Monday, May 25, 2015

Lettering: Aldren A. Watson


Aldren A. Watson hand-lettered the first American Artist logo. He may have designed the title’s previous name, Art Instruction. It is not known if Aldren studied with a calligrapher or was self-taught. Art Instruction was created by Aldren’s father Ernest Watson and Arthur Guptill who formed the publishing company, Watson-Guptill. Aldren’s “contribution” to the Art Instruction logo was mentioned in the August 1938 issue:
“…This cartoon by Lawrence R. Lewton of Portland, Oregon, was submitted in Art Instruction’s recent Caricature and Cartoon Contest. For Mr. Lewton’s information we’ll explain where the “Beastie” came from. When Art Instruction’s cover was being designed, all seemed finally complete except that white space in the upper-right corner. Editor Watson, glancing at his son Aldren’s letterhead, espied said Beastie, attacked it with editorial scissors and slapped it on the cover design. Be thankful you’re not an editor’s son!”

The title changed with the January 1940 issue; below is the June 1940 American Artist cover featuring cartoonist Rollin Kirby.


The new cover format was introduced with the January 1944 American Artist that mentioned Aldren’s contribution on page two:
“…Although our new cover appears, at first glance, to be entirely new, one feature of the old has been retained; our name, American Artist, which was hand-lettered by Aldren A. Watson several years ago, appears in the same beautifully designed style, white on black, in the band across the top….”
Aldren’s logo was replaced around the last quarter of 1951.


Aldren Auld Watson was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 10, 1917. The 1920 U. S. Federal Census recorded him, his parents, Ernest and Eva, and older brother, Merlin, in Brooklyn at 181 Emerson Place. At the time his father was an instructor at a private school. Their address was the same in the 1925 New York State Census and 1930 census.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(New York)
May 15, 1932
Miss Golding Entertains
Miss Betty Golding, of 170 Hancock St., entertained at a supper-dance last evening. 
Among those present were the Misses Pamela Peoples, Catherine Streeter, Joan Boselly, Betty Beach, Eleanor Hunt, Julia Gray, Lois Catuna, Robert Rikel, Thomas Noble, John Briggs, Aldren Watson, Donald McGratty, Kenneth Creveling, Winthrop Sterns and Harry Mitchell.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(New York)
April 2, 1933
Four Watsons Exhibit at the Same Art Show
Parents and Two Sons Display Their Work in Church Gallery—
Father Long Noted Here and Abroad for His Prints
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Watson just can’t remember when their boys learned to paint.
“They may have learned perspective toddling around the studio floor,” Mrs. Watson says laughingly. 
“They learned to paint the way other children learn to speak,” Mr. Watson explains gravely. 
The studio on the third floor of the Watson home at 181 Emerson Place is always occupied by one or another member of the family, but they manage not to get into each other’s paint pots. 
Mr. Watson has exhibited his block prints and pencil illustrations in the Brooklyn Museum, the British Museum, the New York Public Library, the National Museum and in art shows throughout the country. There is never a time when some of his work is not on exhibition in some part of the country. He was head of the evening art school at Pratt for more! than 10 years. 
Mrs. Watson has been exhibiting with her husband for the last seven or eight years, but her work is in no way like his. While he is interested in forests and ships and is conservative in style, she cannot confined by inches. “I love wide sweeping murals of a decorative sort,” she says. 
Merlin at 19, is a quiet lad with brown hair, deep blue eyes and a serious manner. Weird prints of startling dramatic black and white contrasts, clay masks with fantastic faces, these are the things he loves to do. He studies at the Art Students League, has tried every medium there is, but comes back to black and white because “1 think that way.” 
Aldren at 15 has not quite decided what is his favorite medium. Now he is working on a set of marionettes.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(New York)
April 30, 1933
Prize Winners
Aldren Watson, a student in the tenth grade at Friends School, who won third prize in the annual group of prizes for creative work in literature and the visual arts conducted by Scholastic, high school magazine. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Watson of 181 Emerson Place. His father is a well known artist. The third prize is a check for $15.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(New York)
November 27, 1933
Honor Pupils Listed by Friends School
The honor roll of Friends School for November was announced today by Wayne L. Douglas, headmaster. It follows:
…11th Grade—High honors, Betty Beach and Aldren Watson…
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(New York)
December 23, 1933
John Barnewall Will Be Host at Party on New Year’s Eve
John Barnewall of 570 E. 21st St., a senior at Friends School, will entertain at his home on New Year’s Eve. The guests will be the Misses Betty Beach, Betty Golding, Louise and Julia Gray, Barbara Forshew, Eleanor Hunt, Mary Parker, Barbara Stearns, Ruth Barnewall, Caroline Ebinger, Jean Scott, Joan Boselly, Katherine and Ixiis Whittier; John Briggs, Charles Speer, William Bertsche, Aldren Watson, John McCrate Jr., Winthrop Stearns, Kenneth Creveling, John Parker, Robert Rikel Nathaniel Lubet, Thomas Noble and Vincent Murphy. 
There will be an orchestra for dancing.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(New York)
April 4, 1934
Dual Role on Friends Nine for Mac Crate
Ace of Pitching Staff Will Also Fill the Gap at First Base
Capt. John MacCrate Jr., son of Supreme Court Justice MacCrate, will fill a dual role with the Brooklyn Friends school baseball team this season…. 
…Other prominent candidates for positions on the team comprise Kenneth Creveling, Bill Von Ax, Aldren Watson, Jeffrey Jennings, Karl Kramer and Randall Walker.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(New York)
April 16, 1935
8 Net Games Listed for Friends Boys
Brooklyn Friends Boy’s tennis team will participate in eight matches this season. Capt. William Bertsche, the only veteran of last year’s lettermen, will be supported by capable netmen chosen from the following: Vincent Murphy, Robert Rikel, Monroe Grossman, Aldren Watson, Brooks Parker, Arnold Nicosta, Ben Johnson, John James, Martin Johnson, Jack Marshall, Watten Anderson and William Notion.
Aldren spent some time overseas according to a passenger list at Ancestry.com. He arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 13, 1936 from Libson, Portugal. His Brooklyn address was on the passenger list.

