Society of Typographic Arts collection of visual materials, 1927-1981
Finding Aid for the
Collection at the Chicago History Museum, Research Center
By Maureen
O'Brien Will, 1983; rev. by D. Rinder, 2008; rev. by H.
Radeke and Dana Lamparello, 2017
© Copyright 2008, Chicago
Historical Society, 1601 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614-6038
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title:
Society of Typographic Arts collection of visual
materials
[graphic]
Main entry: Society of Typographic Arts (Chicago,
Ill.)
Inclusive dates: 1927-1981, 1990-1996
Size: 21 boxes
and 1 oversized folder of photographic prints, negatives, slides and printed
material.
Bib#: 4912
Accession #: 1982.0093, 2017.0099
Call #: 1982.0093 PPL (21 boxes)
1982.0093 PFL (1 folder)
Restriction: To consult
lantern slides in the Research Center it is necessary to make an advance
appointment (email: Research@chicagohistory.org ).
Description of the collection:
Visual materials from the organizational archives of the Society
of Typographic Arts (STA). Includes
announcements and invitations to exhibits, meetings, dinners, conferences,
auctions, and parties. Also includes exhibit catalogs to Annual
Exhibitions of Fine Printing, STA Shows and others. Includes
a series of STA Keepsakes--usually a short poem or essay in leaflet form.
Photographs depict STA officers and activities such as conferences, exhibits
and trips. Negative images document exhibit openings (1961 and 1963), Fall
Conference at Camp Chi, an STA exhibit judging and printed specimens. Slides
primarily document STA exhibits. Printed material from the years 1993-1996
documents the American Center for Design era and includes design statements,
invitations to conferences and exhibits, awards, and announcements regarding
annual business meetings.
Biographical/Historical Note:
The Society of Typographic Arts
(STA), a professional society of graphic and typographical designers, emerged
from the NY-based American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) as a separate
design group and went on to create its own identity in Chicago in 1927. The goals of the group have been to
"help professionals in the design field promote high standards of design
and design education and to elevate public awareness of the role of good
design."
In 1989 the STA became the American
Center for Design, undertook an updated philosophy and direction, and operated
under that name until the closure of the organization in 2002.
A new and separate Society of
Typographic Arts emerged in 1990, founded by a few of the former board members
of the then-defunct STA along with other members of affiliated design organizations.
This new group carried the STA name forward along with a renewed commitment to
design in Chicago. As of 2017, the new STA is still operating.
Related Materials:
Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the
Society of Typographic Arts visual materials primarily from the 1960s
(1984.0645), the Society of Typographic Arts visual materials for 1982-1983
(1984.0118), and the American Center for Design records.
Separated Materials: Separated materials at the Chicago History Museum Research
Center, include Ray Da Boll calligraphy material; tape
recordings: 1971 STA Conference
Interviews--2 tapes, John Berry, Eric Larabee/STA Allerton Conference 1955, 2
unidentified tapes; STA Keepsake: R.
Buckminster Fuller "Thinks Out Loud"--record album; and publications
cataloged separately.
Gift
of the Society of Typographic Arts, 1981 (1982.0093).
Storage: Box Lot (21 boxes, horizontal and vertical)
List
of online catalog headings:
Society of Typographic Arts (Chicago, Ill.)
Exhibitions -- Illinois -- Chicago.
Meetings -- Illinois -- Chicago.
Organizations -- Illinois -- Chicago.
Printing industry -- United States.
Chicago (Ill.) --
Exhibitions.
Announcements.
Cards.
Invitations.
Keepsakes.
Film negatives.
Lantern slides.
Prints.
Silver gelatin prints.
Slides.
Container list of box and folder numbers and titles:
Series 1.
Printed material 1927-1988, 1990-1996
Subseries 1.
American Center for Design, 1990-1996
Box 20
1 Annual
Business Meetings, Awards, and Auctions
2 Design
Conferences, Statements, and Courses (1990-1992)
3 Design
Conferences, Statements, and Courses (1993-1995)
4 Catalogs,
Directories
5 Exhibitions,
The 100 Show
Box 21
1 Newsletters,
Bulletins
2 Design
Journals, Year in Review
3 Presentations,
Receptions, Lectures
Folder 1
AIGA, ACD presentation posters and
publications, 1990, 1992-1995
Subseries 2.
