Ace Jet 170

Max Burchartz ate my bank balance

Back in 1993, when this boxed set was published by Lars Müller (one of a series) I was stoney broke. I'd seen a few sets pass through a local bookshop, well out of my financial reach and with each one my desire to purchase became all the greater.

I can't remember quite how much they cost (except that it was too much for me), who the subjects of the previous editions were (except that they were similar typographical pioneers) or, for that matter, how I managed to scrape enough together to eventually buy this one (reckless overdraft extension probably).

Needless to say, I'm now very glad I was so irresponsible.

There's more to see you know where.

May the farce be with you

Well it's my birthday so naturally I got Star Wars Lego and a copy of Mr Grumpy. My oldest boy had the Lego built before I got out of bed while my youngest was sniggering at Mr G's miserable antics.

Happy Birthday to me!

modernisation

Remember progress from a month or two back? Well I've found his ever so slightly older brother modernisation. There's just a year between them and they're as alike as two peas (er...that is, two peas that are different colours). I can't help feeling the older sibling is the confident one, while his little brother is just a little smarter.

Certainly, when it comes to a tipple, mod looks much more fun.

Pentagloat

I am a cat with a big bowl of the finest, creamiest cream in front of me and it's all mine; I've only got my mits on one of these beauties and I'm sitting here, licking my paws and cleaning behind my ears (whilst purring softly).

Oh it's lovely. And it's mine. But I'll let you have a little look too...

Warning! Is your wireless set licensed?

David's sent me everything I need to know to make me wish I was in London so I could go along to this exhibition at Central Saint Martins College. If you're around town with a bit of time to spare you'll see great stuff like this:

As David points out, "It is a superb show and a unique opportunity to see an incredible collection of purely British posters by significant artists and designers. The likes of Eckersley, Games, Henrion, Kauffer etc."

If you're not around town, you see some of it here.

And here's the Press Release:
Download modern_british_posters.pdf

Thanks David!

David did the poster by the way.

Roomy berths available at a surcharge

I don't know about you but I just can't resist a dial. Dig way back in the Ace Jet archives and you'll find two fine examples; back in the days when I had little to say, when I was a fledgling blogger and I favoured a more refined, oak back drop. So many years ago...well, er, two.

This one comes complete with bonus postcard depicting the where's-the-nose-gone, how-did-it-get-off-the-ground, Strato Clipper.

Fry and Gutenberg

Last night on BBC4 Stephen Fry and associates recreated the Gutenberg Press.
It was excellent.

See for yourself on the BBC iPlayer.

GTF, Cupid and Psyche

Talking of things Shakespearian, found this Graphic Thought Facility designed season programme for The Globe. A lovely typographic cover, the insides are OK but less interesting. The work they've done for The Globe is superb though and it's great that they've put more on their new(ish) website, here and here.

Feel the time

I was in one of those meetings yesterday. You know, the meetings that go on and on. Other people talking, prevaricating around the you know what (as they say). Eyes glazing over, watching that couple through the window, arriving in the car park separately then leaving together. And it occurred to me that what we all need is a braille watch.

Nearly New

I don't often post about new stuff. It's not, as someone has suggested, because I don't like new stuff. I like a lot of new stuff. New stuff is great.

For example, this bit of new stuff came through the door recently (actually, a few months ago but I've been too busy looking at old stuff to get round to it). If you're in the UK you've probably had one of these yourself but for anyone who isn't or who isn't on the Zanders mailing list it's a new edition of the long running "Printed On" series that the paper merchant has been sending out. I've always liked the series but this one is a departure from what was a pretty basic format.

Designed, as always, by Roundel it's still dead simple but clever: the outer, address carrying wrap reveals a beautiful image of a white dove in flight, printed on the inside; while the inner A5 leaflet/folder has that sinister crow printed on the reverse, matt side of the Cromolux sheet.

It's lovely and, I think, a nice example of what I'm guessing was a careful use of the designated budget; perhaps I'm wrong, but there's something about it that suggests they didn't have pots of money to spend; they've just used what they had imaginatively.

The photographer, by the way, was John Ross who also did those brilliant ink-in-water things with SEA and GF Smith.

Type Museum

Paul at This is Real Art very kindly sent me this set of postcards he designed for the Type Museum as a thank you for a favour I did. It has to be said, a favour sooooo small it hardly deserved the name. I'm not being ungracious though, these are brilliant and received with great thanks.

They're still available from Paul.

Bernard Levin gives an independent view

I've been itching to get this posted. The cover and title pages were designed by George Mayhew while everything else was done by John Goodwin. But the cover! A masterful bit of overprinting; the still vivid colours (just good old cyan, magenta and yellow) retain a really physical presence on the paper. Close scrutiny reveals delightful subtleties; like the eighth of an inch (this was pre-decimal of course) of pure magenta down the left-hand edge of the otherwise red colour bar, barely discernible against the yellow overprinted section and that word "Macbeth" just not quite aligned to the dark, purple panel where magenta and cyan coincide.

And inside it's just as good with heavy colour bars working with gaping white spaces. Even the back cover is intriguing with coloured inks overprinting solid black to create subtle changes in darkness.

Paul Arden

Very sad to hear (via the CR blog) that Paul Arden died yesterday. Here's some is his wisdom (repeated from last November).

King Edward VII Land and other holiday destinations

While I was off work last week my parents were over from the mainland so we all went to the Ulster Folk Museum for a day. It's a great place, I've mentioned before, and everyone enjoyed it. Just as we were polishing off our picnic lunch my oldest boy asked if he could go and play in the coal yard. Despite images of a returning blackened child, we let him go.

A few minutes later I thought I'd better check to make sure he hadn't fallen fowl of any of the numerous hazards; I know, I thought, I'll sneak through the coal yard office and scare the b'jesus out of him (as the locals say). But, creeping in, I was greeted by a warming sight: there he was, at the desk, leafing through this lovely vintage atlas. That's me' boy.

Apparently, he was deciding where we were going to go on holiday. Somewhere off the coast of the Antarctic it is then.

(Took the opportunity to extend my UFM Flickr set too.)

Ace Jet steals post from We Made This

I won't lie; just saw this on the We Made This blog and thought it deserved more blog love. A lovely job if you ask me and there's a website packed full of everything you'd ever want to know about the project.

Caltexaco?

Here's another one from Nick's box.

Map aside, it's interesting (well, for about 2 minutes) that the Caltex brand looked remarkably like another but a little digging reveals that it still does because they're both offspring of the same hermaphrodite parent Chevron. It's all explained here.

Thanks go to the man with the box.