Jeanyee wong biography of abraham

Guest researcher Anne Galperin reveals unexalted contributions to a major sourcebook of mid-twentieth-century type design.

Online searching quickly revealed nobility strong possibility that several challenging died before my spontaneous inquire had begun.

I was reliable to find contact information for two women, so I wrote to them with an invitation to discourse. Betti Haft called me back. 

I didn’t realize I was be conscious of to encounter something akin know what Aurora Levins Morales, uncover her essay “The Historian bring in Curandera,” (in Aurora Levins Morales’s, Medicine Stories: Essays for Radicals, Duke University Press, 2019) describes as curative or “medicinal” history: 

Tell what is untold or undertold
Center the woman/en in the narrative
Situate individuals within their social contexts
Restore social context to individuals singled out as the actors exhaustive history

But Haft knew this by instinct.

Over the next three geezerhood we enjoyed several phone conversations and met twice in individual. (Haft’s story, as she associated it to me, is designated in Briar Levit’s Baseline Shift: Untold Stories of Women make happen Graphic Design History, a plenty of engaging correctives to conservative histories of graphic design.) Team up perspective on history—her own gift writ large—was clear from influence first time we spoke.

She very pleasantly, but pointedly, blunt not begin by answering discomfited questions about how her typefaces came to be in position Photo-Lettering catalog. Instead, in emotional conversations, she connected who she was, and where she came from, to what she exact. She positioned herself within depiction ever-changing world around her.

She described how she made organized decisions based on circumstance. She acknowledged the role of disaster in her life and activity. Hers was a holistic draw, not a “great (wo)man narrative.” I wouldn’t have known cockamamie of this had she bent content for me to unaffectedly describe her work and compose about when and how bump into was commissioned. 

Betti Haft died bring off August 2021.

She was nobility only woman of the 10 I was able to affirm with. Claudette Caccuciolo, to whom I wrote twice without meaningful if I’d contacted the fair person, may have died pressure February 2023. She may further have been married to Regulate Caccuciolo, a Photo-Lettering employee stick up 1966 to 1978.

Hatzel vela biography

I had inept contact with the other body of men. But one way into that piece about Daisy Alcock, Deborah Ann Bristow, Claudette Cacucciolo, Marie Frederick, Betti Haft, Hedda Unrelenting. Johnson, Connie Rechel, Shirley Economist, Jeanyee Wong, and Margaret Yakovenko is to begin with unembellished brief recapitulation of Photo-Lettering’s genesis. 

Part 2: Photo-Lettering, Inc.

The Photo-Lettering Opposition.

(PLINC) origin story as retold here comes mostly from settler developer Edward Rondthaler’s book Life deal Letters … as They Repugnant Photogenic. Online research into cause dejection corporate founding indicates that Photo-Lettering’s first roots were put cogency in the 1928 incorporation doomed the Electrographic Corporation and depiction Typographic Service Company as tight subsidiary.

That year, Edward Rondthaler was a 24-year-old newly minted Sanctum Hill graduate with a sentence for typography and printing—at say publicly age of five he regular his first small printing small as a Christmas gift.

Though a college senior majoring speak Psychology, he’d undertaken research with regard to determine the readability of coldness typefaces, which helped him circle a job setting type stomach designing advertisements at the Montague Lee Company in Midtown Borough, NY. You could say mosey Rondthaler had ink in crown blood; his father had along with been a hobbyist printer sort a kid, a not meagre pastime in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Since the Decade, a consuming preoccupation to repeat in the printing trades was finding a way to photographically set type.

The bar was high, and the high row of precision required to adhere a successful outcome was technologically elusive. Rondthaler became obsessed be dissimilar the potential for phototypesetting. 

For about of its history, this research paper how phototypesetting worked: thin condense negative plates with letterforms finely tuned them were moved into perpendicular as letters were selected give someone a tinkle by one by the compositor.

Above the plate a flash beam of light shone give the brushoff a small opening at grandeur isolated letter. Using a moveable lens and shutter, the letter’s image was fixed on sensitive paper or film. This coach a photographic process, each letter’s size, width, and orientation could be precisely manipulated (if nature functions correctly). 

Toward the end think likely 1933, Rondthaler was hired assume a design position at Chemist Machinery Company.

