29,113,121 New York Tribune, 7, 50 Philadelphia Enquirer, 92 Twin City Sentinel, 14 Winston-Salem journal, 8,13-14 New Testament, 25, 62 New YorkDaily News, 86, 96 New YorkHerald Tribune, 70 New York Philarmonic Orchestra, 104, 119 New York Times., 29,113,121 New York Tribune, 7, 50 New York Life Insurance Co, 92 Niebuhr, Reinhold, 100 Nieman, Kenneth, 92,184 Night service, 93 - Nile River, I North Carolina School for the Arts, 104 North Carolina, Univ. of, Chapel Hill, 21, 23, 104 Nostalgia supplement, 100 Now Generation, 101 Nowak, Stanley, 47-50, 52, 91 Oo Obliquing, 51,56,157, 167,175 Obround, 91 Ocean County College, 136 Ocracoke, North Carolina, 62 OEM (Office of Emergency Management), 62 Office of War Information (OWl), 62, 64 Ogden, Ashley, Ogee curving, 56,67,169 Ogg, Oscar, 72 Old Salem Inc, 12,104ff, 146 Oliverwriter, 8 O'Neill, ny, 74 One-Liner, Onomatopoeic typography, 32,148 Open construction, 85 Open house, 93 Optical effects, 90,176. See also Photoffex Opticon, 40,156 Optype, 114 Orchestras and Bands Cincinnati Symphony, 27 Goldman Band, 16,18 Moravian Easter Band, 16 N.Y.Philharrnonic, 104, 119 Salem College Orchestra, 16 Orient, 2 Off, Robert, Inc. 92 Ovink, Prof. Willem, 80 OWl (Office of Way Information), 62, 64 Pp Pacella, Vincent, 73-74,86,92,94,98, 117,184 Packaged products, 101 Pantograph tints, 33,155 Pantotype, 9 Papirtis, Charles, 73-74, 86, 92,114, 117,184 Parents, 92 Paris, Participating letterers, 65-67,72, 90, 100 Paul, Tony, 75, 90,100 Payne, Harry, 74,126 Peace efforts, 58,80-82 Peanuts, 100 Pearl Harbor, 61 Peignot, Charles, 82 Pen & Pencil restaurant, 79 Penrose Annual, 43,47,96 Pentagon, 1,56 Periscope, 40 Perpetual motion, 6 Pershing, General John, 15 Personnel policy, Perspectives, 69,157,171 Petzendorfer Atlas, 10 Pfohl, Bj., 16 Pfohl, Henry, 13,16-18, 21,23-24,27 105,145,147 Pfohl, Herbert, 12 Philadelphia, 45, 66 Philadelphia Enquirer The, 92 Phillipse Manor, 60 Phonemic Spelling Council, 136, 139 Phonetic symbols, alphabet, spelling, and writing, 1-2,130-40, Phonetic references, Phosphorous image retention, Photoflex cylindrical curving, 166 obliquing, 51, 56,157,167,175 ogee curving, 56, 67,169 optical effects, 90,176 origin of term, 49 outlining and shading, 165 overview ofphotoffex techniques perspectives, 69, 157,171 Photographic typesetting. See Typesetting, photographic Photo-lettering definition, 43 early examples of; flexibility of; 40,80, 118ff, 152,156,164ff four-step custom method of, 156 relationship to traditional litho engraving on stone, 34, relationship to hand lettering, Si, 52,54, relationship to type, 36,51,60, 118ff as service to ad agencies, 54 terminology, 90 Photo-Lettering Gazette, 112 Photo-Lettering Inc. establishment of first assignment, 51-52, period, the war years post-war years, period, period, period, period, period, after lg7o, 115ff floor layouts, 49,184 focal plane reproportioning, 56-57, 157 gallery for alphabets, 73, growth of alphabet library, 48-49, 59-60,74, ,122 ITC connection, usff. keepsakes, 88-89, 100,163 keyboard Artron, 114ff personnel policy, protection of designs, 77 sales and salesmen, 54,58,74 Spectra&ome color service, staff at various times, 64,184,185 style manuals, See Catalogs terminology, thesaurus. See Catalogs trickphotography, 59, 164ff See also Photoflex unitizing alphabets, 114ff writeups in publications, 72, 96,100 Photo-lettering machine. See Rutherford Photo-Lettering Machine Photon (Lumitype), 68-69, 87,113 Physics, 27,38 Picnic, Photo-Lettering staff1976, 185 Pictographic writing, 2 Pinelas, Ciepe, 78,160 Piscitelle, George, 67, 90 Pitman, SirJames, 136 Flayford, George, 34,49 Pocket Books Inc, 92 Pocono Lake Preserve, Point system, American and Didot, 11, 121 Ponds Cream, 51, Poptypes, art period, 122,178 Popular Publications Inc. 92 Post, Herbert, 80, 90 Posters of the 1960s, 101 Posters of World War 11,62-63, Post Office, 30, 66 Pow designs 100,178 Powers, Frank, 65 Pratt Institute, 91, 94 Prentld,John, 112, Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, 27, 29,70 Presser, Dr. Helmut, 81 Prince Rupert Drops, 137 Printing News, 73,160 Print, 115 Process lettering, 35,59,69 Programmers, 90,156 Promotional pieces, 100, ProType, 84-87,113,180 Psychological Corporation, The, 87 Psychedelitypes, 100, 178 Psychology at college, 27 tests, 28 of type design, 22, 27,87 Punch cutting of type by hand, 5 by machine, 19 Punctuation, suggestion for improvement, 129