The 1940 census said Aldren and his parents resided in Manhattan, New York City, at 21 East 10th Street. All of them were freelance artists. Aldren’s mother passed away in 1948 and his father in 1969.

Partial list of books by Aldren.

The Song of Songs Which is Solomon’s (1944)
Aesop’s Fables, in a New Translation for Modern Readers (1946)
Gulliver’s Travels (1947)
The Jungle Books (1948)
John Henry and His Hammer (1950)
Pecos Bill, Texas Cowpuncher (1950)
Empire of Fur: Trading in the Lake Superior Region (1953)
Toby and Doll (1955)
When Is Tomorrow? (1955)
What does A begin with? (1956)
The Fairy Tale Picture Book (1957)
John Greenleaf Whittier: Fighting Quaker (1958)
Our Christmas Story (1959)
Mike Fink: Best of the Keelboatmen (1960)
Russian Proverbs Newly Translated (1960)
My Garden Grows (1962)
Watson Drawing Book (1962; with Ernest Watson)
Willie and the Wildcat Well (1962)
American Bard: The Story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1963)
Hand Bookbinding: A Manual of Instruction (1963)
The Picture Story and Biography of John Adams (1965)
The Snow Book (1965)
Very First Words for Writing and Spelling; A Picture Dictionary (1966)
Just Right (1968)
The Village Blacksmith (1968)
Carol to a Child, and a Christmas Pageant (1969)
A First Look at Psychology (1969)
Maple Tree Begins (1970)
New Under the Stars (1970)
The Hunting Peoples (1971)
Country Furniture (1974)
Uncle Wiggily’s Happy Days (1976)
Source of Everyday Things (1978)
Furniture Making Plain and Simple (1984)
Hand Tools Their Ways and Working (1986)
The Blacksmith: Ironworker and Farrier (1990)
Hand Tools (2002)
Waterfront New York: Images of the 1920s and ’30s (2014)

Aldren passed away May 5, 2013 in Etna, New Hampshire. The following paid death notice appeared May 10 in The New York Times.
Watson—Aldren Auld, book illustrator and author born in Brooklyn, 1917, to artists Eva and Ernest Watson. His final work, “Waterfront New York: Images of the 1920’s & ’30’s,” is forthcoming in July. More information at: www.AldrenWatson.com. Survived by eight children and many other relatives. He was predeceased by parents; brother Merlin Auld Watson; grandson James Watson Harrah.
Aldren’s biography is here. Additional links: Wendy Watson’s Blog, and Thomas A. D. Watson.