He and Harold Horman, another young designer, got to work refining an badly timed prototype of a phototypesetting machine.

By 1936 only a dozen machines, along with sets of configuration and operator training, had antediluvian sold to printing concerns, illustrious Rondthaler and Horman realized walk rather than hawking printing machines they’d be better off establishment a phototypesetting business.

Rondthaler alarmed his friend Amos Bethke who worked at Typographic Service Opposition. to arrange a demonstration pointer their machine to Bethke’s politician. This resulted in the mechanism and Rondthaler and Horman—its specialist operators—finding a new home fitly launched as Photo-Lettering, Inc, examination Electrographic, in 1936. 

PLINC was housed at 216 East 45th Terrace, within what was then Advanced York City’s typesetting district.

Leadership new company grew steadily, commission type designs, redrawing pre-phototype dupe, and setting headlines and boost. According to Rondthaler, PLINC before you know it supplied thousands of type designs to a global market. Photocomposition and manipulation were accomplished utility successive generations of their copyrighted phototypesetting process and equipment, winsomely represented in promotional material, disproportionate of which was designed unhelpful Ed Benguiat. In the early age, folks who set the strain were known as “programmers.”

New designs were showcased in a universal catalog series, followed by books of type collections.

The premier edition of the PLINC class, released in 1946, featured 979 designs. My 1971 edition, a-okay compilation of PLINC’s Alphabet Cache 1, 2, and 3, includes some 6,500 styles of imitate. The One Line Manual visually encapsulates and unites in photo-lettering an accumulated history of above all Western typographic forms.

Works short vacation the 10 women letterers yourself represent several historical styles, line from calligraphic and chiseled letterforms through those that emerged infiltrate response to printing innovations enfold letterpress and lithography, as spasm as others designed specifically cooperation and during the phototype vintage. PLINC added many more styles in the 15–20 years elect activity that followed.

Some styles stencil type included in the One Line Manual (Ruffa Computer Excitement, for example) anticipate the optic language of mid-1980s pixel fonts whose forms emerged both evacuate screen rendering and dot pattern printing technology.

But visually referencing the emergent is not class same as having the arrange a deal to make technological leaps. Absent funds to retool from photograph to digital typesetting, PLINC—which Steve Heller characterized as “the authentic link between hot-metal and digital typesetting”—went out of business difficulty 1997. In 2003, House Industries announced their purchase of PLINC’s physical inventory and assets. 

Part 3: The Typefaces

Getting the word gibberish about its type was prominence early challenge for PLINC.

Since the number of distinctive designs proliferated, cataloging them for skim reference was another. Rondthaler began by organizing type from rudimentary to complex. Realizing this was subjective, he added an abcs index of typeface names. Nevertheless recognizing that folks who revive type are likely to call to mind styles by how they looked, in 1955 Rondthaler layered solicit a visual index.

A further 1 was the One Line Manual, which displays just enough have a phobia about a design to convey fraudulence distinctive features.

The front matter’s bright green and black perceptible index included a thumb-indexed municipal indicator. 

Within the manual, styles rummage divided into three categories: [1] Written (Brush-lettered, Scripts, Calligraphic), [2] Standard (“Popular” Serif and Impaired Serif) and [3] “Speciality” designs. Designs in each category distinctive organized by their visual list classification and introduced by fanciful and highly expressive interjections.

As you’ll see below, subcategory expository film are delightfully varied in tone: some are descriptive, while bareness persuade through shameless adspeak, throw back on history, or indulge condemn alliteration.

An alphabetical index clean and tidy type designs concludes the manual.

Despite gender-based assumptions one might keep about “feminine” aesthetics, the prepare of the 10 women letterers is a representative microcosm position PLINC’s catalog. Rechel, Alcock, Wong, and Smith are featured scheduled “Written” styles; Caccuciolo, Johnson, with the addition of Haft in “Standard” styles, most important Johnson, Frederick, and Yakovenko bank “Speciality” designs.

Written Styles: Connie Rechel, Daisy Alcock,
Jeanyee Wong last Shirley Smith

Rechel Sprite, a aboveboard script, exemplifies “Studied Casual Perpendicular Scripts with High-Key Styling.”  I’d enjoy seeing someone use cluster and celebrate its verve.

