Cooper was born in Mount Gilead, Ohio but moved to Coffeyville, Kansas when quite young. He left high school at seventeen to become a printer's devil. He studied illustration at Frank Holme's School of Illustration, first as a correspondence student, then moving to Chicago to study in person. While doing poorly at drawing, he did so well in a lettering class taught by Frederic Goudy, that he soon became director of the correspondence department for the school. After Holme died in 1903, the school closed due to financial difficulties, and Cooper took it on himself to provide correspondence education to prepaid students.[5]
Careeredit
In 1904 Cooper and Fred S. Bertsch formed the design firm of Bertsch & Cooper, providing ad campaigns for such accounts as the Packard Motor Car Company and Anheuser-Busch Breweries, with Cooper providing distinctive hand lettering and sometimes the copywriting as well. In 1914 the firm became a full-service type shop. By the time Fred Bertsch retired in 1924, Bertch & Cooper employed more than fifty people and was the largest art production facility in the Midwest. As he showed considerable talent for writing, many advertising agencies sought his services as a copywriter, but he wrote only for himself and his own firm.[6]
Personal lifeedit
Tall, lanky, and homespun, Cooper was a shy man, avoiding social situations and even unnecessary business contacts. Those close to him called him "Oz," to everyone else, he was "Mister Cooper." In 1920, he married his second cousin, Mary Lou Foster. They had no children. For the last year-and-a-half of his life, Cooper was ill with cancer, dying in Chicago of the disease in 1940.[7] A festschrift anthologizing his work was published in 1949.[8]
Typefacesedit
Cooper's Cooper Old Style and its ultra-bold variant Cooper Black. Both are quirky variations on the old-style serif model, intended for display and advertising use.
Cooper series (BB&S later ATF) When Barnhart Brothers & Spindler Type Foundry (BB&S) approached Cooper with a proposal to design a complete type family based on his lettering, Cooper had doubts over the deal, but Fred Bertsch saw it as opportunity to gain exposure for Cooper's work and to further promote the design studio, so the deal was made. Digitised by URW and by Wordshape.[9]
Cooper (1918) originally Cooper Old Style; Wordshape's digitisation includes initials.[10]
Cooper Black series (1922, BB&S later ATF). Called by designer as a font "for far-sighted printers with near-sighted customers,"[12] it was hated by conservative typographers, but was popular among graphic designers, to the point that the foundry had problems making enough fonts. It became one of the most popular typefaces to be released in America at that time and had a great influence on the style of the 1920s and 30s.[13]
Cooper Black Condensed (1926)) 20% lighter than the Cooper Black, the designer described it as "condensed but not squeezed."
Cooper Fullface series An ultra-bold display Didone. Richard McArther, general manager of the foundry, referred to it as "the hotsy stuff".[14] A specimen sheet was mailed out in 1929 just before BBS was taken over by American Type Founders. They continued to produce the roman face, renaming it Cooper Modern.[14]
Cooper Fullface Italic (1929) Never released due to the BB&S foundry closure; a lively Bodoni-esque italic.[14] A digital version based on Cooper's original drawings was released by Wordshape in 2010.[14]
Boul Mich (1927, BB&S)) In 1927 Cooper was asked by the foundry to take an advertising headline from a newspaper clipping and fill it out into a design for a complete alphabet, which he did, disclaiming any credit for the original design.[15] The face was named Boul Mich, after Michigan Boulevard, a street in Chicago where many of the city advertising agencies were located. Digital version released by Wordshape, 2010.[15]
Pompeian Cursive (1927, BB&S) Digital version released by Wordshape, 2010.[16]
Dietz Text (c. 1927, BB&S) Original drawings made by August Dietz were not suitable for making patterns, so Cooper spent two months making them ready for matrix cutting. It was the last of Oswald's fonts released by BB&S before the foundry was closed in 1929.
Other "Cooper Faces"edit
Packard (1913, ATF) Cooper's anonymous hand-lettering for Packard ads formed the basis of the Packard font prepared at the direction of Morris Fuller Benton of American Type Founders.
Cooper Tooled Italic (BB&S) was not designed by Oz Cooper, but was actually a knock-off of a "Cooper Italic" by a German foundry.
Rollins, Carl Purlington American Type Designers and Their Work, in Print, V. 4, #1.
Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson, The Encyclopedia of Type Faces, Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983. ISBN0-7137-1347-X.
MacGrew, Mac, American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, Oak Knoll Books, New Castle Delaware, 1993, ISBN0-938768-34-4.
Friedl, Ott, and Stein, Typography: an Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History. Black Dog & Levinthal Publishers: 1998. ISBN1-57912-023-7.
