Bare Memorial Electric Fountain

I bought this hand-colored postcard a few ago at a flea market, intending to do a bit of research to see if the fountain still existed, and to visit it some day.

The reverse side of the postcard.

After a 4-mile run this morning, we decided to go on an adventure try to find the fountain. A bit of Google® searching turned up a good map, and a description of the fountain and park.

From Wikipedia:

“…The civic center of the borough is the borough park with its duck pond and fountain designed around the Big Spring. The present park, which [Daniel] Bare set aside for public use, is the result of successive improvement projects started in the 1870s and continuing through the early 20th century. A stone arch, counted as a contributing structure, was built in 1874 to channel the spring, and a breast dam was added in 1876 to impound the spring water into a pond; the first dam was replaced by the present steel and cement dam, a noncontributing structure, in 1958. Sometime in the 1920s to 1930s, the pond was further contained by a concrete basin. In 1937, the Bare Memorial Fountain, counted as a second contributing structure, with its oscillating streams [which rise to 25 feet] and colored lights was added.” 

Read the rest here.

It was raining lightly when we arrived. Notice, the curved supporting structures of the fountain have been removed.

We crossed the street to look in the windows of The Roaring Spring Blank Book Company.

Roaring Spring Paper Products History

“In 1887 Daniel M. Bare founded the Roaring Spring Blank Book Company to produce ledgers, journals, etc., hence the name 'Blank Book'. Today the company has grown from a 20 person operation in a small two story brick building to over 330 employees in a 400,000 square foot modern facility that manufactures a variety of school and office paper products.”

An etched logo on the front door. Inside were large book bindery machines.

Part of the park was under construction, and we were not able to walk around the entire perimeter, but it didn’t dampen our spirits.

Image of the Day: Blue Bunny & Fondue

During the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of my in-laws, a Peeps® marshmallow blue bunny gets dipped into one of the chocolate fondues. 

The FD&C Color Palette

via idsn

“As designers, we know color is important. But when food is your medium, color can be powerful enough to influence taste—and affect health. Say hello to Blue No. 1, Yellow No. 5, and Red No. 40. These numbers make up part of an artificial color palette approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration. First introduced in 1906, the FDA’s Pure Food and Drug Act (and later the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) was put in place to ensure the safety and wholesomeness of food products. Before this, more than eighty dyes were used to color food, without regulation—the same dye could be used to color both clothing and candy. Currently, the FD&C color palette features seven colors that can be used in the production of food, along with two additional colors for limited use. . . ”

Read the rest here.

Mac vs. PC

via hunch blog
“Our latest data project was to analyze how self-described Mac and PC people are different. The infographic [here], designed by the talented folks at Column Five Media, breaks it down. Keep reading after the Infographic for more background and analysis, including some comparisons to findings from 18 months ago when we first looked at this issue.”

Image of the Day: Frear’s Detail

Architectural detail on Frear Building, Penn State University Park Campus. 

More on Frear Building can be found here.

1871 Bronze Ampersand: Old Main Bell

During a recent photo shoot of historical plaques and markers on campus, my eye was drawn to this bronze ampersand [a professional hazard]. I knew I’d be back again sometime soon, and made a mental note to take the time to take photos of it properly. . .

Read the rest and see more images of the bell here.

The Interrobang, Part II

via shady characters
“The interrobang’s arrival on the keyboard of Remington Rand’s Model 25 typewriter brought with it a new wave of interest in the character. In common with its appearance in Richard Isbell’s Americana, the mark’s transition from hot metal type to the typewriter keyboard was the result of a happy coincidence: a Remington Rand graphic designer saw ATF’s sample brochure for the font and lobbied in turn for its provision on his company’s typewriters. The Model 25’s replaceable key and typehead allowed different characters to be installed as required, providing the perfect vehicle for promoting this as-yet unproven mark of punctuation. Remington Rand entertained ideas of effecting a revolution in punctuation with its new interrobang key. . . ”

Read the rest here; part one can be found here.

Numeric sorts

spotted on we love typography, these make me smile/ See the original image here.

Business Cards: Page XXIII

[Top Row] Well, at least Kelly McDermott can create ransom notes, which is what this card looks like. Middle card: this card has ALWAYS cracked me up with the statement, “Jesus Saved?” and the photo of the Evangelist. On a whim, I Googled his name, and it looks like he is 76, still resides in Plant City, FL and is also listed as a Bishop another place. Last card in the row— just  a unique card that probably was set in metal type.

[Middle Row] “Memories in Movies with Sound” (MIMS) — I guess talkies are getting popular with Mr. Mims. Middle card: A GARBOLOGIST; how cool is that! Last card in row: just lose the border, please and get some white space.