209 Qq Qiakers,16-18, 24 Q1iarranta, contractor, 48 Qaeafly, Anne, 74, 92,184 Qtieen Elizabeth 11,79 Queen Wilhelmina, 80 Quick brown fox, 77,131 R Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 104 Railway Express Agency, 44.Railroad Gothic, 36, 55, Ramage Press, 106 Rand, Paul, 92 Random House Inc, 92 Dictionary of English Language, 137 Raspberry, Amos, pressman, 106 Ra2delsDiges4 92 Rebus typography, 32,149 Rfdbook, 92 Reid, Dorothy Mae, 21,27 Reid, Whitlaw, 7 Reilly, Joseph, 91 Reinhold Publishing Co, 100, 127 Renaissance period, 122 Renault, 101 Reproordoning with cylindrical concave and convex lenses, 40,152,156 with paper stretch, 53 terminologr, 90 using focal plane principle 56-57, 157,166-70, Restorations and Museums Ephrata, 104 Gutenberg Museum, 81 Museum of Early Southern Decorative Art, 104 Old Salem, 12,1041T, 146 Ripman, Walter, 137 Roaring '205 type styles, 122 Robert E. Lee Hotel, 22 Roberts, Harry, 29,37,70, 119, 120,148 Roberts, Mike, 112 Roberts, OwenJ., Justice U.S.Supreme Court, 17 Rodriguez-Benitez, Guillermo, 76 Rogers, Bruce, 9 Roget, Peter, lexicographer, 97 Rollins, Carl, 31 Rondthaler (with relationship to author) Christopher, grandson, 130 David Lee, son, 57,61 Dorothy, wife, 32, 41, 57,61,73,105 Bishop Edward, grandfather, 14, 16 Edward, Jr., son, 61 Elizabeth, sister, 25 Howard, father, 7,14,25-26,98,103 Jane, sister, 25 Katherine, mother, 12, Theodore, brother, 8, 21 Timothy, son, 61 Roosevelt, Franklin D., 4,37-38 Roston, Arnold, 62 Royalties to designers, Rubber type, 8,144 Ruckstuhl, CE., 46-58, 88 Ruddy, Alan, 86 Ruddy, Hartley, 64,74,86, 92,184 Rudge, William, 9 Rulings, ornamental, 96 Runic letters, 135 Rushmore, William, 31 Russia, 2,33 Rutherford Machinery Co. division of General Printing Ink Corporation, 32,35 development of photo-lettering machine, severance of connection with, Rutherford Photo-Lettering Machine, 39,42, , See also Photo-Lettering Baltimore step & repeat, 33,150 development in Rutherford, 34-47, installations of, opticon, 40,151 refinements in New York, 95, 156ff. reproportioning lenses, 80, 156, homecoming, iog Ruthrauff& Ryan Advertising Inc, 92 Ss Saints Cyril and Methodious, 2-3, Salem College, 8,14,16,25-26,104, 146 Salem, Old Salem, 12, ,146 Salem News, The, 13-14,145 Salem Square, 16,146 Salesmen, 43, 54,58, 74 Saqqara, 1, 140 Saturday Evening Post, 65,68,92 Saturday Review; The,, 77 Schaedler, Emil, 72,73 Schaedler, John, 75 Schiff, Bennett, 104 Schmidt, Klaus, 47 Schreibeis, Edward, 43 Schulgasser, Milton, 73 Schumann-Heink, Ernestine, 104 Scientific American, 92 Scoggin Print Shop, 10, 22 Scotto, Mike, 86, 92,184 Second Avenue Elevated, 58, 61 Self-contained operation, 53 Seurat, Georges, 37 Seventeen, 92 Shaar, Edwin, 72 Shaffher, Frank, 8 Shahn, Ben, 62 Shallcross, David, 118 Shakespeare, Wm., 4 Sharpe & Dohme Inc, 92 Shaw, Bernard, 130 Shell Chemical Co, 92 Shiller, Albert, 31 Sill, Reed, 90 Simon & Schuster Inc. 92 Simplicity Pattern, 92 Simplified Spelling Board, 137 Slater,Jerry, 160 Smith, 011ie, 118 Smithsonian Institution, 43, 124,140 Social reform, ,139-40, Sohn, George, 69,92 93, 98,110,117, 118, 184 Soler, Dan, 90 Soroka, Al, 90 Soundspel, , Spacing, 51,60,94-95,118-21,156 Specimen books. See Catalogs SpectraKrome, Speech impediment, 17,135 Spelling, disorderly, 8, 20, 100 reform, , Spencer, Hethert, 96 Spherographs, 69,173 Spinadel, Herman, 90 Stan, Tony, 67,72,73,75,118 Standard, Paul, 72,76,126 Staromat, 95 Stech, David, 63 Steinbeck, John, 134 Steinweiss, Alex, 71-72,92 Stempel Type Foundry, 80 Step & repeat, 33,36,39,42, 96, 155 Stephens, George, 24 Streets, Avenues, and Squares Front Street, 30 Coenties Slip, 30 Wall Steeet, 30 Chambers Street, 41 Pearl Street, 30 Pell Street, 30 Canal Street, 37 Allen Street, 30 Cooper Square, 18 Washington Square, 90 8th Street, 32 ioth Street, 31 12th Street, 32 14th Street, 36 15th Street, 37 20th Street, 43 23rd Street, 18 28th Street, 58 34th Street, 49 39th Street, 55 43rd Street, th Street, 29ff, 47ff, 71,75, 91 47th Street, 58 50th Street, 78 57th Street, 62 59th Street, 90 noth Street, th Street, 88 St. Nicholas Place, 29 2nd Avenue, 30, 48, 58 3rd Avenue, 30, 47 Lexington Avenue, 48,58,91,119 Park Avenue, 30 Madison Avenue, 55 5th Avenue, 37,57, 65, 83,90 6th Avenue, 30,37 Broadway, 93 8th Avenue, 66 9th Avenue, 18,29 Street & Smith Inc, 92 Strossahi, William, 52 Style comparator, Sudler & Henessey Inc, 92 Suman, George, 67 Supper, Rudolph, 73-74, 88, 92, 117, 184 Supplements to catalogs, Sutton, David, 124 Szoeke, Andrew, 90

