Designers and producers of quality lettered headings – print ad, Lettering Inc, 1953

In this ad, all the headlines, text, and illustrations were set using individual positive film letters. The text was manually set in lines on glass plates, while the illustrations were assembled on clear polyester sheets. The elements were then photographed, resized, and carefully assembled onto illustration board to produce the final advertisement.

Notes

In addition to alphabet collections, photo-process lettering studios also maintained extensive libraries of decorative ornaments and borders. This distinctive ad from Lettering Inc. was assembled using a mix of those ornaments, along with individual letters from various alphabets. For example, the wings of the bee are cleverly formed from two script ‘B’s, while the caterpillar (or what we believe to be a caterpillar) is primarily built from the letter ‘A’.

These elements were all photographic film positives. To construct complex illustrations like this one, individual pieces were carefully positioned and taped onto sheets of clear polyester film – typically Mylar®. Once the layout was complete, it was photographed, and the resulting prints were used to prepare the final mechanical artwork.

At the time, this advertisement would have been considered quite unconventional. But its whimsical construction and visual invention made it hard to ignore. – Rod McDonald

Artifact Text

designers and producers | of quality lettered headings
lettering inc | of Canada Ltd.
220 Richmond Street West • Toronto • Telephone Empire 4–7416

Items in this Collection

Title: Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor

Media format description

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Artifact

Date

1953

Title

Designers and producers of quality lettered headings

Description

Two-colour, full-page ad

8 × 11 inches

Publication

Publisher

Client

Lettering Inc. of Canada Ltd

Credits

Agency:

Studio:

Creative_Director:

Art_Director:

Design: Unknown

Typography:

Hand_Lettering:

Calligraphy:

Illustration:

Art:

Author:

Writing:

Printing:

Biography:

(signed Burha?)

Principal Typefaces

Common: Lettering Inc. Script; X3010. Sans Serif; Flat Sided Gothic 240 G

Find more:

Region

Ontario

Language

English

Holding

Copyright Status

Artifact copyright

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Notes copyright

Accompanying notes are licensed under Creative Commons licensing CCbyNC which allows for non-commercial use with attribute.