Type & Paper
Booklet
Carl Dair
1946
Type Talks — booklet, E. B. Eddy Paper Company, Carl Dair, 1948
For the cover of Type Talks Carl Dair uses a collection of jumbled letterforms to signal that readers will need to reconsider how they look at typefaces. The brush-written E/D in the lower left of the red block indicates it was created during Dair’s partnership with illustrator Henry Eveleigh, during which time they often signed collaborative work from the studio.
A double page spread from Type Talks showing five early classifications of Latin typefaces. Dair’s grouping of both sans serif and slab serif simply as ‘contemporary’ reveals just how early this was in the evolution of type classification. It would be another six years before Maximilien Vox introduced his more systematic nine-category model.
All five E. B. Eddy booklets were mailed in striking, custom designed envelopes. At the time, most envelopes were strictly utilitarian – typically bearing only a return address in the top left corner.
Notes
Between May 1946 and April 1947, Carl Dair published twelve monthly articles under the title Type Talks for the Printing Review of Canada. These columns proved so popular that in 1948 they were revised and combined into this third booklet in the E. B. Eddy paper series.
The postwar period was a time of rapid change in Canada. With thousands of veterans returning to civilian life and the economy entering a period of intense growth, there was both optimism and a thirst for professional advancement. Dair’s 24-page booklet offered readers a concise yet sophisticated introduction to the principles of typography. Beginning with the basic classification of typefaces, it moves on to explain fundamental concepts such as spacing, texture, contrast, harmony, and copy-fitting. Like Type & Paper, the first booklet in the series, Type Talks was soon reprinted to meet demand. – Rod McDonald
Artifact Text
Introduction
Excellence of typography is the one method by which a printer can achieve excellence in the graphic arts; it is at once the most noticeable feature of his work and the hallmark of his craftsmanship.
Most standard works on typography are hard to come by; they are either out of print, out of date, or written in other than the English language. When Printing Review of Canada published the series of Type Talks by Carl Dair, the requests that were made for their publication in booklet form gave evidence that they filled a need.
The company was very glad to undertake this project as a part of our efforts to provide printers with aids to better and more effective printing. We therefore commissioned the author to prepare his material in a form which would be complete and yet convenient for reference by printers, advertising agencies and printing buyers. This edition of Type Talks is the result; we hope it will prove a valuable and useful addition to your graphic arts library.
We acknowledge our indebtedness to Printing Review of Canada for permission to use the material, to the author for preparing this presentation, and to those typefounders who so generously cooperated in supplying lines of their type faces.
Items in this Collection
Design for Printing
Booklet
Carl Dair
1947
Type Talks
Booklet
Carl Dair
1948
Spacing
Booklet
Carl Dair
1954
The Art of the Printer
Booklet
Carl Dair
1956
Title: Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor
Media format description
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Artifact
Article Data
Category
Date
1948
Title
Type Talks
A handbook of typography
Description
Booklet
Two-colour, saddle stitched booklet; 16 pp
5.75 × 8.75 inches
Publisher
The E.B. Eddy CompanyClient
The E.B. Eddy CompanyCredits
Agency:
Studio:
Creative_Director:
Art_Director:
Design: Carl Dair, Eveleigh-Dair Studio
Typography:
Hand_Lettering:
Calligraphy:
Illustration:
Art:
Author: Carl Dair
Writing:
Printing:
Biography:
Principal Typefaces
Cover: 20th Century (Futura), Bodoni Italic, various
Text: various
Region
QuebecLanguage
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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