Men of Letters
Poster
Jim Donoahue
1969
Matchbook Typography – poster, Cooper & Beatty, Liam McDonnell, c1979
The title is set in Headliners Neo-Novel Gothic outline shadow, released in 1977. Novel Gothic originated at American Type Founders (ATF) in 1928 and was a popular novelty face. The red Cooper & Beatty matchbook cover is set in Century Nova, released by ATF in 1964. The four additional Cooper & Beatty covers are black and white.
Notes
Matchbook Typography is a later addition to Cooper & Beatty’s long-running ‘collection’ series of posters, first initiated by Jim Donoahue in 1969. Matchbook covers were once a ubiquitous and inexpensive form of advertising – used by nearly every business.
All of the covers featured in this poster are from the personal collection of Stan Tombs, a long-time C&B salesman and inveterate collector of printed ephemera. Not surprisingly, five of the covers promote Cooper & Beatty, including the ‘Good Heads’ script lettering by Al Elliott for Headliners, C&B’s photo-lettering division.
The most intriguing cover on the poster - at least for Canadian viewers - may be the tall matchbook in the upper left. It’s for a Spanish shirt manufacturer, but it features the well-known clown face (nicknamed ‘Carny’) originally designed in 1975 by Chris Yaneff and Manfred Gotthans for Conklin Shows of Toronto. – Rod McDonald
Artifact Text
Creative | Liam McDonnell
Photography | Michael LaFond
Collection | Stan Tombs
Cooper & Beatty
Matchbook Typography
Items in this Collection
Canned Typography
Poster
Jim Donoahue
1971
Matchbook Typography
Poster
Liam McDonnell
c1979
Title: Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor
Media format description
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Artifact
Article Data
Date
c
1979
Title
Matchbook Typography
Description
Poster
Four-colour poster
30 × 20 inches
Client
Cooper & Beatty, LimitedCredits
Agency:
Studio:
Creative_Director:
Art_Director:
Design: Liam McDonnell
Typography:
Hand_Lettering:
Calligraphy:
Illustration:
Art:
Author:
Writing:
Printing:
Biography:
Matchbooks supplied by Stan Tombs
Principal Typefaces
Display: Neo-Novel Gothic Outline Shadow (Headliners)
Text: Helvetica
Find more:
Region
Ontario
Language
English
Holding
Related Documents & Links
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.
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