Inside C&B things happen first! – print ad, Cooper & Beatty, Allan Fleming, 1959

In this striking advertisement, Allan Fleming makes inventive use of the inner spaces of letters to illustrate the range of activities taking place within Cooper & Beatty. More than just a clever visual concept, the piece stands as both a compelling record and perhaps even a bold celebration of the company’s achievements over a nine-year period.

Beginning with Jack Trevett’s takeover in 1950, the ad charts the firm’s steady growth: from Carl Dair’s influential Typographic Workshops in 1951, to the introduction of phototypesetting in 1953, and the launch of Headliners photo lettering in 1959 – all notable firsts in Canada.

This advertisement is a confident visual statement, capturing the ambition, discipline and energy that defined Cooper & Beatty during a pivotal decade in its history. – Rod McDonald

Artifact Text

Inside C&B things happen first! And not by chance but by long-range planning. An early first was acetate proofing. Type Workshop—an educational project within the typographic field—was for some years a highly popular and busy project. Then the first photographic typesetting machines in Canada—the Fotosetters—became part of the expanding C&B service. Next a department to work on problems of word communication was established with internationally-recognized typographic designer, Allan Fleming, as its director. Latest move in our long range plan—Headliners of Canada Limited—to meet the need for contemporary custom photoprocess lettering. Other projects and new developments are in the planning stage. Cooper & Beatty, Limited operate in the most modern, production-streamlined typographic plant on the continent, at 401 Wellington West at Spadina, Toronto. If your problem is selling by telling, visit us or call—Empire 4–7272. We’ll be happy to apply our broad range of design and typographic skills to the task of telling your story well.