Monday, February 27, 2023

Lettering: Vincent Pacella, Photo-Lettering Inc. and ITC

Vincent Anthony Pacella was born on September 11, 1934, in Manhattan, New York, New York, according to the New York, New York, Birth Index at Ancestry.com. His full name was recorded in the Index to Public Records, 1994–2019, also at Ancestry.com.

In the 1940 United States Census, Pacella was the oldest of two brothers born to Anthony and Margaret. His father was a textile finisher. They resided at 2460 Hoffman Street in the Bronx.


According to the 1950 census, Pacella, his parents, brother and sister, Phylis, lived in the Bronx at 625 Crescent Avenue on the 1st floor. 


Pacella was a student at New York City’s School of Industrial Art (known today as the High School of Art and Design). He graduated in 1952. 


In Life with Letters--as They Turned Photogenic (1981), Edward Rondthaler mentioned Pacella several times. On page 184 is a layout of the Photo-Lettering office in 1952 and a list of employees from 1936 to 1954. Pacella joined Photo-Lettering in 1953 when he was nineteen years old. However, Pacella was mentioned in the chapter about the year 1951, page 73. At that time he was seventeen and a student. 

On April 9, 1955, Pacella and Anne Queally obtained a marriage license in the Bronx. Rondthaler said she joined Photo-Lettering in 1954 and was “at the switchboard and typewriter”.

In the chapter about 1956, Rondthaler wrote
After a few years Vincent Pacella, returning from military service abroad, took over the night leadership and measured up ably to its rigorous requirements. Vince had the art school background, mechanical aptitudes, warm personality, reliability, self-starting zip and artistic perception that have made him a versatile photo-letterer and are rapidly making him an able type designer. I’ve always had a high regard for the advice he gives a promising newcomer: “If you want to be a photo-letterer never ride the subway without studying the ads in the car, Figure out how you’d photo-letter them in the most efficient way. Mentally match each style on an ad with one of ours. Then verify it when you get hold of a catalog. Remember its name and number. There’s no better way to train yourself. Keep doing it until it becomes a habit and you enjoy it.” No doubt it was Vince’s thousands of subway and commuter rides that developed in him keen sensitivity to alphabet design and identification. Photo-Lettering has quite a few who are remarkably skilled in style identification, but I doubt if anyone anywhere is as skilled as Vince. 
For the International Typeface Corporation, Pacella produced ITC Cushing (1982) and ITC Pacella (1987). 

1982, ITC Cushing specimen book
... ITC Cushing, issued under license from American Type Founders Company, was designed by Vincent Pacella, and features, in addition to the large x-height in popular use today, and the neat letterfit accommodated by photographic and digital typesetters, the long, bracketed serifs of the ATF version. The capitals were changed to better match the weight of the lowercase letters. In the italics, the sloping serifs of the original were changed to linear type serifs. Another modification, in the interest of improved letterfit and ease of readability, is a new point at which ascenders join the capital letters. ...





U&lc., May 1987, announced the release of ITC Pacella. 
Vincent Pacella has been vitally involved in every typeface that ITC has released. He oversees and directs the exacting process of preparing master artwork for ITC Subscriber companies. As part of this process he must fine-tune character spacing, make subtle but important changes to character shapes, ensure design consistency within each typeface and throughout a family. On occasion he has added characters missing from supplied renderings, and even worked in harmony with the original type designer to fill out a family range. …
1987, ITC Pacella specimen book
Vincent Pacella has been vitally involved in every typeface that ITC has released. He has created hundreds of display typestyles for Photo-Lettering, Inc. in New York, as well as ITC Cushing for International Typeface Corporation. ITC Pacella is the second ITC release created by Mr. Pacella and the first to carry his name. ...





U&lc., May 1987

Pacella passed away on October 28, 2009. The Social Security Death Index said his last known residence was West End, North Carolina. 





