The printed selling message – Ad, E. B. Eddy Specialty Papers, Carl Dair, 1949

A single, greatly enlarged Bodoni ‘E’ frames the text without overpowering it. For art directors and designers, the bold yet familiar form – a balance of graphic strength with purposeful negative space – would have immediately drawn their attention.
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Main image for this archive item. Click to enlarge the image.
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Main image for this archive item. Click to enlarge the image.
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Notes

By 1949, the Eveleigh-Dair Studio had been producing advertising and promotional material for the E. B. Eddy Company for several years. This full-page ad, designed by Carl Dair for the First Annual of Advertising and Editorial Art (Toronto Art Directors Club), is an early demonstration of how typography alone could create visual drama.

Rather than relying on illustration or decorative flourishes, Dair set the message entirely within a towering Bodoni ‘E’ – a popular typeface that would have been instantly recognizable to art directors and designers. The copy quietly emphasizes the essential role of paper in printing, while subtly promoting E. B. Eddy’s line of specialty papers.

By choosing a familiar typographic form to contain the message, Dair reinforced the link between the enduring craft of typography and the material quality of fine printing. – Rod McDonald

Items in this Collection

Title: Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor

Media format description

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Artifact

Article Data

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Category

Advertising & Promotion

Date

1949

Title

The printed selling message

Description

Advertisement

Full-page black and white print ad

8.25 × 11 inches

Publication

First Annual of Advertising and Editorial Art, Art Directors Club, Toronto

Publisher

Client

The E.B. Eddy Company

Credits

Studio:
Creative_Director:
Art_Director:
Typography:
Hand_Lettering:
Calligraphy:
Illustration:
Art:
Author:
Writing:
Printing:
Biography:

Principal Typefaces

Display: Bodoni ‘E’ (retouched)
Text: Bodoni (Monotype)
Find more:

Bodoni

Region

Quebec

Language

English

Holding

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Copyright Status

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Artifact copyright

CTA was unable to clarify rights but welcomes contact from rights holders to resolve permissions, if required, and will remove digitized works at the rights holder’s request. CTA makes digitized works available for education and research. Responsibility for any use rests with the user.

Notes copyright

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

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