Tourism Toronto Brightens a Dreary Day

Looking out the office window, its' very brown today. It was white this morning, so I guess that's an improvement. No colors springing out of the ground yet, so I have to take my colorful pleasures from other sources. Today, it's Tourism Toronto.

The Toronto Convention & Visitors Association recently created a series of colorful kits to send a unique message to prospective convention planners, showcasing Toronto as a tourist destination. The kits were designed by Neil Stewart, with artwork by Liz Parkinson, and were printed by Anstey Bookbinding in Toronto. A visit to their website is a must. Their work is incredible.

The boxes were made using Crane's Flame Red, Tangerine and Raspberry papers. They were printed using letterpress and foil stamping. Inside the boxes are a multi-panel brochure and a recessed piece of art, suitable for framing.

Art and Type Illuminate Crane's History with Paper

As a company historian, I get to see some pretty cool things; especially with the historical pedigree of Crane & Co. One of my favorites is a large book with bound-in direct-mail folders created for Crane's Business Papers between 1921 and 1926. Displayed among these pages are illustrations of historical scenes from prominent advertising artists, and typography from some familiar names.


I have to admit, it took some research for me to understand who all these folks were, but even I recognized a few. I'd like to share some of these pieces with you, and will post them here from time to time. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.


The first is titled Chinese Bank Notes. Designs by Rene Clarke. Typography by Frederic W. Goudy.

The Art of 19th-Century Business Stationery

I came across a file I had cobbled together a few years ago from the Crane archives to demonstrate some of the fabulous corporate letterheads of the 19th century. In the archives, there are literally thousands of pieces of business correspondence to "Messrs. Crane & Co.," and one can trace the development of the letterhead art form as the dates flash by.

Here are some of my favorite letterheads dating between 1869 and 1895:

And my most favorite: