A Typographic Quest, Number One – Westvaco, Carl Dair, 1964

The cover of the first booklet in the new series A Typographic Quest. Dair begins with a large hand-lettered Roman ‘A’, a reminder of the origin of the Latin alphabet. The triangular shape of the ‘A’ is a strong contrast to the red and black squares. The next four issues in the series are; Display, Reading, Space and Contrast, topics all clearly demonstrated on this cover.

Dair’s introduction begins by asking; What is typography? His answer is both clear and concise, without a hint of dogma. The straightforward description is reinforced with an equally simple, and very striking, page design. An excellent example of how words and design can work together to deliver a message.

In two pages Dair manages to give a brief account of the development of the Latin alphabet as well as a description of how individual letters are formed by the tools used in making them. The photographs of the quickly written, brush-lettered inscription on a wall in Pompeii, paired with the detail of a stone-carved classic serif, shows that even 2000 years ago the Romans had different styles for different purposes.

Each issue of A Typographic Quest arrived in another of Westvaco’s papers. For sixty plus years these sturdy manila envelopes protected every issue – that is if they had not already been thrown in the garbage.