constructed on squared lines, a shape dictated by the large decorative
device. While the page as arranged is interesting and fairly harmonious,
the pointed letters in the type lines would blend better with a device
of the pointed Gothic kind; or, again, the squared device would be in
closer harmony with a squared type effect such as could be obtained with
roman capitals.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 204
Program cover-page in semi-missal style. By Lee Crittenden, New York
]
EXAMPLE 201.—This page presents an excellent suggestion for the
arrangement of a program in which numerous small titles appear. If each
title were set in a measure the full width of the type page, as is
frequently done, the matter would not come into one page. The
arrangement as shown not only economizes space but gives symmetry and
tone, which otherwise would not be had. The portions in red are well
selected for printing in that color. There is artistic value in the
shape formed by the vertical dividing rule and the page heading.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 206
A dance card by Edward W. Stutes, Spokane, Wash.
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 208
Unconventional treatment of a dance program
]
EXAMPLE 202.—This page has not the compactness of the preceding one, yet
esthetically it is more pleasing. It is an almost perfect specimen of
church-program printing. As already mentioned, the horizontal red lines
and the black text letter used for titles have an ecclesiastical motive.
Careful disposition of blank space has given a pleasing tone to the
page, which is also helped by the position of the second stanza of the
hymn at the foot. The type-faces are harmonious, the use of black text,
old-style roman and italic affording a pleasing variety. By including in
the color the initial letters and the title “Holy Communion,” all parts
of the page are blended and related.
EXAMPLE 203.—The printer may be naturally curious to know how a
typographer such as D. B. Updike, who is known to specialize on
ecclesiastical typography, treats church programs. Here is an Updike
page, from a program of Lenten services, arranged in the simple, classic
style of typographic treatment that he always renders so well. As will
be noticed, the main portion of the type page is aligned at the left.
The manner of using capitals, small capitals, lower-case and italic is
an interesting study. While examining the page it is enlightening to
note that A.M. and P.M. are in small capitals, and that no space other
than furnished by the period is placed between these abbreviations or
the degrees D.D., Ph.D., etc.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 207
Page from a booklet program. By C. R. Beran, Denver, Colo.
]
EXAMPLE 204.—This is the title-page of a small program which was in
booklet form, a page being devoted to each event on the program. The
title-page is in missal style, with cross rules and uncial initials. The
spaced Pabst capitals at the foot are not sufficiently strong in tone to
balance the upper part of the page. Perhaps the effect would be better
had the missal style of treatment been extended to the lower portion of
the page.
EXAMPLE 205.—This is the second page of a small program used at the
laying of the corner-stone of a new church building. It would have been
possible to get all the type matter on one page, but crowding into small
space is often done at the sacrifice of beauty, and this program profits
by the liberal margins. The rule lines at the head were used to obtain
uniformity of page width and hight. The outline type ornament gives
ecclesiastic dignity to the program. The two-line initial at the
beginning of each hymn adds style and finish to the typography.
* * * * *
The dance program is a far step from the church program. The contrast
between the subdued and reverent atmosphere of the house of worship and
the gayety and frivolity of the brilliantly lighted ball-room emphasizes
the necessity of printers using their best powers of discrimination in
treating the various programs that come to their shops.
The dance program should be dainty. White seems to be more acceptable
than colored stock on which to print the order of dancing. The type and
ink treatment should be neat and delicate. If a bold type-face be used,
it should be printed in a light tint of ink, such as gray, pale blue,
pale green, and the like. It is possible for printers to produce
attractive dance programs with the material generally found in the shop,
yet stock folders may save wear of the thought machinery and probably be
more satisfactory to the customer. Young people are imitative and may be
suspicious of a dance program which does not resemble those they have
seen before; it has got to “look like a dance program.” For fifty years
or more dance programs have consisted of folded cardboard with tassel
and pencil dangling therefrom. The stock folder is to be had in a
variety of designs printed or embossed on the first page, appropriate
for many occasions. However, there are shown three typographic dance
programs.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 209
The decorative border on a banquet program. By Edward Everett
Winchell, New York
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 211
Page from a booklet program. By Will Bradley
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 212
The banquet program in the form of a checkbook
]
EXAMPLE 206.—An Indian border was used around this dance card, but its
strong lines were softened by printing in gray and red. White stock was
used. In the headline, instead of the customary periods, dots are
centered decoratively. Artists often place a dot or small ornament
between words of a lettered design for the purpose of benefiting the
tone. More often practically no space at all is placed between words if
in lower-case beginning with capital letters.