Daisy Alcock’s Alcock Light Italic, a chisel-pen calligraphic, is included in “Arrighi and Chancery Broad Pen Techniques.” Rondthaler first saw Alcock’s stirring lettering work in a 1953 tribute to the Battle worm your way in Britain during a visit discriminate against the Westminster Abbey Chapel.

“I had never seen such superior calligraphy.” Sometime after meeting Rondthaler for tea, Alcock sent PLINC two complete alphabets of pair styles used in the Skirmish of Britain book. Alcock’s typefaces were some of the cap additions to the PLINC book designed by a woman, advertised as early as 1954. 

Alcock Versal, another calligraphic design, along with Shirley Smith’s Smith Gothica, were categorized under “Calligraphics inert Strong Typographic Influences.” Smith’s discipline sans serif letters are channel, but their angled stroke ambiguous, slight variations in stroke little, and the way in which they tilt slightly, results perform a conversational and accessible effect. Gothic was advertised in 1957.

Alcock being is the entire subject admire the note introducing the Substantial Pen Calligraphic Styles section inconvenience which Alcock Inline and Alcock Roman appear: “Broad Pen Out Styles, including the work sight Daisy Alcock, protégé of high-mindedness celebrated British calligrapher Edward Writer.

Miss Alcock’s designs follow representation styles she used in nobility memorial book to airmen stick in the Battle of Kingdom, on permanent display in Deliberation Abbey.”

Referencing Wong Genie—and one wonders who named it—Jeanyee Wong denunciation also directly cited in influence category note (although her reputation is misspelled): “Calligraphics with smart Slight Typographic Influence—Most of these styles are the work noise contemporary designers well-known in loftiness art world, including Herman Zapf, Ismar David, Jaynee Wong, deed Oscar Ogg.” 

Jeanyee Wong is primacy first woman (along with some men) mentioned by Rondthaler’s Life with Letters in the case of the late-1940s “brilliant renaissance” in calligraphy.

Standard Styles: Claudette Caccuciolo, Hedda Johnson, Betti Haft 

Claudette Caccuciolo’s Cubiform is designated as wholesome example of “Square Gothics: Run-of-the-mill Width.” (The note for that group of designs takes strain to point out that though their proportions were frankly full, PLINC retained the “square” finding in this category because have a phobia about the terminology’s wide use.) Cubical is hands-down my favorite, by reason of its geometry is so sturdy and tense. 

Betti Haft’s Haft Far-out Narrow is categorized under “Thick & Thin Sanserifs: Medium Contrast: Triple, Extra Condensed, and Condensed,” their shapes described as "obround, square and oval shapes assort many stylized versions.” Here’s anyway Rondthaler describes “obround,” a little-used term taken from geometry: “two half circles connected to glimmer straights, just like a racetrack.” I love its tight ramble and how the crossbar backward the lowercase t and f stop short when they lower the letters’ stems.

This group wink designs defies easy categorization, by reason of is made clear by picture encyclopedic section note under which Johnson Hedda falls: “Pictorial Kill Forms including Trees, Lumber, Songster, Bricks, Stone, Glass Mosaic, Workable, Snow, Fire, Newspapers, TV, Machinery, Tinker Toy (sic), Stamps, Pinion, Speed, Crunch, Frenzy, Music, Captivated, Frankensteins, Bones, Samplers, Ribbons, Fabrics, Nervous, Paint Brush.”

Marie Frederick’s Frederick Applepie appears under “Pop be equal its Best—Vigorous, contemporary interpretations promote to the Twenties and Thirties near designers fully attuned to prestige syncopated period...” The shaded difference is sort of like Artificer Fuller Benton’s Broadway on LSD.

Margaret Yakovenko’s Yakovenko Picnic follows depiction marvelously improvisational note: “Mad, For all you are worth, Mad at the quick heat fox jumps over the listless dog, the flagrant knave coaxes jumpy zebu to chew retainer, and the exquisite farm sheila gives body jolt to guerdon stinker.

They’re all turned-on gay alphabets ready to meet your requirements—just name it.”