(Next post on Monday: Daniel T. Ames, Master Penman)

Monday, May 18, 2015

Comics: Spider-Man’s Gas Mask, Très Chic

Cartoons Magazine
September 1917
“Millinery, Military, Marine and Modern”
By Clare Tice
 

Amazing Fantasy #15
August 1962
Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko cover
Steve Ditko unpublished cover

The Amazing Spider-Man #700
Steve Ditko cover, variant edition

The Amazing Spider-Man #1
March 1963

(Next post on Monday: Aldren A. Watson)

Monday, May 11, 2015

Lettering: Platt R. Spencer, Master Penman

November 7, 1800, East Fishkill, New York – May 16, 1864, Geneva, Ohio

Platt Rogers Spencer was the youngest child born to Caleb and Jerusha, and creator of the Spencerian writing system.

1830 United States Federal Census
Ashtabula, Ohio
P R Spencer

1840 United States Federal Census
Geneva, Ohio
Platt R Spencer

1850 United States Federal Census
Geneva, Ohio
Name / Age
Platt R Spencer 49
Persis Spencer 43
Robert C Spencer 20
Sarah L Spencer 17
Platt R Spencer 15
Henry C Spencer 12
Harvey A Spencer 12
Lyman P Spencer 10
Phebe J Spencer 8
Ellen R Spencer 00

1860 United States Federal Census
Oberlin, Ohio
Name / Age
Platt R Spencer 60
Persis Spencer 54
Lyman Spencer 20
Robert Spencer 31
Platt Spencer 25
Henry Spencer 22
Harvey Spencer 22
Phoebe Spencer 18
Persis Spencer 10
Emma Spencer 4

The Ohio Educational Monthly, January 1861

The Ohio Educational Monthly, January 1861

The Ohio Educational Monthly, January 1861

The Ohio Educational Monthly, January 1861

The Ohio Educational Monthly, January 1861


New York Daily Tribune

May 20, 1864
TESTIMONIAL.
At a called mooting of the TEACHERS and STUDENTS of Bryant, Stratton & Packard’s Commercial College, held at their rooms on Thursday, May 19, the following resolutions touching the death of Mr. PLATT R. SPENCER were unanimously adopted:
Whereas, We have been made acquainted with the fact of the death of our beloved friend and former instructor, Mr. Platt R. Spencer, who died at his residence in Geneva, Ohio, on Monday evening, May 16, inst.; and
 Whereas; We deem it not less a duty than a sacred privilege to memorialize this sad event by a solemn act of the Institution of which we are members, and in which he so recently officiated; therefore, be it
Resolved, That in this sad dispensation of Providence we recognize the hand of a just and wise God, and while we are called upon to mourn the loss of one who has upon us a peculiar claim for gratitude and affection, and whose departure from a field of great usefulness has filled our hearts with unalloyed sorrow and regret, we bow with submission to the will of “Him who doeth all things well.” 
Resolved, That in all our past association with our departed friend we have ever found in him the qualities of a true man; and that the retrospect of this valued acquaintanceship recalls no act or thought to mar the sacred pleasures of memory. 
Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Spencer, every true friend of education and moral advancement has occasion to mourn the domino of a brother; for in all that tended to benefit society, to advance tho cause of virtue, and to administer to a true and healthy social progress, his heart was alive and his hand free. 
Resolved, That all lovers of correct penmanship throughout the world have lost in Mr. Spencer a most devoted and faithful exemplar; and that the day is not distant when to him must be universally conceded the honor of having evolved and perfected a system of Writing which must remain the business standard for all coming time. 
Resolved, That while we sincerely deplore the sad stroke which has placed beyond our reach the living instruction of the revered author of the “Spencerian Penmanship,” we will never cease to commemorate his services by a healthful ambition to profit by the works he has left behind him 
Resolved, That we do most earnestly and sincerely sympathize with the immediate family and friends of the deceased, and extend to them our heartfelt condolence in this their hour of deepest sorrow. 
Resolved, That these proceedings be published in the city papers, and that a copy thereof be handsomely engrossed for the family of the deceased. 
W. W. Harder, Chairman.
W. Allan Miller, Secretary.
S. S. Packard, James McGivren, W. H. Palmer, J. Simpson, G. B. West, Committee.































