Few names in the annals of American typography gleam as brightly as
Will Bradley’s. Even fewer have made so varied a graphic contribution
as this gentle man, now eighty-six and revered as dean of American
typographers.
In May, 1954, he was awarded the coveted gold medal of the American
Institute of Graphic Arts. The citation, necessarily brief around the
rim, recalled one phase of his accomplishments: “To Will Bradley for a
half-century of typographic achievement.”
A more revealing summary would be found in the commendation of the
Rounce and Coffin Club award, presented at the Huntington Library
in October, 1950. The Club held its special meeting to honor Mr.
Bradley (then living in nearby Pasadena), and preview the Huntington
retrospective Bradley exhibition, which included examples of his book
design and illustration; articles and stories written; cover and
poster design; type and type ornament for American Type Founders; and
printing. Some seventy items were displayed, ranging from the Ishpeming
(Michigan) _Iron Ore_ masthead, designed in 1886, to a Christmas
greeting drawn in 1948.
The award, for distinguished contributions to fine printing, read:
“_Because_ he has for seventy years been a source of creative
inspiration in all the varied arts to which he has put his mind and
hand; _Because_ he found American printing at the end of the last
century in a dreary condition, held up to it the examples of the early
colonial printers, revived the simplicity and dignity of Pickering and
caused to flourish again the use of Caslon and the other old style
types; _Because_ he created a wealth of new ornamentation and by his
own demonstration introduced many original uses of ink, paper and
bookbinding; _Because_ he redesigned the American magazine and gave to
it the charm of a new outer garment with each appearance; _Because_
he cast the illumination of his talents upon the art of the poster,
the children’s book, and even the motion picture; _Because_ his great
direct aid and even greater inspiration have been acknowledged by many
American typographers, including such leaders as Frederic W. Goudy, W.
A. Dwiggins, Oswald Cooper and T. M. Cleland; _And finally_ because he
has not ceased to be for the printers of our day, as for those of two
previous generations, an inexhaustible fountain of kindly encouragement
and new discoveries.”
Despite their glow, these words spell a clear appraisal of this man’s
talents and graphic spirit. Ahead of his times, Mr. Bradley proved
a pace-setting pioneer whose work was so fresh that its vitality
is as measurable in the specimens of Strathmore and ATF, as in the
Hearst periodical pages. Particularly when compared with that of his
contemporaries, as Walter Dorwin Teague points out in his perceptive
introduction.
Mr. Bradley was born in Boston in 1868. His father, a newspaper
cartoonist, died when he was eight. Four years later his mother moved
to Ishpeming, a small iron-mining town in northern Michigan. Here, he
became a printer’s devil on the local newspaper.
The brief chronology of events in his legendary career (pp. 92-96)
reveals pertinent details of the early years as art department
apprentice with Rand McNally, Chicago map-makers, and as free-lance
artist. He soon won recognition for his cover designs and drawings for
_Harper’s Weekly_ and _The Inland Printer_, and posters for Stone and
Kimball’s _Chap Book_.
In 1895 he returned to New England to set up his Wayside Press in
Springfield, Mass. He was twenty-seven then, had just designed his
first sample book for Strathmore, and developed publishing plans for
_Bradley: His Book_. Volume one, number one was dated May, 1896;
the subscription price, one dollar the year. The cover was a poster
treatment of a tree on a grassy hilltop; the frontispiece was by
Edward Penfield, himself the subject of a lead article. Center spread
pages, decidedly in the Kelmscott manner, were devoted to a poem by
Harriet Monroe, with a floriated border surrounding the text in caps.
The body type was the ATF version of the Morris Golden face.
_Bradley: His Book_ was planned as an art and literary magazine, and
also “a technical journal for those engaged in the art of printing.”
Seven issues comprised its life span; the first four varied slightly
from the initial 5¼ × 10½ inch size; the last three (of volume
two) were 8 × 11 inches. A note indicated that “advertisements are
newly prepared for each number without extra cost.” Products promoted
included writing and printing papers, type, ink, periodicals, a
“talking” machine, auto tires, baking and washing powder, and soap. A
further note evidenced concern for design and typography, mentioning
that “advertisements may be appropriately illustrated by any artist,
provided the character of design and execution are suitable for pages
of this magazine. Text on electrotypes will be reset in type from
_Bradley: His Book_ fonts.”