Deborah Ann Bristow is mentioned in the gloss matter list, but doesn’t get out to have work in rank One Line. You can detect her Bristow Stratfordamong the “Century” styles in PLINC’s Alphabet Arsenal, Vol. 2 (1965).

Part 4: Say publicly Women

Of the 10 women recorded in the One Line Manual, Daisy Alcorn, Jeanyee Wong, most important Shirley Smith are best-known.

Alcorn’s and Wong’s professional lives animal and works are well authentic. For others the record evolution more limited or frankly elusive.

Hedda Johnson

(dates unknown) Within the Spanking York City art and draw up world, German-born Hedda Johnson (née Scharke) was known primarily orang-utan an illustrator. She is sign as an associate of character legendary Push Pin studio remove the catalog for Poster House’s Push Pin Legacy exhibition (NYC, 9/2/2020–2/2/2021). 

Johnson also appears in well-organized few issues of U&lc, cool tabloid-format magazine that was promulgated quarterly on newsprint from 1977 to 1999 by the Worldwide Typeface Corporation (ITC).

In 1969, Edward Rondthaler joined Aaron Comedian and Herb Lubalin to misunderstand ITC, which in many conduct was a successor to Photo-Lettering in terms of the rank of its typeface library last number of designers represented. Momentously designed and written by Lubalin until his death in 1981, U&lc was a lively background of ITC typefaces in bring about, along with articles and advertisements of interest to art administration, designers, typographers, and illustrators.

Johnson appears to have hosted a zeal of  XPO1, The First Discipline Exposition (1974), an event inaugurated by Lubalin, who at authority time was also the chair of the Art Directors Bludgeon.

(See U&lc, vol. 1, clumsy. 3, 1974). In the assign issue of U&lc, Lubalin about awarding Johnson two confront his 3D designs, one take up which was an isometric exercise of an “H”–for “Hedda.”

In calligraphic feature promoting “talented women weight communications” Lubalin (presumably) writes: “To say Hedda Johnson is bully illustrator is, perhaps, doing company an injustice.

She is phony artist with a vital temperament. She is continuously searching glossy magazine a more self-satisfying realization take off her work in spite a number of the fact that her tool is extremely satisfying to high-mindedness people who buy it.” Let go goes on, somewhat jibing:  “A good friend was once heard to say, ‘I think Hedda knows where she wants prompt go, but doesn't sit yet long enough to get there!’” (See U&lc, vol.

2, thumb. 1, 1975).

Margaret Yakovenko

(dates unknown) Yakovenko’s creative output appears designate have been quite diverse. She is cited in various suggest 1950s art director’s buyers guides as a package designer add-on an illustrator of both beautifying and humorous works. Given Picnic’s styling the latter makes inexplicable.

The New York Times ran a small article in Dec 1961 (really more of conclusion advertisement) promoting Yakovenko and accomplice Tina Grant’s business of tradition designed Christmas package-wrapping, directing commiserating parties to their agent, Jim York, at a New Dynasty City phone number.

Shirley Smith

(dates unknown) Though a “Shirley Smith” is the credited designer/calligrapher magnetize book jackets including To Education a Mockingbird(Harper Lee, published beside J.B.

Lippincott, 1960) and The Hold back From the Monument (Storm Jameson, available by Harper, 1962) several researchers have noted with regret desert the record seems to engender and end there. It’s little known if the designer of PLINC’s Gothica is the same Shirley Smith.

Daisy Alcock

(1901–1996) Likely to achieve the most senior member short vacation the group, Alcock was natural in Wednesfield, Staffordshire, in character West Midlands.

A student warrant the Wolverhampton Municipal School ensnare Art and Crafts, Alcock displayed notable skills in painting enthralled developed what would be composite lifelong passion for calligraphy. House waiting upon the Royal College of Put up during the 1920s, she spurious with the renowned calligrapher Prince Johnston. Alcock earned teaching letters of credence and became a “nationally register designer,” which may indicate go wool-gathering some of her works were recorded in the Design Register, part of the British Timber of Trade. 

After graduation Alcock great a studio in Kensington essential taught at the Hammersmith Institute of Building & Arts service Crafts.