STA printed material, 1927-1988
Box 1
1 American
Institute of Graphic Arts
2 Announcements
for Board of Directors Meetings
3 Annual
Business Meetings
4 Auctions
5 Certificates
of Membership/Awards
6 Christmas
Parties
7 Design
Conferences (See appendix for list)
8
Dinner Announcements
Box 2 Exhibit announcements and invitations
1 1920's
2 1930's
3 1940's
4 1950's
5 1960's
6
1970's
Box 3
1 1980's
2 No
date
Exhibit catalogs
3 3rd-6th
Annual Exhibition of Chicago Fine Printing, 1929-1932
4 7th-10th
Annual Exhibition of Chicago Fine Printing, 1933-1936
5 11th-13th,
15th Annual Exhibition of Chicago Fine Printing, 1937-1939, 1941
6 20th-21st,
23rd-25th Annual Exhibition of Chicago Fine Printing,1947-1948,
1950-1952
7 26th-29th
Annual Exhibition of Chicago Fine Printing, 1953-1956
8 30th-34th
Annual Exhibition of Chicago Fine Printing, 1957-1961
9 35th-37th
Annual Exhibition of Chicago Fine Printing, 1962-1964
10 39th-40th
Annual Exhibition of Chicago Fine Printing, 1966-1967
11
Chicago 1 Show, 1968
Box 4
1 Chicago
2 Show, 1969
2 Chicago
3 Show, 1970
3 Chicago
4 Show, 1972
4 Chicago
'75, 1975
5 Chicago
'77, 1977
6 Fifty
Years of Graphic Design in Chicago, 1927-1977
7 STA
100, 1978 and 1980
7
Miscellaneous catalogs
Box 5
1 Field
Trips
2 icograda
3 Job
Notices
Keepsakes (See appendix for list)
4 1920's
5 1930's
6 1940's
8
1950's
Box 6
1 1960's
2 1970's
3 1980's
4 No
Date
5-6
Lectures
Box 7
1 Lectures
2 Luncheon
Meetings
3 Magic
Lantern Film Series
4 Meetings
5 Members'
Work
6 Parties
7 Reference
Guides
8 Stationery
9 Type
Workshop
10 Women
In Design
11 Miscellaneous
Series 2.
Photographs 1940's - 1980's
Box 8
1 STA
Activities
2 Biographical
3 Conferences
- misc.
4 Conferences
- Camp Chi
5 Exhibits
6 Exhibit
Catalog Material
7 Samples
of Design Work for Exhibit, 1949
9
Samples of Design Work for
Exhibit, 1950
Box 9
1 Design
In Chicago Show Work, 1952
2 Samples
of Design Work for Exhibits, 1953
3 Exhibit
Opening, 1951
4 Exhibit
Opening, 1961
5 35th
Anniversary Commemorative Show, 1962
6 STA 100 Show,
1980
7 Exhibit
Judging
8 Exhibit
Judges and Work Samples, 1948
9 Material
Used in The Letter, Nov. 1970
10
Material Used in The Letter, Feb. 1971
Box 10
1 Chicago
II
2 STA
Officers
3 Trip
to Taliesin
4 Tour
of W.F. Hall Letter Press Printing Plant
5 Miscellaneous
6
Unidentified
Series 3.
Negatives
Box 11
1 STA
Exhibit Opening, 1961
2 STA
Exhibit Opening, 1963
3 Fall
Conference at Camp Chi
4 Judging
an STA Exhibit
5 Printed
Specimens
7
Miscellaneous
Slides 1936 - 1981
Box 12
2
4x5 boxes of lantern slides
Slides and lecture notes for "Chicago Design Trends" a
presentation by Rodney Chirpe, 1936
Box 13
2
4x5 boxes of lantern slides
Slides and lecture notes for "Chicago Design Trends" a
presentation by Rodney Chirpe, 1936
Box 14
5
sheets of 35mm color slides
21st Annual Exhibition of Design in Chicago Printing, 1948
4
sheets of 35mm color slides
22nd Annual Exhibition of Design in Chicago Printing, 1949
5
sheets of 35mm color slides
23rd Annual Exhibition of Design in Chicago Printing, 1950
(includes catalog and notes for slide presentation)
Box 15
2
sheets of 35mm color slides
Partial slide sets from STA Exhibitions, 1951-1953
4
sheets of 35mm color slides
Guild Exhibition--Seventh Annual Exhibition of Commercial Art,
1954
3
sheets of 35mm color slides
"Letters in Living"--Student Show presented at the
International Design Conference, Aspen, 1959
5
sheets of 35mm color slides
32nd Annual Exhibition of Design in Chicago Printing, 1959
121
unmounted 35mm color slides
Unmounted slides from the International Design Conference, Aspen,
1959
Box 16
7
sheets of 35mm color slides
33rd Annual Exhibition of Design in Chicago Printing, 1960
10
sheets of 35mm color slides
34th Annual Exhibition of Design in Chicago Printing, 1961
1 sheet of 35mm color slides "1961
Duplicates"
Box 17
7
sheets of 35mm color slides
35th Annual Exhibition of Design in Chicago Printing, 1962
2
sheets of 35mm color slides
STA Annual Exhibit (partial set), 1963
2
sheets of 35mm color slides
STA Annual Exhibit--Exhibit Installation and Dinner, 1964
2
sheets of 35mm color slides
STA Annual Exhibit--Judging, 1964
1 sheet of 35mm color slides STA Annual
Exhibit
Box 18
11
sheets of 35mm color slides STA Trademarks Slide Show, 1965
Box 19
2
sheets of 35mm color slides
STA Annual Meeting, 1979 or 1980
3 sheets of 35mm color slides STA 100 Show,
1980
3
sheets of 35mm color slides
Berlin: Images & Realities, 1980
3 sheets of 35mm color slides Berlin: Images
& Realities,1980
3
sheets of 35mm color slides
STA Annual Meeting, 1981
4
sheets of 35mm color slides
Private Press Workshop (n.d.)