^Lynam, Ian, "Heft, Gravy & Swing: The Life and Times of Oz Cooper," Idea Magazine, Tokyo, 2010. ASIN B0034Z40FY.
^Shinn, Nick. "The Golden Age of Hand Lettering in American Advertising". Type Culture. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
^Middleton, R. Hunter (1937). Chicago Letter Founding. Chicago: Black Cat Press. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
^Heller, Steven. "Telling and selling". Eye. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
^"Books received: The Book of Oz Cooper". Graphis: 290. 1950. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
^"Cooper Old Style". MyFonts. URW. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
^Lynam, Ian. "Cooper Text". Wordshape. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
^Lynam, Ian. "Cooper Italic Swash". Wordshape. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
^Halley, Allan (Summer 1991), "Oswald Cooper", U&lc, 18 (2): 30–35
^"The Subway and the City: Massimo Vignelli, 1931–2014". MOMA. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
^ abcdLynam, Ian. "Cooper Fullface". Wordshape. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
^ ab"Boul Mich". Fontspring. Wordshape. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
^Lynam, Ian. "Pompeian Cursive". Wordshape. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
External linksedit
Short biography, Identifont
Fonts in Use
Font Designer – Oswald Cooper
Typophile: Oswald Bruce Cooper 2007-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
BlueCotton.com: Visual History of Cooper Black
Maiandra GD
Oswald Bruce Cooper Papers at the Newberry Library
November 13, 2023
oswald, bruce, cooper, april, 1879, december, 1940, american, type, designer, lettering, artist, graphic, designer, teacher, these, trades, born, 1879, april, 1879mount, gilead, ohiodieddecember, 1940, 1940, aged, chicago, illinoisnationalityamericanknown, for. Oswald Bruce Cooper April 13 1 1879 December 17 1940 was an American type designer lettering artist graphic designer and teacher of these trades 2 3 4 Oswald Bruce CooperBorn 1879 04 13 April 13 1879Mount Gilead OhioDiedDecember 17 1940 1940 12 17 aged 61 Chicago IllinoisNationalityAmericanKnown forTypographyNotable workFontspace Pixabay and MediasourceChildren5Awards1Patron s 1 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Typefaces 4 1 Other Cooper Faces 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and education editCooper was born in Mount Gilead Ohio but moved to Coffeyville Kansas when quite young He left high school at seventeen to become a printer s devil He studied illustration at Frank Holme s School of Illustration first as a correspondence student then moving to Chicago to study in person While doing poorly at drawing he did so well in a lettering class taught by Frederic Goudy that he soon became director of the correspondence department for the school After Holme died in 1903 the school closed due to financial difficulties and Cooper took it on himself to provide correspondence education to prepaid students 5 Career editIn 1904 Cooper and Fred S Bertsch formed the design firm of Bertsch amp Cooper providing ad campaigns for such accounts as the Packard Motor Car Company and Anheuser Busch Breweries with Cooper providing distinctive hand lettering and sometimes the copywriting as well In 1914 the firm became a full service type shop By the time Fred Bertsch retired in 1924 Bertch amp Cooper employed more than fifty people and was the largest art production facility in the Midwest As he showed considerable talent for writing many advertising agencies sought his services as a copywriter but he wrote only for himself and his own firm 6 Personal life editTall lanky and homespun Cooper was a shy man avoiding social situations and even unnecessary business contacts Those close to him called him Oz to everyone else he was Mister Cooper In 1920 he married his second cousin Mary Lou Foster They had no children For the last year and a half of his life Cooper was ill with cancer dying in Chicago of the disease in 1940 7 A festschrift anthologizing his work was published in 1949 8 Typefaces edit nbsp Cooper s Cooper Old Style and its ultra bold variant Cooper Black Both are quirky variations on the old style serif model intended for display and advertising use Cooper series BB amp S later ATF When Barnhart Brothers amp Spindler Type Foundry BB amp S approached Cooper with a proposal to design a complete type family based on his lettering Cooper had doubts over the deal but Fred Bertsch saw it as opportunity to gain exposure for Cooper s work and to further promote the design studio so the deal was made Digitised by URW and by Wordshape 9 Cooper 1918 originally Cooper Old Style Wordshape s digitisation includes initials 10 Cooper Italic 1924 11 nbsp Cooper Hilite an inline variant of Cooper Black Cooper Black series 1922 BB amp S later ATF Called by designer as a font for far sighted printers with