210 It Tally, Ervin, 2526 Tar Hee4 The Daily, 23 Teachers Anscombe, Francis, Griffith, Thomas, Roberts, Harry, 29,119-21,148 Rondthaler, Theodore, The Loyal Ewe, 52 Williamson,John Finley, 27,147 Teaching typographic sensitivity and taste, 51-53, Teague, Walter Dorwin Assoq 92 Technical description ofphotolettering, 39-40,95,156 Techni-Film, 68 Telephone, 49,63-64,69-71,78 Television, 78,102 Tennyson, Alfred, 131 Terminologr, alphabet design, 122, photo-lettering, 90 Texaco Inc, 92 Texture related to spacing, 120 Thesaurus system of type classification 90,97-100,127,164,181 Thompson, Bradbury, 63,78 Thompson,J.Walter Co, 50-56, 64, 92,157 Thompson, Tommy, 65-68,73,92,116 Thumb index, 90,164-76,181 Tiles, Christmas keepsakes, 88,163 Time Inc, 92 Todd Litho, Rochester, 34,59 Tolles, Peter, 51-52, 64 Tone of Voice, graphic, See pages, 72 Torres, Ruben, 94 Toulouse-Lautrec, 37 Town Hall, 29 Trade secrets, 56 Transliteration, 132ff, Trick photography, 59,164 ff. See also Photoflex Trotsky, Leon, 32 Trump, George, 81 Tudor, Charles, 62-64, 68,78,79 Twain, Mark, 131 Twin City Sentine4 14 Tyghtypes, 100, 178 Type castings Type classification, 90, ,127, 164, 181 Type Directors Club, 65,115,130 Type nomenclature, 81, Typesetting, metal, hand, 4-24,28-32, 36-38,81,119-21,144-45, metal, keyboard, 6-7 Typesetting photographic, headline, contact, 68,83-87,180 photo-lettering ff; tsoff. process lettering 35, 59,68 keyboard text, 68,87-88,113-18,132 Typographic Service Co, Typographic taste, 119ff. Typro, 68 U U&Ic, journal of typographics, 117 Uheitype, 43, 96 Ullman, George, 36-39,45 Ullman, Sigmund Co, 32 United Artists Corp. 92 United Fruit Co, 92 United Nations, 81, 91,102 U.S.Rubber Co. 92 United States S.S., 78 U.S.Steel Co. 92 Unitizing Universities. See Colleges University of N.C., 21, 23,104 Updike, Daniel B., 9 Vv Van Gogh, Vincent, 37 Van Krimpen, Jan.80 Varityper, 114 Vick Chemical Co, 92 Victorian period alphabets, 122 Vietnam War, 55, 63,82 Viking Press Inc, 92 \flolino, Tony, 90 Visual flavor, 122 Visual index, 97,181 Vogue, 68,78, 92 Voice with a smile, 30,49 Volk, Kurt, 29,31 Vox, Maximilien, W Wachovia Museum, Salem, 106, 146 Wagner, Herbert, 73,92,164,184 Waldorf Astoria, 30, 69 Wallpaper design, 73,78, 88, 93 Wall Street crash, Ward, Beatrice, 79 Warner Bros Inc, 92 Washington railroad terminal, 17, 63 Watts, Harry, 75,92 Watts, Steve and Virginia, lo, 77, 107 Weber, MartinJ., 58 Webster dictionary, 43, Webster, Noah, 131 Weight adjustment, 53 Weight comparator, West, David, 100 Western Electric Co, 92 Westminster Abbey, 79 Westminster Choir, 27,147 White, William Allen, 24 Whitensville, Masachusetts, 19 Whitney, Elwood, 52 Wicker, Tom 4 Williamsburg restoration, 104 Williamson,John Finley, 27,147 Wilson, Woodrow, 15 Winston-Salem, 8ff 78, ,146 Winston-Salem High School, 20,23 Winston'SaleinJourna4 8,13-14 Winters, Harry, 72 Winterthur Museum, 104 Woman's Day, 92 Wonton's Home Companion; 92 Wong,Jaenyee, 76 Woolworth Building 30 World English, 137 World Publishing Co, 92 World Series, 48 World War 1,13-14,38,42 World War II, 57,62, WPA (Works Progress Adminis.), 45 Wright Engraving Co, X Xenotypes, 100,178 Xerox, 55, 124 X-ray, 17 Xylotypes, 178 X-Y movement, 39 Y Yale Club, 61 Yates,James, 65 Yellow Pages, 69 YMCA, 18,49,85 Young & Rubicam Inc, 47,92 Yugoslavia, 2 Z Zachary, Elizabeth, 25 Zapf Gudrun, 81 Zapf Hermann, 4,81, 102, 117, 124 Zero tolerance, 85 Zinzendorf Hotel, 22 Zip codes, 66 Bowe Co Inc, 92 Zuckerman, Barney, 91,108 Zudecic, Milton, 63,74,88 Notes augmenting the type description on page x: The text is set in Narrator eleven point on twelve, six-to-the-em word space before justification, no ligatures or alternate characters, and hung punctuation of fifty percent Section heads, stickup initials, and folios are fourteen point except where the folios have been reduced to combine harmoniously with vertical page layouts. Special faces in the text are customized derivatives of Papirtis Oriental types on pages 2 and 61, Narrator Cyrillic on page 3, Children's scribble on 41 and 61, and an Americanized Hebrew on 62. The title page, acknowledgements on page v, and the closing quotation from Rudolf Koch are custom photo-lettered in Davison Spencerian, ITC ZapfChancery, and Aibertus respectively. Marginal notes are set in ITC ZapfChancery Demibold seven point on eight The Soundspel dictionary columns are in ITC Franklin, and the index is Narrator nine point on nine. The cover of the paperback edition is photo-lettered in Tommy Thompson Colonial.

211

212 IA The metal of 1éiarice.artisI The autobiographical story. of this revolution is authors direction,

Who in the World Was

Who in the World Was Who in the World Was the SECRETIVE PRINTER? The Story of Johannes Gutenberg by Robert Beckham Illustrations by Jed Mickle Peace Hill Press Charles City, VA Books for the Well-Trained Mind Publisher s Cataloging-in-Publication

More information

A Children's Play. By Francis Giordano

A Children's Play. By Francis Giordano A Children's Play By Francis Giordano Copyright Francis Giordano, 2013 The music for this piece is to be found just by moving at this very Web-Site. Please enjoy the play with the sound of silentmelodies.com.

More information

Champions of Invention. by John Hudson Tiner

Champions of Invention. by John Hudson Tiner Champions of Invention by John Hudson Tiner First printing: March 2000 Copyright 1999 by Master Books, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever

More information

The Greatest Invention in the World. Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization II Unit TWO JA

The Greatest Invention in the World. Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization II Unit TWO JA The Greatest Invention in the World Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization II Unit TWO JA The State of Literacy in Medieval Europe The rise of Christianity in the West was terrible news for

More information

Fry Instant Phrases. First 100 Words/Phrases

Fry Instant Phrases. First 100 Words/Phrases Fry Instant Phrases The words in these phrases come from Dr. Edward Fry s Instant Word List (High Frequency Words). According to Fry, the first 300 words in the list represent about 67% of all the words

More information

Write your answers on the question paper. You will have six minutes at the end of the test to copy your answers onto the answer sheet.

