Warren Chappell
Encyclopedia
Warren Chappell was an American
illustrator
, book and type designer, and author
.
, and then studied at the Art Students League of New York
, under Boardman Robinson
, where he later taught. In 1931-2 he studied type design and punch-cutting under Rudolf Koch
at the Design School Offenbach
in Germany. In 1935 he studied illustration at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
.
for several years, Chappel traveled to Germany just before World War II to work at Stempel on the typeface Trajanus. He returned to the United States at the onset of the war, having seen only initial proofs. He first saw the completed typeface in Swedish design magazines during the war. He later devoted himself to book design and illustration and was closely associated with the firm of Alfred A. Knopf
for which he designed many books. He also did illustrations for Random House
, Harper & Row, and Doubleday. He was typography consultant to both the Book of the Month Club
and American Type Founders
. He was Artist-in-Residence at University of Virginia
in Charlottesville.
John Updike
and Chappell worked together on books for children on music, including "The Magic Flute" (1962), "The Ring" (1964) and "Bottom's Dream" (1969). His design for the E. P. Dutton
re-issues of A. A. Milne
's Winnie-the-Pooh
books are considered to be particularly elegant.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, book and type designer, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Education
He was a graduate of the University of RichmondUniversity of Richmond
The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
, and then studied at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
, under Boardman Robinson
Boardman Robinson
Boardman Robinson was a Canadian-American artist, illustrator and cartoonist.-Early years:Boardman Robinson was born September 6, 1876 in Nova Scotia, Canada. He spent his childhood in England and Canada, before coming to Boston in the first half of the 1890s...
, where he later taught. In 1931-2 he studied type design and punch-cutting under Rudolf Koch
Rudolf Koch
thumb|250px|[[Fraktur]] fonts by Rudolf KochRudolf Koch was a leading German calligrapher, typographic artist and teacher, born in Nuremberg. He was primarily a calligrapher with the Gebr. Klingspor foundry. He created several typefaces, in both fraktur and roman styles...
at the Design School Offenbach
Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach
The Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main is an art and design university in the German State of Hesse. The school is divided into two departments. It was given university status in 1970. The degree course offers a choice of five different final examination topics: art, communication design,...
in Germany. In 1935 he studied illustration at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is an arts center located just north of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Located on the same city block are the American Numismatic Association and part of the campus of Colorado College....
.
Career
After running his own studio in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for several years, Chappel traveled to Germany just before World War II to work at Stempel on the typeface Trajanus. He returned to the United States at the onset of the war, having seen only initial proofs. He first saw the completed typeface in Swedish design magazines during the war. He later devoted himself to book design and illustration and was closely associated with the firm of Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
for which he designed many books. He also did illustrations for Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, Harper & Row, and Doubleday. He was typography consultant to both the Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month Club
The Book of the Month Club is a United States mail-order book sales club that offers a new book each month to customers.The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc...
and American Type Founders
American Type Founders
American Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
. He was Artist-in-Residence at University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in Charlottesville.
John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
and Chappell worked together on books for children on music, including "The Magic Flute" (1962), "The Ring" (1964) and "Bottom's Dream" (1969). His design for the E. P. Dutton
E. P. Dutton
E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. In 1986, the company was acquired by Penguin Group and split into two imprints: Dutton Penguin and Dutton Children's Books.-History:Edward Payson Dutton founded...
re-issues of A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
's Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
books are considered to be particularly elegant.
Typefaces
- Koch Uncial (1932) in collaboration with Paul Koch
- Lydian SeriesLydian (typeface)Lydian is a typeface designed by Warren Chappell for American Type Founders in 1938. While the stressed letter designs suggest a calligraphic style, this is considered a sans-serif font. It is available in bold, italic, and condensed, as well as a Cursive variant...
(ATFAmerican Type FoundersAmerican Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
)- Lydian + Italic (1938)
- Lydian Bold + Italic (1938)
- Lydian Cursive (1940)
- Lydian Condensed + Italic (1946)
- Trajanus Antiqua (roman) + Trajanus Kursiv (italic) + Trajanus Halbfett (semi-bold) (1939, Stempel + Linotype (Frankfurt)), named for the same Roman emperor as Carol Twombly's TrajanTrajan (typeface)Trajan is an old style serif typeface designed in 1989 by Carol Twombly for Adobe. The design is based on the letterforms of capitalis monumentalis or Roman square capitals, as used for the inscription at the base of Trajan's Column from which the typeface takes its name. Since the inscription and...
but a very different design, being a Medieval. See Fr. Edward Catich'sEdward CatichFather Edward M. Catich was an American Roman Catholic priest, teacher, and calligrapher. He is noted for the fullest development of the thesis that the inscribed Imperial Roman capitals of the Augustan age and after owed their form wholly to the use of the flat brush, rather than to the...
research for more on the origin of the typeface Trajan. The semi-bold weight however, was prepared by the foundry, Chappell having only made drawings (starting with a broad nibbed pen, then refining the contours using opaque white as if using an engraver) for the roman and italic designs.
External links
- His book collection is housed at the University of Virginia Library
- There is a collection of his art at the Columbia University Libraries
- An online discussion about an unpublished font of Chappell's called Eichenauer