1
sheet of 35mm color slides
Student Awards (n.d.)
2 sheets of 35mm color slides STA Conference
at Illinois Beach State Park (n.d.)
Inventories
STA annual
design conferences inventory
Location, Year
Allerton Park, 1956
Allerton Park, 1962
Allerton Park, 1963
Allerton Park, 1966
Allerton Park, 1967
Allerton Park, 1969
George Williams College, Williams Bay,
WI, 1970
Camp Chi, Lake Delton, WI, 1971
Playboy Club, Lake Geneva, WI, 1974
Allerton Park, 1975
Illinois Beach Lodge, Zion, IL, 1976
Camp Chi, Lake Delton, WI, 1977
Lake Lawn Lodge, Delavan, WI, 1980
Lake Lawn Lodge, Delavan, WI, 1981
Sleepy Hollow Resort, South Haven, MI, no date
STA keepsakes
inventory
Date Description
1927 On
Old Style and Modern Types by Oswald Cooper
1930 The
Background, A Short Story from the Chronicles of
Clovis by Saki
1934 Lee's
General Order Number Nine
1935 PM
Magazine
1938 A
Toast to Women, given by Rembrandt
1938 Design
by James Mangan
1940 What
Printing Is by Frederic W. Goudy
1940 Lament
for a Lost Arcadia by Pan
1941 Type
Takes a Beating
1943 Excerpts
from Writings on Liberty by Thoreau
1946 A
Dialogue on the Uncial...by Victor Hammer
1947 Calligraphy's
Flowering, Decay and Restoration by Paul Standard
1948 An
Editorial on Responsibility
1948 FWG--Tribute
to Frederic W. Goudy
1948 Memorium:
Ernst Frederick Detterer
1950 A
Letter About Eric Gill by H.D.C. Pepler
1951 Proverbs
written by Oswald B. Cooper
1951 Folklore
of the Chapel by Lawrence Thompson
1951 The
Author Looks at Format edited by Ray Freiman
1951 Scratchboard
Printing Plates by John Averill
1953 A
Visit to October House as recorded by E. Willis Jones
1954 Form
and Motion by Gyorgy Kepes
1954 Imre
Reiner--translation by Tom Laufer
1955 It's
Me O Lord by Rockwell Kent
1961 Christmas
Drawings by Thomas Nast
1967 Indian
and Persian Miniatures
1967 R.
Buckminster Fuller Thinks Out Loud--record (located in Manuscripts)
1968 TM
(Trademarks)
1971 Shakertown
Calendar
1973 AmetriAmerica
1975 Shakertown
Calendar
1976 The
Face before the Face
1976 The
Ambrosiana Collection
1978 Poster
from Mao's "3 Short Poems"
1980 STA
Type Workshop
No date
The Ideal Book
A list of STA exhibits
by year
Year Exhibit
1927 1
1928 2
1929 3
1930 4
1931 5
1932 6
1933 7
1934 8
1935 9
1936 10
1937 11
1938 12
1939 13
1940 14
1941 15
1942 16
1943 17
1944 18
1945 no
exhibit
1946 19
1947 20
1948 21
1949 22
1950 23
1951 24
1952 25
1953 26
1954 27
1955 28
1956 29
1957 30
1958 31
1959 32
1960 33
1961 34
1962 35
1963 36
1964 37
1965 38
1966 39
1967 40
1968 41
1969 42
1970 43
1971 44
1972 45
1973 46
1974 47
1975 48
1976 49
1977 50
1978 51
1979 52
1980 53
1981 54
1982 55