Write your answers on the question paper. You will have six minutes at the end of the test to copy your answers onto the answer sheet. 1 Cambridge English, Preliminary English Test Listening. There are four parts to the test. You will hear each part twice. For each part of the test there will be time for you to look through the questions

More information

Instant Words Group 1

Instant Words Group 1 Group 1 the a is you to and we that in not for at with it on can will are of this your as but be have the a is you to and we that in not for at with it on can will are of this your as but be have the a

More information

Famous Quotations from Alice in Wonderland

Famous Quotations from Alice in Wonderland Famous Quotations from in Wonderland 1. Quotes by What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations? Curiouser and curiouser! I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I

More information

VOCABULARY. Working with animals / A solitary child / I have not seen him for ages

VOCABULARY. Working with animals / A solitary child / I have not seen him for ages VOCABULARY Acting school Agent Bedsit Behaviour Bustling By the way Capital Career Ceremony Commuter Couple Course Crossword Crowd Department store District Entertainment Estate agent's Housing estate

More information

SALTY DOG Year 2

SALTY DOG Year 2 SALTY DOG 2018 Year 2 Important dates Class spelling test: Term 3, Week 3, Monday 30 th July School competition: Term 3, Week 7, Wednesday 29 th August Interschool competition: Term 3, Week 10, Wednesday

More information

From Gutenberg to the Internet (HA)

From Gutenberg to the Internet (HA) From Gutenberg to the Internet (HA) Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented a printing press that used movable metal type. Before Gutenberg s press, books and other printed materials were made by hand.

More information

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 1 Introduction My son Kevin was like most teenagers. He never believed that anything could happen to him. He thought he was ten foot tall and bulletproof. I often gave him a speech about safety,

More information

EZRA STEVENS: My father, after that flood, died. That was in He started--

EZRA STEVENS: My father, after that flood, died. That was in He started-- Transcript of Interview with Ezra Stevens - Part One MALE ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Mansfield University Voices, an Oral History. The following interview is with Mr. Ezra Stevens. Mr. Stevens talks about the

More information

DIFFERENTIATE SOMETHING AT THE VERY BEGINNING THE COURSE I'LL ADD YOU QUESTIONS USING THEM. BUT PARTICULAR QUESTIONS AS YOU'LL SEE

DIFFERENTIATE SOMETHING AT THE VERY BEGINNING THE COURSE I'LL ADD YOU QUESTIONS USING THEM. BUT PARTICULAR QUESTIONS AS YOU'LL SEE 1 MATH 16A LECTURE. OCTOBER 28, 2008. PROFESSOR: SO LET ME START WITH SOMETHING I'M SURE YOU ALL WANT TO HEAR ABOUT WHICH IS THE MIDTERM. THE NEXT MIDTERM. IT'S COMING UP, NOT THIS WEEK BUT THE NEXT WEEK.

More information

Interaction Canada Essential Functions and Grammar Book 3 BOOK 3. Unit 27 Directing Phone Calls

Interaction Canada Essential Functions and Grammar Book 3 BOOK 3. Unit 27 Directing Phone Calls TABLE OF CONTENTS CREDITS BOOK 3 Unit 27 Directing Phone Calls 62 Unit 28 Asking About Language 63 Unit 29 Describing People 65 Unit 30 Habits and Routines 67 Unit 31 Giving Personal Data 68 Unit 32 Temporary

More information

- ENGLISH TEST - INTERMEDIATE 100 QUESTIONS / KEYS

- ENGLISH TEST - INTERMEDIATE 100 QUESTIONS / KEYS Exercise 1: Tick (P) the suitable answer. - ENGLISH TEST - 1. Wait a minute. I'm finishing an important letter. A finish B R 'm finishing C will finish 2. Children's books are in the other part of this

More information

e Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry. Here is Shep

e Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry. Here is Shep AMERICAN STORIES Short Story: e Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry June 12, 2009 Two kidnappers get more than they expected from their young hostage. Transcript of radio broadcast: Now, the VOA Special English

More information

Letterland Lists by Unit. cat nap mad hat sat Dad lap had at map

Letterland Lists by Unit. cat nap mad hat sat Dad lap had at map Letterland Lists by Unit Letterland List: Unit 1 New Tricky the is my on a Review cat nap mad hat sat Dad lap had at map The cat is on my lap. The cat had a nap. Letterland List: Unit 2 New Tricky the

More information

THE GREATEST GRANDMOTHER Hal Ames

THE GREATEST GRANDMOTHER Hal Ames THE GREATEST GRANDMOTHER Hal Ames Everyone has a grandmother, but some are better than others. How do we come to the conclusion as to whose grandmother is the best? It is up to the grandchild. In my case,

More information

ENGLISH LANGUAGE. ENGLISH Paper 1. (Two hours) Answers to this Paper must be written on the paper provided separately.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE. ENGLISH Paper 1. (Two hours) Answers to this Paper must be written on the paper provided separately. ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENGLISH Paper 1 (Two hours) Answers to this Paper must be written on the paper provided separately. You will not be allowed to write during the first 15 minutes. This time is to be spent

More information

Out of Italy. New in the Renaissance (Springboard handout) Living Legend (2 page handout) What s the Difference? (handout)

Out of Italy. New in the Renaissance (Springboard handout) Living Legend (2 page handout) What s the Difference? (handout) Out of Italy Springboard: Students should study the New in the Renaissance chronology and answer the questions. (Printing and books along with trade and traveling artists and scholars helped spread the

More information

Manuscript Preparation - Introduction. by Vonda N. McIntyre

Manuscript Preparation - Introduction. by Vonda N. McIntyre Manuscript Preparation - Introduction by Vonda N. McIntyre This article, "Manuscript Preparation," by Vonda N. McIntyre, may be photocopied and distributed, but only in this form (10-pitch Courier typeface,

More information

A PACT. Richard F. Russell Copyright 2014

A PACT. Richard F. Russell Copyright 2014 A PACT By Richard F. Russell Wordmstr007@aol.com 910-285-3321 Copyright 2014 FADE IN EXT TOWN SQUARE NIGHT Rain falls silvery through the light from streetlights on a small town square, deserted at this

More information

High Frequency Word Sheets Words 1-10 Words Words Words Words 41-50

High Frequency Word Sheets Words 1-10 Words Words Words Words 41-50 Words 1-10 Words 11-20 Words 21-30 Words 31-40 Words 41-50 and that was said from a with but an go to at word what there in be we do my is this he one your it she all as their for not are by how I the

More information

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards - Aligned NAEP Sample Questions. 4th Grade Reading

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards - Aligned NAEP Sample Questions. 4th Grade Reading Kansas College and Career Ready Standards - Aligned NAEP Sample Questions 4th Grade Reading Reading Passage [1] Marian's Revolution by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen Copyright 2005 Highlights for Children, Inc.,

More information

There is an activity based around book production available for children on the Gothic for England website which you may find useful.