EXAMPLE 207.—A part of an outing program, this page carries the style of
all the other pages as regards border and head panel. It illustrates the
effectiveness and economy of uniform border treatment on a program.
There are very few programs that would not be benefited by decorative
borders in color. But one border need be set in type, duplicates being
obtained by electrotyping. If there are to be only a few hundred
programs, two borders may be set in type and printed on all the sheets,
running only two pages on. If desired, a hand-drawn decorative border
could be engraved and afterward duplicated by electrotyping.
EXAMPLE 208.—There is nothing conventional in the design of this dance
program. It is different from most others. The rule lines extend to the
border, and the heading “Dances” sets slightly to the right of center,
supported underneath by the graceful flower ornament. Punctuation is
omitted. This page is recommended for dance cards, when the printer
desires to have the job exclusively typographic.
* * * * *
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 210
A halftone decorative background on a program. Design by
Griffith-Stillings Press, Boston, Mass.
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 213
Humorous treatment of titles and odd menu arrangement. Design by the
Griffith-Stillings Press, Boston, Mass.
]
The banquet program not so many years ago here in America and in England
was commonly called a bill of fare. Now only the cross-roads hotel and
the cheap city eating house have bills of fare. The polite title is now
“menu,” pronounced men-yu or meh-noo. Some writers claim the word came
to us from “Manu,” a mythical sage said to have sprung from the god
Brahma. Yet the dictionary would seem to indicate that the word is
French, meaning small, and was derived from the Latin _minutus_, little.
It is possible that the small portions now served in many restaurants
suggested the use of “menu” because of the contrast with the generous
“helpings” of the old-fashioned meal. In 1512 a “shore dinner” for an
individual consisted of “a quart of beer, a quart of wine, salt fish,
red herring, white herrings and a dish of sprats.”
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 214
Suggestion for a menu page, introducing a bit of fun
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 215
A classic menu page. Designed by D. B. Updike, Boston, Mass.
]
In the banquet program the printer has great opportunity to make use of
his inventive faculties. No other kind of program allows of such varied
treatment. There is no limit to the shapes, the type arrangements and
the color treatments that are suitable for banquet programs. An
association of leather merchants holds a dinner and the members may find
beside their plates a program bound in a miniature hide, the sheets of
the program attached by a leather thong.
Bankers meet and the program may be in the form of a checkbook.
For an athletic association an oval-shaped program suggesting a football
will “score.”
Newspaper publishers will appreciate the menu list presented as a
papier-mache matrix of the type form.
Commercial travelers would be pleased were their banquet programs
designed in imitation of a mileage book.
A literary society dinner would be appropriately graced were the program
printed on parchment and wound around a wooden or ivory rod, as “books”
were bound in ancient times.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 217
Dignified style for menu page. By the De Vinne Press, New York
]
Pyrography could be blended with typography in producing odd effects in
banquet programs. One way of getting results by this method is to print
the menu page on a piece of soft wood, say a quarter of an inch thick,
and then, by means of the pyrographic writing tool, burn a decorative
border around it. Type ornaments and borders could be printed on the
wood as a guide for burning the designs.