From this point on, the Bradley career moved into high gear. In 1900 he
was commissioned by the _Ladies’ Home Journal_ to design eight full
pages of house interiors; he also designed a roman and italic type.
Three years later, at thirty-five, he headed a typographic and
publicity campaign for ATF (1903), and wrote and designed their famous
_Chap Books_. In 1907 he was art editor of _Collier’s_; and from
1910 to 1915 the simultaneous art editor for _Good Housekeeping_,
_Metropolitan_, _Success_, _Pearson’s_ and _National Post_. Then in
his early forties, he dipped into the field of the motion picture as
art supervisor of serials for William Randolph Hearst. In 1918 he was
writing and directing motion pictures independently. Two years later
he rejoined the Hearst organization as art and typographic supervisor
for their newspapers, magazines and motion pictures. In 1930, age
sixty-two, he retired to southern California.
* * * * *
Of the Bradley renaissance a quarter-century later, a single design
accomplishment seems significant: The 1954 Portfolio in the Strathmore
distinguished designer series, begun in California in 1951, completed
early in 1954 and introduced at a luncheon sponsored jointly by the
Typophiles and Strathmore, held at the New York University Club. The
date was just a few months short of sixty years from that significant
day when the first paper-use specimen was issued by Strathmore in
Mittineague.
Among the speakers paying tribute were Edwin H. Carpenter of the
Huntington Library; Thomas Maitland Cleland, designer and artist; A.
Hyatt Mayor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Frederic G. Melcher,
dean of American publishers; Carl Purington Rollins, printer emeritus
to Yale University; Walter Dorwin Teague, industrial designer, F.
Nelson Bridgham, Strathmore president, and the undersigned reporter,
who served as toastmaster.
* * * * *
The first-hand account of the fabulous years recorded in this book has
been assembled from separate papers written by Mr. Bradley at different
times since 1949. No attempt has been made to unify the varying tenses,
or modify the sometimes first-person sometimes second-person style of
the author in these different memoirs. An attempt _has_ been made to
connect these papers into one continuing narrative. To this end, some
editing of over-lapping material and cutting of repetitious passages
seemed essential.
The sources: A booklet titled _Memories: 1875-1895_, printed for the
Typophiles and other friends by Grant Dahlstrom in Pasadena, 1949;
another titled _Picture of a Period, or Memories of the Gay Nineties_,
printed for the Rounce and Coffin Club of Los Angeles (also by
Dahlstrom) in 1950; the Huntington Library hand list, _Will Bradley:
His Work_, 1951 (again printed by Dahlstrom). The fourth source item is
“Will Bradley’s Magazine Memories,” from the _Journal_ of the American
Institute of Graphic Arts (Vol. III, No. 1, 1950).
Like most Typophile projects, this has been in process for many months.
Though obviously a cooperative effort, much of the muscle and mind
needed to shape and form it has been contributed by Peter Beilenson. He
not only attended to the design and printing at his Peter Pauper Press,
but also helped materially in its editing.
The alluring prospect of additional illustrations for these pages was
reluctantly passed by. Our physical limitations and resources proved
inadequate to reflect the qualities, and the scope and variety of Mr.
Bradley’s work. Examples of his colorful designing and illustrating may
be seen in the comprehensive collections at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York, and the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. A
brief selection is shown in _The Penrose Annual_, 1955.
Despite his years, Mr. Bradley generously offered to develop the
typographic plan of this book, and rewrite the entire text to further
illumine certain passages. He also suggested he make new drawings to
replace those on chapter pages, which were drawn in 1949 to enhance the
solid text pages of the _Memories_ booklet (The type ornaments on these
pages were drawn in 1953 for ATF.) This considerable task seemed an
unnecessary burden, particularly since Mr. Bradley had reflected with
characteristic charm and candor the recollections of his great years.
Like every artist and craftsman of stature, he remains his own severest
critic.
Numerous other friends have helped with this book: Among them, Arthur
W. Rushmore and Edmund B. Thompson in its early planning; Robert B.
Clark, Jr., and his colleagues at Strathmore; Nicholas A. Meyer, David
Silvé, Stevens L. Watts and Robert H. Wessmann--each has been quick
to answer every call, as has Will Bradley. For myself, it has been a
memorable and rewarding book-making experience to work with these good
friends, as it is a privilege to record here the indebtedness of The
Typophiles for their invaluable and generous assistance.