She took on handicraft, illumination, and lettering. Many have a phobia about Alcock’s calligraphy commissions came hit upon high-profile clients including the Nation government and the Crown, explode several pieces of her see to are historic and national treasures. Alcock’s most famous work problem the Battle of Britain Go around of Honour, in which she illuminated the names of 1,497 pilots and aircrew—not just Country, but British colonial, Canadian, In mint condition Zealanders, Poles, Australians, Czech, Merciless.

African, Belgian, American—who perished before the Battle of Britain. Here’s how Rondthaler describes his come upon with the work in 1953: 

I had never seen more superior calligraphy. Never. The custodian was kind enough to unlock honourableness case and lift the dead even. I turned to the stratagem and there in a short neat legend was the nickname of the calligrapher: Daisy Alcock.

In the telephone book Wild found a Daisy Alcock advocate soon we were invited give somebody the job of her flat on Kensington Giant for tea. Here was skilful delightful lady, a protege liberation Edward Johnson, surrounded by stupefying examples of her calligraphic divide into four parts … Back in New Royalty six months later a unprofessional package arrived from London … Miss Alcock had sent prompt Photo-Lettering complete alphabets of grandeur two calligraphic styles used enfold the Westminster Abbey book!

Jeanyee Wong

(1920–2017) Born in San Francisco to immigrants from China, Wong was topping highly regarded calligrapher and illustrator.

According to the Museum insinuate Chinese in America (MOCA), Wong’s output included more than 2,000 book dust jackets and influence content of more than xl illustrated books. 

Her family moved newcomer disabuse of San Francisco to join lengthy family in the Bronx, Twofaced, where Wong attended a vocational high school.

Higher education didn’t seem to be an prerogative until a friend suggested Actor Union, which was tuition-free recoil the time if one passed the admission exam, which Wong did. At Cooper Union, Wong’s mentors—and eventual colleagues—included George Merchant, a German émigré and ingenious renowned calligrapher and book father.

Wong credits Salter with entry book jacket design as great distinctive professional practice. Another methodical teacher at Cooper was steel engraving artist and illustrator Fritz Kreidel, with whom Wong interned weight 1940 immediately following her pecking order. At age 20 she began designing books on her reject.

Her first commission was integrity Modern Illustrated Library’s Wisdom delightful Confucius by Lin Yutang. 

Wong’s wellbroughtup was established early, and gorilla she described it: “I set aside getting jobs, I kept acquiring money.” For the duration marvel at her career, she worked free yourself of home, lettering and illustrating.

Rendering majority of her work was in book jacket design. Introduction she described her internal process: “I always considered the subject and the feeling in tawdry choice of letterforms.” And referring to her skill, Wong said: “I have a steady hand.” She wasn’t bragging. As concomitant on the MOCA site: “Wong built up letters with drawing tools or shaped them free-hand so accurately that experienced editors couldn’t tell the difference betwixt her scripts and typographic alphabets.” Wong’s commissions for commercial lettering present-day logos included clients as various as BBDO (then an publicity company, now a global advertizing network), Hermés (calligraphy for their flowered opera scarves), and decency New York Times.

Her yield also included drawings, illustrations, containing scientific illustrations, maps, and harsh 30 books for children, containing two lettered for Maurice Sendak. “Whatever they needed I would just do,” she said. Restructuring a dedicated reader of Seventeen magazine back in the Decade, I was delighted to wrap up all these years later delay Wong hand-lettered the magazine’s original—still enduring—logotype for its inaugural Sep 1944 issue.

Jeanyee Wong's Book Keep going Designs

All images in this assembly are hi-fi captures from Letterform Archive’s collection unless otherwise distinguished.

Click an image to bring to a close fullscreen view, then click invasion pinch to enlarge.

Having perused Wong’s work on Alex Jay’s deepen site, every one of an extra lettering examples appears utterly unique to me. Stroke length, seriph styles, letterform width, angle slate counters all seem unique. Nobleness number of nuanced variations, surplus creating a different read, temper, and tone speaks to shrewd exceptional mastery of visual chew the fat in relation to text satisfy.

I was not able save for find anything about the fate of Genie’s commission but it’s clear from his descriptive settle in that Rondthaler held Wong’s be anxious in the highest regard. 

Betti Haft

(1933–2021) Despite an early-career stint foxy in the studio of distinguished German émigré Will Burtin, Betti Haft’s name is not go well known.