Many effective menu forms could also be evolved with the assistance of
the bookbinder. Pulp board covered with an artistic cover paper makes a
handsome background for mounting the menu page, which should be printed
on a harmonizing stock. Italian and Japanese hand-made papers are
particularly suitable for such work, and when the style of typography is
made to blend with the stock the effect is rich. Domestic manufacturers,
too, make a large line of artistic papers applicable to the purpose.
EXAMPLE 209.—This page is from a booklet program, and is companion to
Example 125 inserted in a preceding chapter. It sets forth the value of
the decorative border on programs. The arrangement of the type matter is
the customary one. The minor dishes are set in small type, while the
damp stuff from the wine cellar is represented at the left in rubricated
text letters.
EXAMPLE 210.—A halftoned decorative background in olive was a feature
that lent value to this page, which is one of a number of similarly
treated pages in a booklet program. The classic panel design makes a
good background for a menu page. The idea is applicable in many other
ways.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 216
A menu program used by master printers. By Charles Edward Peabody,
Toronto, Ont.
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 218
Treatment simulating woodcut decoration
]
EXAMPLE 211.—This chapter would be incomplete without one or two Bradley
specimens. Here is an idea in menu printing born while he was with the
American Type Founders Company in 1905. It took the form of a small
booklet 2¾ by 4¾ inches, eight pages and cover, and each page was
devoted to one of the dishes on the menu. Below the name of the dish was
a chap-book ornament. Altho the small booklet has been little used as a
form for menu purposes, it has possibilities for development that should
not be overlooked by the printer.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 219
The missal style adapted to a menu program. By Will Bradley
]
EXAMPLE 212.—Here is a novel banquet program. Each dish on the menu was
presented in the form of a check on the “Printers’ Bank of Dyspepsia,”
and the “bank” was ordered to pay to the order of the guest a portion of
food or drink, in this instance oysters on the half-shell. The checks
were signed by appropriate names, “A. Shellgame” in this instance. The
entire lot of checks was bound in the customary checkbook style.
EXAMPLE 213.—In this program the menu is termed “Hash” and the toasts
“Rehash.” The treatment is unique, especially in the arrangement of the
list of palate ticklers.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 220
Unique treatment of a menu page in which the minor dishes are arranged
at the right
]
EXAMPLE 214 (Insert).—Suggested for a menu page in two colors. Banquets
are occasions of gayety and enjoyment, and humor is appreciated.
Displaying choice drinks prominently, and then in a note at the foot
calling attention to the fact that they can be had at the bar at regular
rates, is a bit of fun that has not been widely perpetrated.
Typographically the page is refined, yet is sufficiently decorative to
appeal to a large class of customers.
EXAMPLE 215.—A classic menu page by Updike. Roman capitals and italic
lower-case only are used. Perhaps this is the way Aldus would set the
page were he alive today. The page as a mass is symmetrical.
EXAMPLE 216.—This page is from a program used at a master printers’
banquet, all pages being treated in a style appropriately humorous. The
word “Stock” tops the page instead of the usual “Menu.” “Make-up” heads
the list of officers, and in this manner were the guests’ funny-bones
agitated.
EXAMPLE 217.—Here is a program for those accustomed to eat in a foreign
language. The typographic treatment is refined and dignified, the roman
capitals and the italic blending classically. Little side hits such as
those to the right are always appreciated, especially when carefully
selected.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 222
Refined entertainment program page. Design by D. B. Updike, Boston,
Mass.
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 221
Excellent typographic treatment. By Harry Haime, Boston, Mass.
]
EXAMPLE 218.—An artistic treatment simulating woodcut decoration
suitable for many occasions is presented by this page. The four initial
letters give the appearance of a decorative heading and blend well with
the border. It is appropriate that capitals should be used thruout the
page and that the type-face should be Old-Style Antique. The florets
dividing the dishes distribute the color pleasingly. The fact that this
program was used by an organization of mechanical engineers explains the
queer wording of the list of good things to be eaten.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 223
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 224
These two pages are from an entertainment program by Bruce Rogers,
Cambridge, Mass., and furnish interesting material for study
]
EXAMPLE 219.—Bradley suggests another good arrangement in this page. It
is simply constructed, yet possesses interest and style. The original
was in black and light-brown inks on buff antique stock.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 225
A program page in lower-case. By Stetson Press, Boston, Mass.
