Creator: Margaret Yakovenko, Package Designer, Illustrator and Typeface Designer

 

March is Women’s History Month.

Letterform Archive posted an excellent article, on June 12, 2023, by Anne Galperin who wrote “The Women of Photo-Lettering”. One of the ten women was Margaret Yakovenko. Here is a brief profile.

Margaret Yakovenko was born Margaret Theon Anderson on March 30, 1929 in Long Beach, California according to her Social Security application at Ancestry.com. Her parents, both Kansas natives, were Hiram Hamil Anderson (1888–1963) and Vera Dell Jones (1898–1975).

The 1930 United States Census counted Yakovenko (line 66) and her parents in Long Beach at 643 Atlantic Avenue. Her father was an insurance salesman.

In the 1940 census, the Anderson family (lines 1 to 3) were Long Beach residents at 2465 East 4th Street. Also with them was Yakovenko’s maternal grandmother, Margaret E. Jones, and five lodgers.

Yakovenko graduated Woodrow Wilson High School in June 1946.

Campanile yearbook

According to the 1950 census, Yakovenko (line 19) stayed at Douglas Hall, Winslow Arms Dormitory, 945 Hilgard Avenue. Apparently she attended the University of California, Los Angeles.

On October 23, 1954, she married Paul Emil Yakovenko at Rockwall, Texas (marriage record at Ancestry.com). They moved to New York City. In Manhattan, the couple registered to vote on October 11, 1956. Their address was 193 Second Avenue. Yakovenko, a housewife, was a Republican; her unemployed husband did not name a party. The same address appeared in Art Direction, February 1957 and January 1958. Yakovenko was package designer.

Photo-Lettering Inc. promoted her typeface, Yakovenko Picnic, in Art Direction, April 1959.

The Board of Elections in the City of New York, December 31, 1959, listed Yakovenko, a Democrat, at 307 East 10th Street. 

In 1960, Alphabet Thesaurus Nine Thousand was published by Photo-Lettering Inc. The women letterers included Daisy Alcock (page 229), Shirley Smith (page 249), Jeanyee Wong (pages 226, 551) and  Yakovenko (page 525). Page one listed their names with their signatures on the opposite page.

The Alphabet Thesaurus Volume 2 (1965; 1970 second printing) included the aforementioned women plus Deborah Ann Bristow (page 397), Betti B. Haft (page 233) and Connie Rechel (page 85).

Three more women were added to the Alphabet Thesaurus Volume 3 (1971): Claudette Caccuciolo (page 107), Marie Frederick (page 380) and Hedda S. Johnson (page 458).

 

Yakovenko Picnic, Photo-Lettering’s One Line Manual of Styles (1971)

 

Art Direction, February 1962, said

Jim York, 360 E. 55 St., MU 8-7232, now reps Emni, men’s fashion and accessories illustration, as well as Frederick Marvin, woodcut and monoprint; Margaret Yakovenko, decorative; Sofia, illustration and children’s fashion; John Carl, still life photography; Dick Ely, women’s fashion.

Yakovenko illustrated the relaxation articles in Family Weekly, February 17, 1963 and February 24, 1963.

The 42nd Annual of Advertising and Editorial Art and Design (1963) selected Yakovenko’s illustration.

Yakovenko was named in her father’s obituary in the Santa Ana Register, October 13, 1963. Yakovenko and others were mentioned in the Congressional Record, Senate, June 30, 1966.

Yakovenko passed away on January 18, 1999. The Social Security Death Index said her last residence was San Juan, Puerto Rico.


Related Posts
Shirley Smith, a Book Jacket Designer and Lettering Artist
A Few Details About George Salter, Calligrapher, Designer and Teacher
Miriam Woods, Lettering Artist and Book Jacket Designer
Jeanyee Wong

 

(Next post on Monday: Connie Rechel, Graphic Designer, Artist and Typeface Designer)