Practical Principles

via letterology
“From an alphabet of tongue twisters originally published in 1836 and revised 100 years later by the Mergenthaler Linotype Corporation. This 1936 edition of Peter Piper’s Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation was designed and illustrated by some of the most celebrated typographers and designers of the day…”
See more examples here, and see the entire book on view at Dr. Chris Mullen's amazing site, The Visual Telling of Stories, here.

Vintage Marvels: Commas

via swissmiss
From an Etsy shop called Vintage Marvels. Makes me smile.

Business Cards: Page XXXI

Hobo Type

via letterology
“This written language for hobos was a system of symbols developed as a code to help them cope with a difficult lifestyle. Hobo signage was often written with chalk or coal and might include directions, information and warnings such as a dangerous dog or the homeowner has a gun. Three diagonal lines signified it was not a safe place, the cross indicated angel food, which was food served to hobos after a sermon, two shovels indicated work available and a cross with a smiley face with one corner meant the doctor was willing to treat hobos for free.

In 1889 at the National Hobo Convention, the Tourist Union #63 adopted a concrete set of sixteen ethical by-laws to govern the Nation-wide Hobo Body. Oh what a wonderful world it would be if we all lived by this Hobo Code…”
Read the rest here.

Image of the Day: Gargoyle Among the Peonies

Business Cards: Page XXX

Chronophotography

via brainpickings
“French scientist Étienne-Jules Marey (1830-1904) made significant contributions to the development of cardiology and physical instrumentation in medicine, but he is best-known as a pioneer of chronophotography — an antique Victorian-era photographic technique that captures several sequential frames of movement, which can then be combined into a single image. In 1882, Marey invented a chronophotographic gun that was capable of taking 12 consecutive frames per second, recorded on the same picture. He used these pictures to study the gallop of horses, the flight of birds, the gait of elephants, the swim of fish, and the organic motion of many more creatures, and his work served as the foundation for Eadweard Muybridge‘s iconic animal locomotion studies and directly influenced the development of early cinema. Yet the background of his landmark images remains obscure…”
Learn more here.

Geometry of Circles: Philip Glass + Sesame Street

via brain pickings
“…In 1979, the makers of Sesame Street commissioned Philip Glass to compose music for a series of four unnumbered animation pieces titled Geometry of Circles, designed as a primer for visual thinking — something at the core of both Sesame Street itself and Jim Henson’s original vision that predated his creation of The Muppets. The combination, beautiful and eloquent in a multisensory way, feeds into my obsession with synesthesia and various visualizations of music.”
Read the rest, and watch one of the videos here.

Images of the Day: Mimeograph

Spotted at the Brooklyn Flea by my son and daughter-in-law. This makes me smile.

Business Cards: Page XXIX

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

via bibliodyssey

“Peter Pan first appeared in a section of The Little White Bird, a 1902 novel written by JM Barrie for adults. The character's best-known adventure debuted on 27 December 1904, in the stage play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up' The play was adapted and expanded somewhat as a novel, published in 1911 as Peter and Wendy (later as Peter Pan and Wendy, and still later as simply Peter Pan). Following the highly successful debut of the 1904 play, Barrie's publishers, Hodder and Stoughton, extracted chapters 13–18 of The Little White Bird and republished them in 1906 under the title Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, with the addition of illustrations by Arthur Rackham...”
Read the rest here, and see the fifty Rackham illustrations for ‘Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens’ from Harvard University Library here.

1940s NYC Destination Subway Scrolls

via accidental mysteries
“These incredibly graphic New York City destination subway scrolls were used to direct subway commuters in the early 1940s. I love the way the fonts are condensed and expanded to fill the space— from the school of ‘make it fit!’
Read more here.

Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling Color: Synesthesia Pt. 2

via imprint
“[Part II digs] into a hot-topic among scientists in recent years: is synesthesia useful to those who have it? What can studying it yield?
Read part two here.

Images of the Day: Glassfest

We loved the bright little spray painted runner on the course signs.

Close-up of the spray runner wearing a double-brimmed hat.

Interesting typography treatment for this jeweler’s sign.

A restored Whizzer bike

Mail slot in a darkened corner along Main Street in Corning, NY

There was even a old ampersand spotted along the way; you can see it here.

Business Cards: Page XXVIII

Andrea Stark Poster Series

via FPO
“The things we place value on; the things we hold most beautiful, are of our own accord. This project reminds people to step back and consider every object or mark as an opportunity to create something new or improve upon the existing. This poster series was part of a wider research project exploring the value of decoration. The designs were created using everyday objects, residues and ephemera. Each A1 print is double-sided, with the original objects printed on the reverse of the decorative design that was created from them…”
Read the rest here.

Graphically Evoking Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”

via @Issue Journal of Business & Design
“Our musical notation system follows a convention that dates back centuries. By reading it, musicians can get an aural sense of melody, tempo and all the other instructions on how the score should be played. But what if the notations were shown in graphically different colors and dot sizes? This is a study done by graphic designer Laia Clos of Mot Studio in Barcelona. Clos explains that the self-initiated project started with a woman in her studio who has a knowledge of music. From there, they created a new graphic musical notation system called “SisTeMu,” which translates a musical score into simple geometric forms and basic printing colors, exploring the rhythmic and melodic harmonies found in the musical composition. The system somewhat simplifies the complexity and mathematical structure, making it accessible to the viewer through a visual narrative. For their first translation, they used the musical data for the lead violin part of Antonio Vivaldi’s baroque concerto, The Four Seasons (or Lesquartrestacions)…”
Read more here and here.

Business Cards: Page XXVII

Seeing Color (and Hearing, and Smelling It)

via imprint
“The number 1, for example, is a brilliant and bright white, like someone shining a flashlight into my eyes. Five is a clap of thunder or the sound of waves crashing against rocks. Thirty-seven is lumpy like porridge, while 89 reminds me of falling snow…”
Read the rest here.

Letterpress

via swissmiss
Letterpress from Naomie Ross on Vimeo makes me smile. Watch it here.