Find a Grave

Geneva
Susan Bradburn
Arcadia Publishing, 2007
Grave site

Spencerian Key to Practical Penmanship
Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman & Co., 1866

Ashtabula Telegraph
(Ohio)
October 20, 1876
Advertisement

Hill’s Album of Biography and Art, 1882

Hill’s Album of Biography and Art, 1882

Hill’s Album of Biography and Art, 1882

































































































An Illustrated Description of Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Sentinel, March 1890
Spencer Brothers

Penman’s Art Journal
February 1898
“Father Spencer” Part 1

Penman’s Art Journal
March 1898
“Father Spencer” Part 2

Penman’s Art Journal
April 1898
“Father Spencer” Part 3

Penman’s Art Journal
May 1898
“Father Spencer” Part 4

The Kansas City Journal
(Missouri)
September 3, 1899
Father of Penmanship.
Plan to Erect a Memorial at Geneva, O., to Platt R. Spencer.

New York Tribune
(New York)
September 17, 1899
The Father of Penmanship.

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
Volume VIII
James Terry White
James T. White & Company, 1900
Spencer, Platt Rogers, educator and author…

Sketches of Ohio Libraries
Ohio State Library Board
1902
Platt R. Spencer Memorial Library

Herringshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century
Thomas William Herringshaw
American Publishers’ Association, 1904
Spencer, Platt Rogers, the originator of the Spencerian method of penmanship, was born Nov. 7, 1800, in East Fishkill, N.Y. He had given penmanship much attention from early youth, and was led to perfect his semi-angular system by seeing the necessity of a more rapid execution than the old round Roman method, and a more legible hand than the angular or German system. He died May 16, 1864, in Geneva, Ohio.

The Blue Book, 1907
































The San Francisco Call
(California)
May 8, 1909
Where Spencer Taught the Art of Writing

The Business Journal
September 1910
Platt R. Spencer pernmanship

The Ogden Standard Magazine
(Utah)
October 24, 1914
Are the Good Penmen All Dead Ones?

The New Standard American Business Guide: A Complete Compendium of How to Do Business by the Latest and Safest Methods
Edward Thomas Roe
G.G. Sapp, 1914
Penmanship

A History of Cleveland and Its Environs: The Heart of New Connecticut
Volume 2
Elroy McKendree Avery
Lewis Publishing Company, 1918
Henry T. Loomis, business partner

Artists in Ohio, 1787–1900: A Biographical Dictionary
Jeffrey Weidman
Kent State University Press, 2000
Profile

Luc Devroye

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(Next post on Monday: Spider-Man’s Gas Mask, Très Chic)

Monday, May 4, 2015

Anatomy of a Logo: Quicksilver


On May 1, 1996, Mark Gruenwald called and offered the Quicksilver logo to me. It was 
for the Uncanny Origins series. Over the next couple of days, I developed three designs.


I drew guides lines to prepare for a tight pencil rendering. Next, I
put a piece of vellum over the guide and fleshed out the letterforms.



I added perspective guide lines.


Below are a tight pencil drawing of the logo plus an alternate “Q”.


Below is the second design on an arc. “V” bleeds off cover.


Stacked design with the “S” and “R” almost as a mirror-image.



The designs were faxed to Mark.


Mark chose 4A with a bolder outline
and less space between the “S” and “I”.


The logo with a redesigned “S”.


A bolder outline added.


The drawing was photocopied then the outline was filled in with red ink (below).
Slivers of a Post-It Note masked out parts of the “Q” and “S” that were modified.
The notes on the left were made after Mark approved the faxed design (next image).


The revised logo was faxed to Mark who approved it.


The finished art was drawn on a LetraMax 400 board.


The logo appeared on Uncanny Origins number two (below). As you can see, the “Q”
is an example of a bad scan that no one caught. I also did the Uncanny Origins logo
that I’ll discuss at a later date. Quicksilver is in the film, Avengers: Age of Ultron.


(Next post on Monday: Platt R. Spencer, Master Penman)