There is an activity based around book production available for children on the Gothic for England website which you may find useful. WRITING AND PRINTING Resource Box NOTES FOR TEACHERS These notes are intended primarily for KS2 teachers and for teachers of History (Britain 1066-1500) at KS3. The notes are divided into three sections

More information

225 Prepositions of place

225 Prepositions of place 27 PREPOSITIONS 225 Prepositions of place 1 Basic meanings There are some people in/inside the cafe. The man is waiting outside the cafe. There's a television on the table. There's a photo on top of the

More information

DOCUMENT NAME/INFORMANT: PETER CHAMBERLAIN #2 INFORMANT'S ADDRESS: INTERVIEW LOCATION: TRIBE/NATION: OOWEKEENO HISTORY PROJECT

DOCUMENT NAME/INFORMANT: PETER CHAMBERLAIN #2 INFORMANT'S ADDRESS: INTERVIEW LOCATION: TRIBE/NATION: OOWEKEENO HISTORY PROJECT DOCUMENT NAME/INFORMANT: PETER CHAMBERLAIN #2 INFORMANT'S ADDRESS: INTERVIEW LOCATION: TRIBE/NATION: LANGUAGE: ENGLISH DATE OF INTERVIEW: 09/3-9/76 INTERVIEWER: DAVID STEVENSON INTERPRETER: TRANSCRIBER:

More information

Interviewee: Emile Lacasse, Sr. Interviewer: Carroll McIntire May 12, 1994

Interviewee: Emile Lacasse, Sr. Interviewer: Carroll McIntire May 12, 1994 Interviewee: Emile Lacasse, Sr. Interviewer: Carroll McIntire May 12, 1994 McIntire: Emile Lacasse, Sr. here on Chestnut St. location of his bakery is going to give us some background information about

More information

************************ CAT S IN THE CRADLE. him"

************************ CAT S IN THE CRADLE. him CAT S IN THE CRADLE My child arrived just the other day He came to the world in the usual way But there were planes to catch and bills to pay He learned to walk while I was away And he was talkin' 'fore

More information

Bean Town, MOO-sa-chu-setts

Bean Town, MOO-sa-chu-setts Bean Town, MOO-sa-chu-setts HEAR YE! HEAR YE! She, Judy Moody, was in Boston! Bean Town! As in Mas-sa-chu-setts. As in the Cradle of Liberty, Birthplace of Ben Famous Franklin and Paul Revere. Land of

More information

THE CAPITAL: SPEAKING TRUMPET, BUCK S COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

THE CAPITAL: SPEAKING TRUMPET, BUCK S COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. Gwen: This week, History Detectives comes from the Capital region, and our first investigation begins in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Elyse: In this part of the country, you never know where you re going

More information

Test Booklet. Subject: LA, Grade: th Grade Reading. Student name:

Test Booklet. Subject: LA, Grade: th Grade Reading. Student name: Test Booklet Subject: LA, Grade: 04 2009 4th Grade Reading Student name: Author: Virginia District: Virginia Released Tests Printed: Tuesday July 03, 2012 Campout Surprise 1 Come on, Buddy! Todd urged.

More information

Lesson 1 Vocabulary. 1 Write the words and phrases in the puzzle. 2 Read and complete the definitions. 3 Read and remember the grammar in the lesson.

Lesson 1 Vocabulary. 1 Write the words and phrases in the puzzle. 2 Read and complete the definitions. 3 Read and remember the grammar in the lesson. Unit Travel trouble Lesson Vocabulary Write the words and phrases in the puzzle. r u n w a y 6 6 7 7 The mystery word is. Read and complete the definitions. arrivals : This is the area of an airport which

More information

How Chris came to the Computer

How Chris came to the Computer How Chris came to the Computer To start with, my father was a mechanical engineer who was also a graduate of CIT and so becoming an engineer and attending CIT was in my mind from the beginning although

More information

STORY BY JON SCIESZKA PAINTINGS BY STEVE JOHNSON

STORY BY JON SCIESZKA PAINTINGS BY STEVE JOHNSON STORY BY JON SCIESZKA PAINTINGS BY STEVE JOHNSON PUFFIN BOOK" To Mom and Dad JS To our Grandparents for cookies, tree climbing, dancing, and frog hunts. S} and LF The Princess kissed the frog. He turned

More information

9 Guests are allowed to wear casual dress. 11 There's a possibility that the show will be cancelled think that Andrew will collect the money.

9 Guests are allowed to wear casual dress. 11 There's a possibility that the show will be cancelled think that Andrew will collect the money. Modals 8 Is it all right if I use your phone? 9 Guests are allowed to wear casual dress. 10 Maybe she'll move to London. 11 There's a possibility that the show will be cancelled. 12 Maybe she'll be elected.

More information

Chapter 08 - Mechanization of the Printing Press

Chapter 08 - Mechanization of the Printing Press Western Oregon University Digital Commons@WOU History of the Book: Disrupting Society from Tablet to Tablet Student Scholarship 6-2015 Chapter 08 - Mechanization of the Printing Press Robin Roemer Western

More information

Problem Set 8. MIT students: Each problem should be done on a separate sheet (or sheets) of three-hole punched paper.

Problem Set 8. MIT students: Each problem should be done on a separate sheet (or sheets) of three-hole punched paper. Introduction to Algorithms Day 26 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6.046J/18.410J Singapore-MIT Alliance SMA5503 Professors Erik Demaine, Lee Wee Sun, and Charles E. Leiserson Handout 27 Problem Set

More information

Amanda Cater - poems -

Amanda Cater - poems - Poetry Series - poems - Publication Date: 2006 Publisher: Poemhunter.com - The World's Poetry Archive (5-5-89) I love writing poems and i love reading poems. I love making new friends and i love listening

More information

Let s start by talking about what kind of man Wallace Stegner was. How do you remember him?

Let s start by talking about what kind of man Wallace Stegner was. How do you remember him? Interview Wallace Stegner Documentary Let s start by talking about what kind of man Wallace Stegner was. How do you remember him? I remember him as my grandpa. People ask me that all of the time--what

More information

2003 ENG Edited by

2003 ENG Edited by 2003 (This is NOT the actual test.) No.000001 0. ICU 1. PART,,, 4 2. PART 13 3. PART 12 4. PART 10 5. PART 2 6. PART 7. PART 8. 4 2003 Edited by www.bucho-net.com Edited by www.bucho-net.com Chose the

More information

ART I: UNIT NINE CALLIGRAPHY

ART I: UNIT NINE CALLIGRAPHY Unit 9 ART I: UNIT NINE CALLIGRAPHY CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............................... 1 I. PRACTICE.................................... 3 Proper Positioning............................. 3 Roman Alphabet................................

