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MacMcGrew on Cooper Black

Quoting Mac McGrew on Cooper Black: Cooper Black is the best known of a number of typefaces designed by Oswald Bruce Cooper, Chicago lettering artist, but it is not the first or most unusual. They resulted from a policy of Barnhart Brothers&Spindler, the large Chicago type foundry, of seeking original designs and encouraging modern artists to add their talented contributions to typographic resources. Cooper, an oldstyle letter with innovative rounded serifs, long ascenders and a close fit, was designed in 1918. Originally called Cooper Oldstyle, the shorter name was adopted before it was released. Cooper Italic was designed in 1924; it harmonizes well with the roman, but retains more of the quaintness and irregularity of hand-lettering through the unusual swing of such letters as h, k, m, and n. Roman and italic fonts include f-ligatures up to 18- point only. Note the unusual extras in roman-brackets, paragraph mark. "classic point," four-leaf clover, etc. Small caps were also made up to 18-point. but these were the same as the next smaller size of caps, including 16-point. with very little difference between them and regular caps in some sizes. Cooper Black was issued in 1922, a super-black design which fully represented Cooper's unique style and started a new trend in advertising typogra- phy. Cooper called it, "for far-sighted printers with near-sighted customers." This became the foundry's best selling type before its merger with ATF seven years later, and ATF's all-time second-best-selling type (after Copperplate Gothic). Cooper Black Italic was completed in 1926, and quickly joined the ranks of best selling types. The dozen swash capitals were unusual for such a heavy face. Both italics are non-kerning, that is, none of the letters overhang the body, eliminating the major cause of breakage, for Cooper was as practi cal as he was talented. Cooper Hilite was created in 1925 by cutting a white line in Cooper Black. Cooper Black Condensed appeared in 1926; Cooper described it as "condensed but not squeezed." Cooper Fullface, probably the most innovative of Cooper's creations, was issued by BB&S shortly before the foundry was closed in 1929; production was taken over by ATF, where it was renamed Cooper Modern. Of this face. Cooper said that it "differs from Bodoni in that its serifs are rounded, and its main stems drawn freely, with a suggestion of curve in almost every line." He added, "It is unusual in that it combines the sharp contrast of main and minor lines (as in Bodoni) with the free rendering (as in Caslon) of pen drawn characters." An italic was undertaken but never completed. We have the word of Richard N. McArthur, former BB&S advertising manager, that Fullface and Modern are the same face, but there is no explanation of the ATF listing of both names with different serial numbers for matrices in its vaults. Cooper Tooled Italic was copied by BB&S in 1928 from an adaptation by a German foundry of Cooper Italic, the result of an agreement to exchange designs between the two foundries; BB&S later admitted it was the loser in this deal. This letter is basically heavier than the original, and very displeasing to Cooper. But Cooper Tooled is Monotype's adaptation by Sol Hess of Cooper Black, with a white line on the opposite side from Cooper Hilite; it was done in 1928. Monotype also copied Cooper (both roman and italic) and Cooper Black. under the same names. Intertype's Rugged Black and Italic, issued 1929, are essentially like Cooper Black and Italic through 14-point; in larger sizes the roman is closer to Cooper Black Condensed. Compare L~dlow Black, Pabst Extra Bold, Goudy Heavyface.

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