Yousuf Karsh & John Fisher see Canada, Thomas Allen Limited – Carl Dair, 1960

Both Perpetua and Pilgrim are types designed by Eric Gill. Perpetua was commissioned sometime around 1925 by Stanley Morison for the Monotype Corporation and is based on the lettering Gill used in carving stone monuments. Pilgrim is Linotype’s recutting of Gill’s Bunyan and is a more successful text face than Perpetua.

The title page showing the Rideau Canal in Ottawa is the only colour photo in the book. Canada is set in Perpetua Light (Monotype), the rest of the text is in Pilgrim roman and italic (Linotype). The coat-of-arms reminds us that this book was published when Canada was still considered a Dominion in the British empire.

Carl and Edith Dair with Yousuf Karsh. A handwritten inscription on the back reads ‘Mom & Dad at a Reception Honoring Joseph [sic] Karsh. After 1958’. The photo was likely taken at the book launch in 1960. Photo courtesy of Willa Dair.