More information

spirit, than he who captures a city.

spirit, than he who captures a city. A temper tantrum or taming my temper Proverbs 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city. A man from Michigan had an idea for removing

More information

Rain Man. Rain man 1: Childhood MEMORIES

Rain Man. Rain man 1: Childhood MEMORIES Rain man 1: Childhood MEMORIES Charlie Babbitt's mother died when he was two and he grew up alone with his father. Charlie is now an adult and his father has just died. Charlie has gone to his father's

More information

Name. Vocabulary. incentive horizons recreation unfettered. Finish each sentence using the vocabulary word provided.

Name. Vocabulary. incentive horizons recreation unfettered. Finish each sentence using the vocabulary word provided. Vocabulary incentive horizons recreation unfettered Finish each sentence using the vocabulary word provided. 1. (unfettered) I let my dog out of its cage. 2. (incentive) My mother said she would take me

More information

EGRI DOBÓ ISTVÁN GIMNÁZIUM Angol nyelvi levelezős verseny 2017/ FORDULÓ

EGRI DOBÓ ISTVÁN GIMNÁZIUM Angol nyelvi levelezős verseny 2017/ FORDULÓ 1. FORDULÓ I. Your task is to match the sentences. Then write the letters on the answer sheet, please. 1. What is Mark like? 2. When are you leaving for Hawaii? 3. Will you download that new antivirus

More information

Chapter 1 Huck, Tom and Jim

Chapter 1 Huck, Tom and Jim Chapter 1 Huck, Tom and Jim My name is Huckleberry Finn and I live in a small town on the Mississippi River called St Petersburg. My friend Tom Sawyer also lives there. We don't get bored often because

More information

MITOCW max_min_second_der_512kb-mp4

MITOCW max_min_second_der_512kb-mp4 MITOCW max_min_second_der_512kb-mp4 PROFESSOR: Hi. Well, I hope you're ready for second derivatives. We don't go higher than that in many problems, but the second derivative is an important-- the derivative

More information

Fun to Imagine. Richard P. Feynman. BBC 1983 transcript by A. Wojdyla

Fun to Imagine. Richard P. Feynman. BBC 1983 transcript by A. Wojdyla Fun to Imagine Richard P. Feynman BBC 1983 transcript by A. Wojdyla This is a transcript of the R.P. Feynman s Fun to imagine aired on BBC in 1983. The transcript was made by a non-native english speaker

More information

The First Hundred Instant Sight Words. Words 1-25 Words Words Words

The First Hundred Instant Sight Words. Words 1-25 Words Words Words The First Hundred Instant Sight Words Words 1-25 Words 26-50 Words 51-75 Words 76-100 the or will number of one up no and had other way a by about could to words out people in but many my is not then than

More information

A eyes B ears C nose. A did B made C took. A you going to B you re going to C are you going to. A older B oldest C most old. A than B from C as

A eyes B ears C nose. A did B made C took. A you going to B you re going to C are you going to. A older B oldest C most old. A than B from C as TASK1 Choose the best answer, A, B or C. The first one is an example. 0 You hear with your...b.... A eyes B ears C nose 1 We... lots of photos at the Wildlife Park. A did B made C took 2 Where... stay?

More information

Dates to Remember : Research Project Grade 6. Country Choices: (List your top 3 choices.) PARENT SIGNATURE:

Dates to Remember : Research Project Grade 6. Country Choices: (List your top 3 choices.) PARENT SIGNATURE: Research Project Grade 6 This research project will be your chance to be an expert on a country that you are interested in finding out more about. You may use resources from the school library, public

More information

You are about to start an exciting series of lessons on physical science. God s Design for the Physical

You are about to start an exciting series of lessons on physical science. God s Design for the Physical Table of of Contents Unit 1 Communications Lesson 1 Printing Press.................... 8 Special Feature Johann Gutenberg............ 11 Lesson 2 Telegraph...................... 13 Special Feature Samuel

More information

to believe all evening thing to see to switch on together possibly possibility around

to believe all evening thing to see to switch on together possibly possibility around whereas absolutely American to analyze English without white god more sick larger most large to take to be in important suddenly you know century to believe all evening thing to see to switch on together

More information

The Celebrity Inventor (HA)

The Celebrity Inventor (HA) The Celebrity Inventor (HA) Edison suffered a hearing loss as a child. But he turned his disability into an advantage in his career as a telegraph operator. Unlike other operators, he said I was not bothered

More information

Задания для муниципального этапа Всероссийской олимпиады школьников по английскому языку в / 2018 учебном году 7-8 класс

Задания для муниципального этапа Всероссийской олимпиады школьников по английскому языку в / 2018 учебном году 7-8 класс Задания для муниципального этапа Всероссийской олимпиады школьников по английскому языку в 201 7 / 2018 учебном году 7-8 класс LISTENING Time: 15 minutes Task 1. You are going to hear five short messages.

More information

for working very hard darling! I would never dare ask you to spend that much amount, I m sorry! - Never mind my dear, remember that this is a gift

for working very hard darling! I would never dare ask you to spend that much amount, I m sorry! - Never mind my dear, remember that this is a gift THE GREENHOUSE. When it comes to his birthday, I would go to the shop and buy him a gift or a card for his special day; that was my intention always. But a few years ago, I went to a nursery and brought

More information

BEAUTIES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY- O NE

BEAUTIES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY- O NE FEATURES ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY -NINE BEAUTIES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY- O NE In planning the annual Beauty Contest, which is sponsored by the Mirabilia each year, the officials of the 1928 Mirabilia spared no

More information

Family Business, 2 When I was just a kid, my daddy took over the family business from his daddy. We were distillers from long back, carefully guarding

Family Business, 2 When I was just a kid, my daddy took over the family business from his daddy. We were distillers from long back, carefully guarding Family Business, 2 When I was just a kid, my daddy took over the family business from his daddy. We were distillers from long back, carefully guarding the secret of our family recipe from any prying eyes.