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Monday, February 20, 2023

Comics: A Few New Details About Lloyd Jacquet and His Wives Grace and Phyllis



An excellent profile of Lloyd Jacquet is at the Field Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists. However, I disagree with a few of David Saunders’ findings that were posted in 2014. 

Lloyd Victor Jacquet was born on March 7, 1899, in Manhattan, New York City. Saunders said he was born in Brooklyn. (Each borough had birth records. New York, New York is Manhattan.) At his birth, Jacquet did not have a first and middle name. 


The 1900 United States Census said Jacquet was the only child of Frank and Eugenie, both French immigrants who married on October 16, 1897. They were Brooklyn residents at 456 16th Street. Jacquet’s father was a hotel cook. 

Jacquet’s father is on the previous sheet.

The 1905 and 1915 New York state censuses and 1910 and 1920 censuses recorded Jacquet, his parents and sister, Georgette, in Brooklyn at 478A 16th Street. 





In 1912, the family made a visit to France. Jacquet, his father and sister returned to New York aboard the steamship Chicago on October 15. 

Jacquet graduated from Brooklyn’s Manual Training High School in 1918. 

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 26, 1918

From May 7, 1918 to November 11, 1918, Jacquet served in the Navy on the USS Bridge. Jacquet was an electrician first class radio operator at his discharge on August 7, 1919. 


Jacquet continued his education at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. 

Lloyd Jacquet, Sophomore Class, 1921 Polywog yearbook


In 1921, Jacquet’s address was 509 16th Street, Brooklyn. He was studying electrical engineering and was active in the Anvil Club, Poster Club, Glee Club, Radio Club, Electrical Engineering Society, and editor of the Handbook. 

Who’s Who in Journalism (1925) said Jacquet also studied at New York University. 

Lloyd Jaquet (no C), Radio News, July 1925

The 1925 New York state census recorded Jacquet, his mother and sister in Brooklyn at 284 Eastern Parkway. He worked in advertising. The census was enumerated on the first day of June.


On August 24, 1925, Jacquet and Grace Mullane obtained, in Manhattan, marriage license number 23006. 



On the same day, Jacquet married “Mary Mullane” in Manhattan. Apparently the error was not caught or ignored. On the back of marriage certificate number 21786 is the signature of Grace Mullane. Unaware of the error, Saunders said her name was “Mary Grace Mullane”. 



According to the marriage certificate, Mullane was born in Long Branch, New Jersey and her parents were John Mullane and Florence Nullington. However, a 1927 passenger list recorded, on line 16, her birth as February 23, 1901 in New York City. 


The New York, New York Birth Index, at Ancestry.com, does not have a Grace Mullane born on that date. The New York, New York Death Index said she was born about 1903. 

The 1915 New York state census recorded a Grace Mullane, born about 1898 and from New York City, who was a student at St. Elizabeth’s Convent and Academy in Allegany. 


In the 1920 census, Grace Mullane, born about 1901 in New York, resided with her Irish aunts, Mary and Margaret Mullane, in Manhattan at 325 Central Park West between 92nd and 93rd Streets. The census said Grace was a file clerk at an electric company. 


325 Central Park West is notable because 72 West 92nd Street (the address on the marriage certificate) is around the corner on the south side of 92nd street. Today a school and playground have replaced the apartment buildings. 


Grace E. Mullane was recorded in The City Record, October 16, 1924, List of Registered Voters for the Year 1924, Borough of Manhattan. Her address was “72 W. 92d St.”, same as the marriage certificate. I don’t know her middle name.


Grace E. Mullane, born about 1895, had the same address in the 1925 New York state census. Her occupation was nurse. Shortly after the census, she married Jacquet. 


The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 4, 1928, identified buyers, including Grace Jacquet, of homes in Long Island. 
Among the recent purchasers of homes at Merrick Gables, L. I., are Louis Strandgaard, William Burke, Anna Shurman, William Lange, Joseph Marx, William Wirges, Albert McDonald, Grace Jacquet, Thomas Elwood and Miss G. Williams.
According to the 1930 census, Jacquet and Grace were residents of Baldwin Village, Hempstead Town, Nassau County, New York, at 14 Seaman Avenue. He was a newspaper editor whose house was valued at $12,000.