[Bottom Row] Randy's Beehive nephew art makes me smile for some reason; Subterranean Mango is just a cool name; and Gita-Nagari in Port Royal is from the Krishna farm located there. We would visit this farm at least once a month when they offered free vegetarian meals during one of their many festivals. It was like stepping into another reality seeing a life-size statue of Prabhupada wearing a real wristwatch. From what I understand, they never did become a self-sustaining farm, but they were surely making an effort in the early 1980s. Today, they even have a Facebook page!

Business Cards: Page XXII

[Top Row] Why is this farmer smiling and holding a trident on a lead mining card? Middle card: Most likely their fully color outdoor sign reproduced pretty crappy in black and white.

[Middle Row] It cracks me up seeing the hand-written addition “Also Snake Dancing.” Middle casino card has really fine line embossing; it looks like something out of the Rat Pack era. Last card: is CAZAN from mixing up the letters in the owners’ last name ZANCA?

[Bottom Row] Middle card — something about the 1950s minty green ink on this card just draws me in.

Image of the Day: Caslon and Goudy

Two of my favorite ampersands, Caslon and Goudy in PMS 659

Business Cards: Page XXI

All in all, the cards on this page all utilize pretty crappy artwork.

[Top Row] Can "White Dragon" be positioned any closer to the top of the card?  Trivia on the last card, we graduated from high school with Mona.

[Middle Row] First card, I think it is time to invest in a new card when you have to resort to whiteout and mailing labels to fix your present card. Last card in the row: Strike-a-Pose Computer Portraits — does the art in the upper right hand corner look extremely scary to you?

[Bottom Row] Crappy hand drawn type and horse just doesn't cut it. Middle card: What exactly does Jean E. Tayrien do by appointment only? Last card in the row: so stereotypical of early 1980s desktop publishing.

A Paper Record Player Wedding Invitation

via Paper Forest
“Check out designer Kelli Anderson's lovely wedding invitation design. Okay, so it is not made entirely of paper, but careful folding of the paper in this invite is used to amplify the sound of a sewing needle on a flexi-disc record.”
Click here and watch the video. Kudos to Mr. Wizard!

Image of the Day: Ampersand Cleaning

Interesting effect when cleaning the ink from the metal type on an old cotton rag.

Antarctica, 1911-1914

Wreck of the 'Gratitude', Macquarie Island,
1911 / Format: Silver gelatin photoprint

via Brain Pickings
“In the summer of 1911, a group of Australian scientists, adventurers and explorers set out to make history by undertaking the first Australian expedition to Antarctica, a three-year journey into the frozen unknown. Under the leadership of Dr. Douglas Mawson, they set sail for Macquarie Island and the virgin parts of Antarctica. . . ”

Read the rest, and see more images, here. More on Frank Hurley — who was also the photographer during Ernest Shackleton’s fabled Endurance expedition to Antarctica, 1914-1917 — can be found here.

Image of the Day: Kern’s Ampersand

PRINtNG

via letterology


Sign of the times. Photo by Dave van Hulsteyn, titled Palm Tree, San Bernadino.

1922 Flapper’s Dictionary

via boingboing

“Originally published in the July 1922 edition of FLAPPER magazine, this dictionary went into some detail, listing the group's slang and providing definitions. In the process, it also provided an insight: through the slang we can begin to discern attitudes and priorities and the mindset of the adherents. And the adherents, after all, were our grandmothers and great-grandmothers.”

Visit here to read the dictionary.

Business Cards: Page XX

[Top Row] Is the word “Naked” in red italics supposed imply a certain amount of naughtiness in their furniture? Next card for the Chief of Police—during the day you need an area code, but at night it isn't necessary. Last card in this row, what exactly is a billanjo dairy, and is there a jimanbarbara dairy as well?

[Middle Row] AMBUSH uses a crazy wooden looking font, but the extremely poor letterspacing on their subhead kills the card [A•C•R•U•I•S•E•B•A•R]. Middle card is just so poorly executed, and the "pun" of the manager's name just doesn't cut it. Nag Drywall — is it because they use horsehair in their plaster? The smug looking horse with a bow-back looks like it is out of a 1950s MAD magazine.

[Bottom Row] My mother-in-law’s business card back when she was still doing craft and art shows to sell prints of her scenes in central PA pen and ink drawings. I remember Stan Scanlon coming into Graphics II in the early 1980s; the photo sums him up. Last card in the row: is this a supply company for taking armadillo photos, or a photo supply store for armadillos?

Image of the Day: Angry Bunny Ornament

Measuring in at just .5" tall, this little printers ornament has a curious expression.