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The Letraset Type Gallery - A. Cecil Wade
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Letterer par excellence - by Colin Brignall |
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During the 1930s and 1940s and indeed, up until the late 1950s, Fleet Street and its immediate district, with its labyrinth of alleyways and tiny courtyards was home to countless commercial artists. It was here at number 177 Fleet Street, in a building which still stands and sandwiched between Fetter Lane and Crane Court, that Cecil Wade, perhaps the finest and most influential lettering artist and typographer of his generation, plied his craft. Why, when there were so many highly accomplished artists did Cecil Wade reign supreme? Well, there are a number of probable reasons: Firstly, he undoubtedly had an eye for the very latest trends in all forms of fashions of the day and designed his lettering to accommodate these. Secondly, he was, as a lettering technician, extremely skilled and had a highly critical eye for curve, colour, spacing and balance. Thirdly, and this may have tipped the balance in his favour, he was extremely eloquent and was able to expound the virtues of good lettering design and layout very effectively. We know this because there are a number of published books in which he wrote about all aspects of lettering, type and typography. So, among a community in which, in general terms at least, the average commercial artist merely 'got on with the job', Cecil Wade enjoyed a certain celebrity status.  Examples of various script and roman letterforms created by Cecil Wade. His ability to speak passionately with conviction and authority on the subject of lettering no doubt would have impressed clients and potential clients alike, resulting in many an important commission. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the close proximity of Wade's studio to London's theatreland, many of these commissions came from the impresarios who put on the actual shows. One in particular, Sir Oswald Stoll, used Cecil Wade regularly to design the posters which promoted his theatrical productions. Despite the status that Cecil Wade enjoyed throughout much of his career, surprisingly there is really very little known about the man himself, current research providing nothing more than a comprehensive view of his actual work. Given his obvious love of letters we can assume that, like Stanley Morrison at Monotype's London base in Fetter Lane, he was probably a visitor to the St Bride Printing Library located but a short walk from his studio at the eastern end of Fleet Street. He may well have lectured students at art and design colleges, but at the present time, there is no evidence of this activity either.  Examples of various display styles by Cecil Wade. It is evident from one or two of these that some of his work was actually influenced by existing typefaces. So we are left only with a knowledge of his work. But no matter because, of course, this is the most important aspect of Cecil Wade. Like all good commercial lettering artists, he needed to be equally accomplished in all styles, whether it be a fine elegant copperplate script, a bold, hard-hitting piece of brush lettering or more formal styles such as roman or sans serif forms. But whatever was required, Cecil Wade accomplished it to a very high degree of professional and creative competence. His work as a whole is naturally reflective of the 1930s in which fine elegant script letterforms dominated the commercial advertising scene and which, in turn, was a reflection of the general fashions of the day. There is a sense that much of Cecil Wade's work during the 1930s was influenced by the Art Deco style so popular during the preceding decade. But, as time went by, it became less obvious and, as a result, became more functional on a wider scale. However, Wade was a great believer in 'horses for courses' and what he called 'stunt' lettering, or that lettering designed specifically to suit a particular purpose, was very much his forte. |
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In recognition of Cecil Wade's wonderful work during a forty year career in which he was such an inspirational influence, Letraset, in collaboration with Dave Farey and Richard Dawson at Housestyle Graphics, are launching two new typefaces based on two lettering styles created by him. Both have been named after London theatres since much of Cecil Wade's most important work was commissioned from this quarter. Both are based on pieces of lettering that appear in Cecil Wade's book "Modern Lettering from A to Z". The first, Letraset Collins, can be described as a bold display roman style with soft serifs, rather, if you like, in the Cooper Black mould. |
However, the unusual 'thin' lineweight feature which is an integral part of many of the the original lowercase letterforms was somewhat difficult to replicate and accomplish in the form of a typeface. Retaining that unmistakable 'lettering' appearance was also considered an important objective and one which required all the skill the designers could muster. Capitals too presented a problem in so far that there was only a T and an L as a reference guide. But, thanks to the expertise of the Messrs. Dawson and Farey, Letraset Collins emerged as a typeface that retains all the endearing features of Cecil Wade's original lettering. |
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 Original lettering designed by Cecil Wade on which Letraset Collins was based. |
 The same text and layout but set in Letraset Collins. The prime objective of the designers was to retain the handlettering qualities of the original forms throughout the typeface. |
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Letraset Comedy, by comparison, proved marginally less of a design challenge with its 'exploding', top heavy style running throughout, proving the most demanding feature to incorporate and get to work as a typeface. Amongst a number of similar bold, distinctive alphabets, Letraset Comedy has the advantage of a matching and coherent lower-case which extends its typographic usefulness. |
Categorized as a bold display sans serif, Letraset Comedy is of 'crisp' appearance and, like Letraset Collins, timeless in appearance and therefore appropriate for a wide variety of present day applications. |
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 Original lettering designed by Cecil Wade for a theatre advertisement which provided the inspiration for Letraset Comedy. |
 The same layout but set in Letraset Comedy. It was originally intended that the typeface should be called Coliseum after this advertisement but it was found to be already in use as a typeface name! |
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 An advertisement announcing the launch of Letraset Comedy and Letraset Collins.