Jacquet’s role in New Fun Magazine was reported in the following publications.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 11, 1935
New Fun Magazine for Juveniles Out
New Fun is the title of a juvenile magazine that appeared for the first time today on the newsstands of the principal cities throughout the United States, according to an announcement made by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, president of National Allied Publications, Inc., 49 W. 45th St.

Major Nicholson has secured the co-operation of The Eagle for the publication of this tabloid-size monthly periodical which is designed to please “boys and girls from 2 to 90” with its predominant pictorial contents of new comic strips and special departments devoted to aircraft, sports, the radio and the movies.

Lloyd Jacquet, formerly on the staff of The Eagle, is the editor of New Fun, which is to be converted from a monthly to a weekly in the near future. He is assisted by Sheldon H. Stark as cartoon editor. Dick Loederer, who was art director in charge of animated cartoons for Van Beuren-RKO Film Corp., is art director of New Fun.
Variety, January 15, 1935
New Fun Mag
First issue of Fun is on the stands. In long tab wire, with 32 pages and colored cover. Mostly strip cartoons, chiefly, semi-adult and leaning to the adventure angle. A few brief departments. Is handled by the McCall distribution system.

Maj. Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson of Nat Allied Pubs., is heading, with Lloyd Jacquet as editor and Sheldon B. Stark handling the cartoon end. Dick Lederer, formerly of Van Beuren-RKO, is art editor.
Printers’ Ink, January 17, 1935
“New Fun” Starts Publication
New Fun, a new monthly juvenile magazine, is being published by National Allied Publications, Inc., 49 West 45th Street, New York. Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson is president. Lloyd Jacquet, formerly with the Brooklyn, N.Y. Daily Eagle, is editor and H.D. Cushing is advertising manager. The publication is tabloid size. 
In 1939, Jacquet formed First Funnies, Incorporated/Funnies, Incorporated. Its first publication was Motion Picture Funnies Weekly. 

The 1940 census said “Francis” and Grace Jacquet resided in Manhattan at 20 West 77th Street. He was a salesman of electric supplies. He earned $2,000 in 1939. 


In May 1940, Jacquet joined the American Jules Verne Society. (see The Acolyte #7, Summer 1944, pages 26 and 27.)

The December 31, 1941 edition of the Board of Elections in the City of New York, List of Enrolled Voters for the Year 1941–1942, Borough of Manhattan, included the Jacquets. 
Jacquet, Grace, 22 W 77th st—D[emocrat]
Jacquet, Lloyd, 22 W 77th st—R[epublican]
Jacquet signed his World War II draft card on February 15, 1942. His address was 22 West 77th Street in New York City. Sometime later it was updated to 175 West 76th Street. He was employed at Funnies Inc., 49 West 45th Street, New York City. He was described as five foot eight inches, 165 pounds, with brown eyes and hair. During Jacquet’s World War II service, Grace filled in for him at Funnies, Inc. (see Brain Bats of Venus: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton Volume 2, pages 38 to 41)


Jacquet was mentioned in The American Foreign Service Journal, December 1942. The Foreign Service List, January 1, 1943, included Jacquet as vice consul in Casablanca, Morocco. Jacquet was in the Office of Strategic Services. 

A World War II Navy muster roll, dated July 14, 1945, said Jacquet was assigned to the USS Hermitage AP-54. 

The Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series, Volume 1, Part 2, Numbers 1 & 2, Periodicals, 1946–1947 had this entry:
Masterpieces illustrated. © Lloyd Jacquet. v. 1, 1946, no. 1, winter. © Jan. 18; B3674. 
The Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Volume 2, Parts 7–11 A, Number 2, Works of Art, July–December 1948 had this entry:
Bell, Fred.
Oldie—Goldie—Ciggie. Cartoon strips. © Joseph G. Crost & Lloyd V. Jacquet; 1c 6Oct48; OU9881

Picturing the Voice of America. (Radio, theatre and home scene) Drawing. © Lloyd V. Jacquet; 1c 6Oct48; Ou10561.
The Jacquets have not yet been found in the 1950 census. 