More information

Literal & Nonliteral Language

Literal & Nonliteral Language Literal & Nonliteral Language Grade Level: 4-6 Teacher Guidelines pages 1 2 Instructional Pages pages 3 5 Activity Page pages 6-7 Practice Page page 8 Homework Page page 9 Answer Key page 10-11 Classroom

More information

LED LIGHTING FOR YOUR MODEL RAILROAD by Rick Wade

LED LIGHTING FOR YOUR MODEL RAILROAD by Rick Wade Many of you have been following the various threads here on MRH about using LEDs to light your layout. I've become a believer of using LEDs after seeing Michael Rose's layout and seeing how great they

More information

Turn Homeward, Hannahlee By Patricia Beatty

Turn Homeward, Hannahlee By Patricia Beatty Turn Homeward, Hannahlee By Patricia Beatty Dictation passages Weeks One: Opening Lines Week One It was the crying from down below that work me up that hot night. I caught the words clear as the mill bell:

More information

Past Simple Questions

Past Simple Questions Past Simple Questions Find your sentence: Who? What? Janet Chris Mary Paul Liz John Susan Victor wrote a letter read a book ate an apple drank some milk drew a house made a model plane took some photos

More information

the stone, the more it was _1_. The smallest money stone - about the size of a dinner

the stone, the more it was _1_. The smallest money stone - about the size of a dinner Time and money 45 Cloze procedure Funny money the stone, the more it was _1_. The smallest money stone - about the size of a dinner Slaves carried the big stones when people went _2_. The richest men had

More information

THE RANKINGS The World s Top 225 Music Products Companies Ranked By Revenue

THE RANKINGS The World s Top 225 Music Products Companies Ranked By Revenue www.musictrades.com DECEMBER 2014 THE MARKETS Sales & Demographic Data On The World s Top Markets THE RANKINGS The World s Top 225 Music Products Companies Ranked By Revenue THE PLAYERS Profiles Of Companies

More information

Can Rock and Roll Save America?

Can Rock and Roll Save America? Can Rock and Roll Save America? Five Environmental Songs: To Trigger Political and Social-Change Discussions Our first mini-guide presents five environmental songs for exploration. These are from the 1960s

More information

ST. NICHOLAS COLLEGE RABAT MIDDLE SCHOOL HALF YEARLY EXAMINATIONS FEBRUARY 2017

ST. NICHOLAS COLLEGE RABAT MIDDLE SCHOOL HALF YEARLY EXAMINATIONS FEBRUARY 2017 ST. NICHOLAS COLLEGE RABAT MIDDLE SCHOOL HALF YEARLY EXAMINATIONS FEBRUARY 2017 LEVEL 6-7 YEAR 7 ENGLISH TIME: 2 hours Name: Class: Teacher: Marks Oral Assessment Listening Comprehension Written Paper

More information

Mark Casse Manfred Conrad

Mark Casse Manfred Conrad Breeders' Cup World Championships Saturday, November 3, 2018 Mark Casse Manfred Conrad Press Conference THE MODERATOR: We're back live on day two of Breeders Cup day and here in the press conference room

More information

Before reading. King of the pumpkins. Preparation task. Stories King of the pumpkins

Before reading. King of the pumpkins. Preparation task. Stories King of the pumpkins Stories King of the pumpkins 'Deep in the middle of the woods,' said my mother, 'is the place where the king of the pumpkins lives.' A young boy and his cat try and find out what, if anything, is true

More information

Feb 25, 1944 Dear folks; At last the dark secret can be unveiled. I am on the Anzio Beachhead. I guess the censors feel that since the Gerries know we

Feb 25, 1944 Dear folks; At last the dark secret can be unveiled. I am on the Anzio Beachhead. I guess the censors feel that since the Gerries know we Feb 22, 1944 Dear folks; haven't written for two days, so thought I'd do so now while I have the chance. I did have some ink in my pen, but it ran out when I got half way through the letter so I started

More information

Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education. Published

Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education. Published Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE 0511/31 Paper 3 Listening Core ay/june 2016 ARK SCHEE aximum ark: 30

More information

Function- Invitations

Function- Invitations Function- Invitations When friends get together, they usually do so by an invitation from one person to another. There are several expressions that can be used when extending an invitation. For Beginners

More information

arranged _G3U1W5_ indd 1 2/19/10 5:02 PM

arranged _G3U1W5_ indd 1 2/19/10 5:02 PM arranged Routine for Lesson Vocabulary Introduce The bottles are arranged in neat rows. Arranged means have put things in a certain order. Let s say the word together: arranged. Demonstrate The pictures

More information

Lens. Supplemental passages that look closely at lens.

Lens. Supplemental passages that look closely at lens. Lens Supplemental passages that look closely at lens. Which lines are repeated often in ch 9? Some examples include: Leave it. Burn it (Steinbeck 86-88). Steinbeck includes these repetitive and abrupt

More information

Dinosaurs. B. Answer the questions in Hebrew/Arabic. 1. How do scientists know that dinosaurs once lived? 2. Where does the name dinosaur come from?

Dinosaurs. B. Answer the questions in Hebrew/Arabic. 1. How do scientists know that dinosaurs once lived? 2. Where does the name dinosaur come from? Dinosaurs T oday everyone knows what dinosaurs are. But many years ago people didn t know about dinosaurs. Then how do people today know that dinosaurs once lived? Nobody ever saw a dinosaur! But people

More information

Grade Summer Reading Activity Packet. Blair Mill Elementary School

Grade Summer Reading Activity Packet. Blair Mill Elementary School Grade 3 2014 Summer Reading Activity Packet Blair Mill Elementary School Name: To be completed at home during the summer 2014 and submitted to grade 4 teacher by September 11, 2014 1 Take the Stone Fox

More information

3/8/2016 Reading Review. Name: Class: Date: 1/12

3/8/2016 Reading Review. Name: Class: Date:   1/12 Name: Class: Date: https://app.masteryconnect.com/materials/755448/print 1/12 The Big Dipper by Phyllis Krasilovsky 1 Benny lived in Alaska many years before it was a state. He had black hair and bright

More information

UNIT 3 Past simple OJ Circle the right words in each sentence.

