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

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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