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 The soft, chunky features of Letraset Collins makes it an appropriate style for a wide variety of applications including those targeting children's products and activities. |
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| Cecil Wade has left a legacy of fine handlettering which continues to inspire all who are involved in the creation and use of letterforms. His philosophy and principles relating to good design are still very much appropriate in today's world of digital technology as they were some 60 or 70 years ago. For this reason, I thought it would be interesting to reproduce verbatim, the preface text he wrote for his book: "Modern Lettering from A to Z" which was first published by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Limited in 1934:- |
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"In introducing the second edition of this book I feel that its purpose needs some explanation. At first glance it may appear to be only a succession of plates illustrating my work. This it is, but it goes, I hope, further than that. I have endeavoured to treat the subject of lettering as applied to modern commercial art and publicity from a practical viewpoint, leading the reader by stages from the essential styles and their adaptation to the treatments used at the present time. No matter how grotesque a style may be, the principles underlying its construction should be those of an orthodox style. I mention this because many examples of what I call "stunt" lettering are simply the fancy of the artist who seems to imagine that any departure from the orthodox will be accepted as grotesque. Lettering must essentially have two distinct features, namely, distinctiveness and legibility, but this does not mean that because letters are distorted in all manner of ways they will be distinctive. In one sense they will be, but not in the correct way. Legibility being so important, it stands to reason that the simpler the style the better, and the more involved the lettering, the harder it will be to read. By distinctiveness I mean individuality; and it is advisable to design the lettering in such a way that it lends itself, in an artistic manner, to the design. For the student of lettering, a great deal of study and careful thought must be given to the foundation styles, the Roman and the Sans-serif, and there should be no great hurry to get on to the grotesque. It may appear quite a simple matter to make odd letter shapes, but to do this properly requires a great deal of training and experience in letter design. It is not so much the shape of the letters as the design of the whole that counts. |
Anybody with a little practice can copy a letter style however grotesque and "sensational" but few know where and how to use them, and I would strongly advise the student to master thoroughly the Roman first, studying each letter, its design and characteristics, together with the spacing of letters, words and lines in all manner of lay-outs. Spacing is one of the most important things about good lettering, which can often be utterly ruined by being badly spaced and arranged. The lay-out of lettering requires special consideration and must be taken as a separate subject, but the designs here will, I trust, be helpful in showing the application of the various styles of lettering. Lettering, apart from the actual drawing of the letters, depends to a great extent on its application, so that it will be realized how important it is to make a study of layout and design. Suitability of letter style for a particular design is mainly a matter of personal taste, but only if the taste is cultivated in the real appreciation of what is good style. Although one should always endeavour to be original, the only way of becoming so is to study the work of the best people and so acquire the knowledge that will bring out your own individuality and style. Good drawing of the letters, however, combined with good spacing and design, must always be the chief consideration. It is no use trying to be original unless you are a perfect craftsman. There are many examples of bad and mediocre lettering in present-day advertising, but there are at the same time many which are really excellent and these should be carefully studied from all points of view - drawing, layout and colour - for it is only by the study and assimilation of that which is the best one can hope to become a master." A. CECIL WADE. |
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BOOKS BY A. CECIL WADE: |
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