UNIT 3 Past simple OJ Circle the right words in each sentence. UNIT 1 Present simple and present continuous OJ Cross out the wrong words in bold. Write the 1 We are always making our homework together because we are in the same class. 2 You can walk around your town

More information

At this point I should say "I hope you like it" problem is, without being humble, I know you will love it. BASIC EFFECT

At this point I should say I hope you like it problem is, without being humble, I know you will love it. BASIC EFFECT HISTORY OF TOUCHES Backwhen I first started performing, I read a book by Milbourne Christopher that described a psychic by the name of Achille D'Angelo who became famous for his "psychic cures". In one

More information

HARK AND HAROLD & THE CHRISTMAS STAR

HARK AND HAROLD & THE CHRISTMAS STAR HARK AND HAROLD & THE CHRISTMAS STAR By Karen Jones Performance Rights It is an infringement of the federal copyright law to copy or reproduce this script in any manner or to perform this play without

More information

[PDF] Think And Grow Rich: The Original 1937 Edition

[PDF] Think And Grow Rich: The Original 1937 Edition [PDF] Think And Grow Rich: The Original 1937 Edition The inspiring work, Think And Grow Rich, has the secrets that you need to change your life for the better, for good! You'll be on the road to riches

More information

Bismarck, North Dakota is known for several things. First of all, you probably already know that Bismarck is the state capitol. You might even know

Bismarck, North Dakota is known for several things. First of all, you probably already know that Bismarck is the state capitol. You might even know 1 Bismarck, North Dakota is known for several things. First of all, you probably already know that Bismarck is the state capitol. You might even know that Bismarck is the home of the Dakota Zoo, which

More information

Dilworth Elementary Character Education: Honesty (November)

Dilworth Elementary Character Education: Honesty (November) Dilworth Elementary Character Education: Honesty (November) Pre-teach: Reacquaint yourself with the students and briefly review the traits you have discussed on your previous visits. Tell the students

More information

*High Frequency Words also found in Texas Treasures Updated 8/19/11

*High Frequency Words also found in Texas Treasures Updated 8/19/11 Child s name (first & last) after* about along a lot accept a* all* above* also across against am also* across* always afraid American and* an add another afternoon although as are* after* anything almost

More information

BY IVY WANG AND KATHERINE WEN to Upcoming Assignments

BY IVY WANG AND KATHERINE WEN to Upcoming Assignments 2015 Wilkerson Weekly Weeks of 12-7 15 BY IVY WANG AND KATHERINE WEN to 12-18-15 Week in Review These last two weeks we have been focusing on starting our narrative pieces, Devil s Arithmetic, and Greek

More information

Número de Ocorrências

Número de Ocorrências Esta é a lista das 1000 palavras mais comuns da língua inglesa, que correspondem a 99,25% de todas as palavras encontradas na maioria dos textos comerciais e acadêmicos Palavra Porc. Total Número de Ocorrências

More information

Wogan, BBC1, 1 February 1988

Wogan, BBC1, 1 February 1988 Wogan, BBC1, 1 February 1988 Terry Wogan: Poldark became one of the most watched television drama series of the 1970s. Now it's becoming one of the most watched drama series on Monday afternoons and Tupperware

More information

DOMINO: THE BOOK OF DECORATING: A ROOM-BY-ROOM GUIDE TO CREATING A HOME THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY FROM SIMON & SCHUSTER

DOMINO: THE BOOK OF DECORATING: A ROOM-BY-ROOM GUIDE TO CREATING A HOME THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY FROM SIMON & SCHUSTER DOMINO: THE BOOK OF DECORATING: A ROOM-BY-ROOM GUIDE TO CREATING A HOME THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY FROM SIMON & SCHUSTER DOWNLOAD EBOOK : DOMINO: THE BOOK OF DECORATING: A ROOM-BY- ROOM GUIDE TO CREATING A HOME

More information

They ve stripped off their blue coats and are swinging

They ve stripped off their blue coats and are swinging Queenston October 1812 Hooves splash toward us and I step off the road. Father glances at me to make sure I m safe, then squints into the telescope. His conversation doesn t skip a beat. How many do you

More information

FA!L-C. Familiar and!ovel Language Comprehension Test. Daniel Kempler, Ph.D. & Diana Van Lancker, Ph.D. Drawings by Susan A. Black

FA!L-C. Familiar and!ovel Language Comprehension Test. Daniel Kempler, Ph.D. & Diana Van Lancker, Ph.D. Drawings by Susan A. Black FA!L-C Familiar and!ovel Language Comprehension Test Daniel Kempler, Ph.D. & Diana Van Lancker, Ph.D. Drawings by Susan A. Black 1996 Familiar and!ovel Language Comprehension Test (FA!L-C) Description

More information

The Mysterious Flourless Chocolate Cake. A Story by Cynthia L. Peterson

The Mysterious Flourless Chocolate Cake. A Story by Cynthia L. Peterson The Mysterious Flourless Chocolate Cake A Story by Cynthia L. Peterson You need to know right up front that you are experiencing one of life s biggest mysteries for me. Moreover, I sure hope you savor

More information

MITOCW ocw f08-lec19_300k

MITOCW ocw f08-lec19_300k MITOCW ocw-18-085-f08-lec19_300k The following content is provided under a Creative Commons license. Your support will help MIT OpenCourseWare continue to offer high quality educational resources for free.

More information

ENGLISH ENTRANCE EXAMINATION

ENGLISH ENTRANCE EXAMINATION ENGLISH ENTRANCE EXAMINATION For Entry into Form III (Year 7) 2016 Name:.. Date of Birth:.. Today s Date:. Your Present School:... Time Allowed: 1 Hour Instructions: Fill in your name, date of birth, today

More information

A Play in Three Scenes. Mike Martone. Scene I

A Play in Three Scenes. Mike Martone. Scene I 34 MANUSCRIPTS ON A TRAIN WRECK A Play in Three Scenes Mike Martone Characters: BOY MAN CHORUS WITHA LEADER Scene I (Scene. The stage is completely dark except for a single spot on a chair at center stage

More information

workbook Listening scripts

workbook Listening scripts workbook Listening scripts 42 43 UNIT 1 Page 9, Exercise 2 Narrator: Do you do any sports? Student 1: Yes! Horse riding! I m crazy about horses, you see. Being out in the countryside on a horse really

More information

Section I. Quotations

Section I. Quotations Hour 8: The Thing Explainer! Those of you who are fans of xkcd s Randall Munroe may be aware of his book Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words, in which he describes a variety of things using

More information

A PERFECT GIFT FOR ROBERT. By David L. Funke 2009

A PERFECT GIFT FOR ROBERT. By David L. Funke 2009 A PERFECT GIFT FOR ROBERT By David L. Funke 2009 My step-dad, Robert E. Gharst, did not like his violin. He was always complaining about it, which intensified after he joined the Bremerton Symphony orchestra

More information

Homework Monday. The Shortcut

Homework Monday. The Shortcut Name 1 Homework Monday Directions: Read the passage below. As you are reading practice: Visualizing Check for understanding Figuring out word meanings The Shortcut Follow me. I know a shortcut, Danny said.

More information

My Life In a Jar! Ingredients: Recipe:

My Life In a Jar! Ingredients: Recipe: Ingredients: Life was not meant to be bottled up forever! This jar is jam packed with deliciously interesting questions to inspire you to celebrate something very important YOU! Recipe: Combine a generous

More information