According to the New York, New York Death Index, at Ancestry.com, Grace Jacquet passed away on January 21, 1961 in Manhattan. A death notice appeared in The New York Times, January 23, 1961.
Jacquet—Grace, Jan. 21, 1961, beloved wife of Lloyd, niece of Irene Mullane, cousin of William Tierney. Reposing at Walter B. Cooke Funeral Home, 117 West 72d St. Requiem Mass Blessed Sacrament Church, Wednesday, 10 A. M. Interment Calvary Cemetery. 

On December 22, 1962, Jacquet married Phyllis M. Cornelius in New Hempstead, New York, as recorded in the New York State, Marriage Index (certificate number 53294) at Ancestry.com. 



The 1940 and 1950 censuses said Phyllis was a registered nurse and native Virginian. Her 1950 address was 341 Richmond Road, in Douglaston, Queens, New York.


Jacquet passed away at 10:15 am, March 1, 1970, at Arlington Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia. The Virginia death certificate, at Ancestry.com, said Jacquet’s home address was 233 Arleigh Road in [Douglaston,] Queens, New York. In Alexandria, he stayed at 709 Duke Street. The immediate cause of death was acute myocardial infarction due to coronary arteriosclerosis. He also suffered from lung disease and diabetes. His last occupation was editor. Phyllis was the source of information. 

The Social Security Death Index said Phyllis passed away in December 1983 and her last residence was Flushing, New York. A passenger list said she was born on August 31, 1907, in Newport News, Virginia. 

Jacquet and Phyllis were laid to rest at Zion Episcopal Church Cemetery. 


Further Reading
Comics
Alter Ego #11, November 2001, A Colorful Conversation with Mickey SpillaneMore Heroes of the Comics: Portraits of the Legends of Comic Books (2016)
Newsdealer, July 1948, A Force for Good in the Community
Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, Missouri), July 7, 1941

Radio
Everyday Engineering Magazine, September 1920, The Radio Club of Brooklyn 
Radio News, March 1921, Radio Club of Brooklyn, Inc.
Editor and Publisher, April 22, 1922
The Literary Digest, July 8, 1922, Radio Investment Traps
Radio World, October 21, 1922, Radio Will Write History
QST, December 1922, Comment les Appeler?
The Literary Digest, December 30, 1922
The Republican-Journal (Ogdensburg, New York), May 2, 1923, Broadcasting Complete Operas—A Feat by WJZ
New Britain Herald (Connecticut), April 13, 1925, see bottom photograph
Radio News, January 1926, The Radio Amateur By Lloyd Jacquet
Fourth Estate, February 6, 1926, Joins Schultz-McGregor
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 2, 1926, Reinartz Refused to Become Rich
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 9, 1926, Original Critic of Radio Features
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 30, 1926, Has World’s Best Known Voice
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 20, 1926, Made Radio Encircle the Globe
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 27, 1926, Radio Woman Is “Handy Man” in Station WJZ
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 18, 1926, How Do Men Become Inventors? 
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 18, 1926, Pacent a Practical Radio Pioneer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 25, 1926, Broadcast Leads to Second Fortune
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 15, 1926, Andrea Rode Radio to Fortune 
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 22, 1926, Radio Operator Became Set Manufacturer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 29, 1926, Priess Used Radio in Trenches
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 5, 1926, Makes Skyscrapers Pay Profits
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 26, 1926, Curiosity Shaped Kent’s Career
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 31, 1926, Birthday Gift Started a Business
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 20, 1927, Fulton Descendant Is Radio Expert
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 12, 1927, How Kolster Pioneered in Radio
The Republican-Journal (Ogdensburg, New York), December 20, 1928
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 6, 1951, photograph


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