near sighted customers 12 it was hated by conservative typographers but was popular among graphic designers to the point that the foundry had problems making enough fonts It became one of the most popular typefaces to be released in America at that time and had a great influence on the style of the 1920s and 30s 13 Cooper Black 1922 this became ATF s second best selling type after Copperplate Gothic Cooper Black Italic 1922 Cooper Hilite 1922 Cooper Black Condensed 1926 20 lighter than the Cooper Black the designer described it as condensed but not squeezed Cooper Fullface series An ultra bold display Didone Richard McArther general manager of the foundry referred to it as the hotsy stuff 14 A specimen sheet was mailed out in 1929 just before BBS was taken over by American Type Founders They continued to produce the roman face renaming it Cooper Modern 14 Cooper Fullface 1929 BB amp S Cooper Fullface Italic 1929 Never released due to the BB amp S foundry closure a lively Bodoni esque italic 14 A digital version based on Cooper s original drawings was released by Wordshape in 2010 14 Boul Mich 1927 BB amp S In 1927 Cooper was asked by the foundry to take an advertising headline from a newspaper clipping and fill it out into a design for a complete alphabet which he did disclaiming any credit for the original design 15 The face was named Boul Mich after Michigan Boulevard a street in Chicago where many of the city advertising agencies were located Digital version released by Wordshape 2010 15 Pompeian Cursive 1927 BB amp S Digital version released by Wordshape 2010 16 Dietz Text c 1927 BB amp S Original drawings made by August Dietz were not suitable for making patterns so Cooper spent two months making them ready for matrix cutting It was the last of Oswald s fonts released by BB amp S before the foundry was closed in 1929 Other Cooper Faces edit Packard 1913 ATF Cooper s anonymous hand lettering for Packard ads formed the basis of the Packard font prepared at the direction of Morris Fuller Benton of American Type Founders Cooper Tooled Italic BB amp S was not designed by Oz Cooper but was actually a knock off of a Cooper Italic by a German foundry Cooper Tooled 1928 Lanston Monotype designed by Sol Hess and based upon Cooper Hilite though with the white line on the opposite side Cooper and Cooper Black were also copied by Monotype under the same names Rugged Black Italic were Intertype s copies of Cooper Black italic Maiandra GD is inspired by Oz Cooper s hand lettering for an advertisement in 1909 which was based on Greek epigraphyReferences editLynam Ian Heft Gravy amp Swing The Life and Times of Oz Cooper Idea Magazine Tokyo 2010 ASIN B0034Z40FY Haley Allan Typographic Milestones John Wiley and Sons NY 1992 ISBN 978 0 471 28894 7 Consuegra David American Type Design and Designers Allworth Press NY ISBN 1 58115 320 1 978 1581153200 Rollins Carl Purlington American Type Designers and Their Work in Print V 4 1 Jaspert W Pincus W Turner Berry and A F Johnson The Encyclopedia of Type Faces Blandford Press Lts 1953 1983 ISBN 0 7137 1347 X MacGrew Mac American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century Oak Knoll Books New Castle Delaware 1993 ISBN 0 938768 34 4 Friedl Ott and Stein Typography an Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History Black Dog amp Levinthal Publishers 1998 ISBN 1 57912 023 7 Lynam Ian Heft Gravy amp Swing The Life and Times of Oz Cooper Idea Magazine Tokyo 2010 ASIN B0034Z40FY Shinn Nick The Golden Age of Hand Lettering in American Advertising Type Culture Retrieved 1 April 2017 Middleton R Hunter 1937 Chicago Letter Founding Chicago Black Cat Press pp 22 23 Retrieved 9 July 2017 Heller Steven Telling and selling Eye Retrieved 12 September 2017 Da Boll James M Oswald Bruce Cooper in Dictionary of American Biography Supplement Two to December 31 1940 Charles Scribner s Sons NY 1958 pp 119 120 Da Boll James M Oswald Bruce Cooper Da Boll James M Oswald Bruce Cooper Books received The Book of Oz Cooper Graphis 290 1950 Retrieved 18 November 2017 Cooper Old Style MyFonts URW Retrieved 18 November 2017 Lynam Ian Cooper Text Wordshape Retrieved 18 November 2017 Lynam Ian Cooper Italic Swash Wordshape Retrieved 18 November 2017 Halley Allan Summer 1991 Oswald Cooper U amp lc 18 2 30 35 The Subway and the City Massimo Vignelli 1931 2014 MOMA Retrieved 2017 11 01 a b c d Lynam Ian Cooper Fullface Wordshape Retrieved 18 November 2017 a b Boul Mich Fontspring Wordshape Retrieved 18 November 2017 Lynam Ian Pompeian Cursive Wordshape Retrieved 18 November 2017 External links editShort biography Identifont Fonts in Use Font Designer Oswald Cooper Typophile Oswald Bruce Cooper Archived 2007 11 13 at the Wayback Machine BlueCotton com Visual History of Cooper Black Maiandra GD Oswald Bruce Cooper Papers at the Newberry Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oswald Bruce Cooper amp oldid 1177729616, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