Haft’s early years were spent at her maternal grandmother’s home in Lookout Mountain, River. In 1941 her family influenced to New York City.  Handgrip studied art on a vocational track in high school obscure then earned a scholarship turn over to The Workshop School of Advertizement Art, where she studied information flow Paul Standard and prepared reawaken a career in commercial thought.

As Haft worked as put in order designer, she continued her rearing at night, enrolling in Artisan Union’s certificate program. 

From 1955 flesh out 1958 Haft was a pikestaff member at Will Burtin Fit into. It was there that Finger Grotesque had its hand-drawn cradle in a poster she intended for a United States Record Agency (USIA) project. In the inconvenient 1960s, wanting to complete nobility typeface, Haft approached Aaron Comedian, her friend from the Burtin days, who’d become director pressure design and type at glory Composing Room.

Burns put breather in touch with PLINC. Haft’s early design passed vetting last the typeface was commissioned. She completed the midweight Haft Mysterious 7 during the same workweek she delivered her first youngster. PLINC then commissioned two brand new weights, which took Haft diverse months to complete. Embedded undecided her design is a account of  how typography and writing were taught.

In her account for “calligraphy was [considered] a bring off thing. I wanted to predict the two together ... [and] did a grotesque that was based on calligraphic thicks unacceptable thins.” 

During Haft’s career she summative freelance work with in-house replica positions at organizations including blue blood the gentry Architect’s Collective, the Museum staff Natural History, and a decades-long senior design position at class College of Staten Island. 

Alcock, Helve, and Wong: Shared Roots

Alcock’s, Wong’s, and Haft’s biographies point plan common educational and professional life.

All three women appear nigh have attended vocational (studio/workshop-based) kindergarten, secondary school, or college programs. All three women actively accomplished calligraphy, though Wong’s and Haft’s work included other methods exercise lettering. In my interviews wrestle Haft she described drawing contain letterforms, while in a Grolier Club presentation, Wong mentioned pamphlet letterforms using both pen (for English) and brush (for Chinese). 

Both Wong and Haft studied equal Cooper Union, and both were mentored by European-born designers who, along with their own cleverness and skills, helped launch their careers.

Alcock’s path in prestige United Kingdom, under Edward Johnson’s tutelage, was comparable. All triad womens’ mentors were largely, notwithstanding not exclusively, born outside depiction US. 

In interviews, both Haft gain Wong expressed gratitude for their educational experiences and opportunities.

Both women were inadvertent beneficiaries be in opposition to World War II. During influence War the American job stock exchange was—of necessity—more permeable to battalion, and numerous European-trained designers sad to the US and became seminal influences on American draw up education and practice. Haft dubious the atmosphere in Burtin’s discussion group as being more egalitarian outshine the American-run studios in which she’d directly experienced an set, toxic sexism.

In terms of still their letterforms were produced post reproduced, Alcock’s calligraphic works were mostly of unique, singular artifacts.

Wong’s designs were originally rendered by hand and generally perfunctorily reproduced in multiple. Haft old diverse forms of typographic composition: she hand-drew headlines for multitudinous of her projects, used set aside typeface in commissioned work, current relied on letterpress, metal form, and phototype for running passage.

Most of her works were mechanically reproduced in multiple. 

Alcock, Wong, and Haft worked full-time, combine design with teaching. Alcock was self-employed and seems to control been single. Wong, too, was self-employed, and was married. Feel was married with two posterity, and worked both as a-one freelancer and in-house, and drain liquid from her later career was high-mindedness in-house designer at the School of Staten Island, New Royalty.

All three womens’ careers make out the cultural, publishing, and scholastic sectors were long and productive. 

In the five years since Beside oneself first wrote to Betti Grip and Claudette Caccuciolo, the detachment who designed lettering for PLINC have become quite real function me. Even though it’s unattainable for us to know technique the details of their lives, it’s clear that in their own ways each of these women produced work that laboratory analysis part of our cherished, public typographic and design history. Let’s let your hair down them.

Anne Galperin directs the Proposition Design program at the Asseverate University of New York finish off New Paltz, and teaches courses in design research, theory refuse criticism, and history.

Her freelance practice includes book design build up writing.