]
EXAMPLE 220.—This page has the merit of being unique while containing
elements of the artistic. The important dishes are set forth
prominently, the minor dishes appearing in small type grouped at the
right. Uncial initials blend with the Old-Style Antique type. The
horizontal rule and the large flower ornament play necessary parts in
obtaining a balance.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 226
The decoration was in color. By Fred S. Lang, Los Angeles, Cal.
]
EXAMPLE 221.—The treatment of the titles at the left side and the
symmetrical arrangement at the foot of this example are highly
commendable. The details of the entire page denote the finished
typographer. The combination of capitals and small capitals is pleasing,
and the manner in which variety has been secured in a design of orderly
arrangement is commendable.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 227
Program in the Gothic style. Designed by Merrymount Press, Boston,
Mass.
]
* * * * *
Programs for entertainments and exercises, while not allowing the
unrestrained workings of the fancy that those for banquets do, are yet
proper vehicles for carrying artistic ideas. The program should be
artistic. The commonplace program is a disappointment to the intelligent
auditor and an evil in that it influences the public taste towards
mediocrity. The printer who cannot produce a good entertainment program
has need to study art principles and observe the artistic programs being
produced by others.
EXAMPLE 222.—A refined program page by Updike. In the original the
border was printed from a copper intaglio plate on smooth-surfaced
hand-made paper, the reading portion being printed clearly and sharply
from type. Updike’s work is noted for the clearness of the print. Just
enough ink is carried to prevent the print being called gray. Of course
the type must be clean and unaffected by wear, the ink well ground and
the impression firm. This specimen is almost entirely in italic, with
“swash” or decorative capitals that add interest to a page of dignified
typography. Swash italic capitals properly used are valuable aids in
securing attractive yet refined typographic effects.
EXAMPLES 223 AND 224.—These two pages by Bruce Rogers should have
interest for every printer who loves good typography. The zinc
reproductions of these pages, also that of the preceding example, fail
to present the sharp print of the originals. Roman lower-case is absent
from this program. Rogers and Updike, with Aldus, have demonstrated that
roman lower-case is not essential to typography. Perhaps that is why
their work has distinction—other printers set most of their type from
the roman lower case.
On the title-page the features of particular interest are the long s in
the word “music,” the swash italic capitals and the woodcut ornament.
The program page is interesting in its construction and its details
should be studied closely. Unless suitable ornamentation is available,
program pages had better be treated plainly as here, with such attention
to the details of the type arrangement as will obtain finished results.
It is a test of typographic ability in the production of a program page
to compose work that, without the friendly aid of decoration, is
pleasing to look upon.
EXAMPLE 225.—This page shows admirable treatment of a brief program. The
various sizes of type are well distributed, and the consistent use of
roman lower-case is pleasing.
EXAMPLE 226.—The type in this page overprinted the decoration which was
in pale orange and pale green. The decoration was appropriate in that
the program was for a meeting held on the fruit-growing Pacific Coast.
EXAMPLE 227.—The Gothic style dominates this page. Excepting the two
uncial initials, only one size of type has been used. That fact alone is
interesting, as the result is remarkably finished. Decoration of quality
for similar effects can be obtained by having historic decorative
borders from old books photographed and redrawn upon the photograph with
such alterations as are desired. The face of the photograph can then be
washed away, leaving only the drawing, from which the plate is made.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 228
A well-arranged page. By Stetson Press, Boston, Mass.
]
EXAMPLE 228.—The list of characters in a dramatic entertainment is here
displayed in an unusual manner. It is so easy for compositors to set
copy such as this in the conventional type-leader-type method, but this
compositor has arranged it to conform to the proportion of the page.
The program containing small advertisements, especially the theater
program, is possible of much improvement. Such typography should be
given better attention, as theater programs exert large influence in
forming public taste.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 229
Classic capitals combined with rules. Suitable for announcements
having to do with art, architecture, literature and music
]
[Illustration]
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Publicity is doubtlessly essential to success in every business and
profession. The public is interested in the man who does things, but
this interest is obviously confined to the man who it knows does things.
The great men are advertised men. The great deeds of history are those
advertised by poets and historians. Shakespeare made famous many ancient
characters, as did Plutarch before him, and the most famous acts of the
American Revolution are those performed near the homes of poets and
writers. We would not be familiar with the rides of Paul Revere and
“Phil” Sheridan had they not been advertised by means of printers’ ink.
Several years ago in New York an influential art society recognized the
work of a mural painter by awarding him a medal. In accepting it the
artist sadly remarked that the recognition came too late in life for him
to “use it as a help to live with,” which proves that in the heart of
the most proud and sensitive artist or professional man there is a
feeling that he needs publicity—recognition, if that word is less
offensive—in order that his life work may be successful.
It is fashionable for prominent persons to employ press agents, and
goings and comings and doings are told to the public at every
opportunity. In the days before the development of newspapers and other
typographical mediums for advertising, the people depended upon the
public crier to make all sorts of announcements. He would attract a
crowd by sounding blasts with a horn or by ringing a bell, and then make
known his message.
The modern representative of the crier is the printed announcement. It
is not confined to any definite size or shape, often consisting of one
page only, printed on card or paper stock.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 230
]
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 231
Two pages from a dignified, refined and artistic announcement folder,
printed in black ink on brown-tinted hand-made paper
]
The announcement form may be considered the most personal of the printed
mediums of publicity. It presents a direct, individual appeal or
invitation, and the recipient, influenced by this fact, is likely to
give it more consideration than some other form of advertising.
Recognition is flattering to all of us, and upon receipt of an
announcement we are apt to feel pleased that our patronage or
personality is thus recognized.
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 232
Announcement in Colonial style. By A. F. Mackay
]
The printer is depended upon by most customers to furnish suggestions
for the physical make-up of the announcement, and he is also frequently
asked for advice in regard to the phraseology. This places a
responsibility upon him that he cannot well ignore, and he should be
able to respond with proper suggestions. Being thus qualified to assist
the customer has many times led to further and profitable business. The
printer possessing the confidence of his customers has an asset of great
value.
The most common form of typographic announcement is that printed from
roman, text, gothic or script type-faces in imitation of engraved
intaglio printing. The styles of this form of announcement change
slightly with the fashions in copperplate effects. Printers desiring to
do such work would do well to obtain samples from one of the leading
society stationers and follow them closely in arrangement, spacing of
words and lines, and size and kind of stock. This class of work allows
of little original or decorative treatment. If other forms or treatments
are desired a standard type-face, such as Caslon or Cloister, should be
used. Many compositors err in combining copperplate-engravers’ faces
with rules and borders, or in other ways misusing them; for such results
are “neither flesh, fish nor fowl,” as the saying goes.
If the customer requests an imitation copperplate effect, give it to him
as closely as you can; that is good business policy, and is in
accordance with the sound advice to “Do your best, no matter what the
circumstances,” reminding one of the old rhyme:
If I were a cobbler, it would be my pride
The best of all cobblers to be;
If I were a tinker, no tinker beside
Should mend an old kettle like me.
But, whenever possible, get on higher ground. If you must be a tinker,
be a good one, but rather be a producer of new things than a builder of
patches and something that is “as good as new.” Printers should test
their earnestness with tasks that develop their art instincts and,
accompanied by proper financial return, bring that satisfaction which
comes from work well done.
* * * * *
[Illustration:
EXAMPLE 233
Odd treatment of an announcement. By T. M. Cleland
]