Scanning Around With Gene: When Letraset Was King

[round man]

I still have and use my old letraset catalog(to check the names of fonts) they were great for referencing a font so you could freehand a pattern,......

 

[Red Ball]

Sorry, if I never had to pick up that burnish tool again would be just fine!
Hand cutting screen print films from a brushed layout is something I remember a little more fondly.

 

[Dave Drane]

tools of yesteryear

What a great thread. Actually Letraset was only king while they held licinse to be the only manufacturer of the stuff. I think it was invented in 1964 and the license went for 7 or 8 years and then came others such as Chartpak, Mecanorma, Geotype and Transfertech, etc. I had dozens of the books and gave most of them away. I still have boxes and boxes of the stuff. I only ever used black as I was big into screen printing and used it for darkroom work.
While looking for my stylus I also came upon the old proportion wheels and an old Stanley knife #199, made in England. I also found a lot of sets of different types of pens and black ink. (Rotring). One day I am going to start my own Sign Museum.. :Big Laugh

 

[SignosaurusRex]

I still use my proportion wheels. I actually keep one in my sales kit for quick use in the field. It's damned handy!

Dave, My shop IS a museum of old sign and graphics related Shtufff.
.......almost like shackles around my ankles.

 

[Dave Drane]

Rex, my old man and his dad were signies so I can guarantee I have more chit around my place than most. My father had a tin of red paint that his father owned and it just about needed a crane to pick it up. He would never allow me to lift the lid on it. It was just for looking at. When he died I took the lid off and it took ½ hour to stir it and I bet it would cover anything in one coat!
I also have boxes of "Signs of the Times" magazines going back to the early fifties. You would not believe the old tools and dry powders etc that I have cluttering the place up, but I can't bear to throw it out. My fathers gold kit is a doozy and so are the book keeping logs my mother did during the war years, I laugh atr the prices.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

Rex, my old man and his dad were signies so I can guarantee I have more chit around my place than most. My father had a tin of red paint that his father owned and it just about needed a crane to pick it up. He would never allow me to lift the lid on it. It was just for looking at. When he died I took the lid off and it took ½ hour to stir it and I bet it would cover anything in one coat!
I also have boxes of "Signs of the Times" magazines going back to the early fifties. You would not believe the old tools and dry powders etc that I have cluttering the place up, but I can't bear to throw it out. My fathers gold kit is a doozy and so are the book keeping logs my mother did during the war years, I laugh atr the prices.

That's so cool! My Grandfather and Great uncle were sign painters and Muralists and I have quite an assortment of their tools......some I still use, but I bet you have quite the collection that would make ones mind spin!

 

[Colin]

Rex, my old man and his dad were signies so I can guarantee I have more chit around my place than most. My father had a tin of red paint that his father owned and it just about needed a crane to pick it up. He would never allow me to lift the lid on it. It was just for looking at. When he died I took the lid off and it took ½ hour to stir it and I bet it would cover anything in one coat!
I also have boxes of "Signs of the Times" magazines going back to the early fifties. You would not believe the old tools and dry powders etc that I have cluttering the place up, but I can't bear to throw it out. My fathers gold kit is a doozy and so are the book keeping logs my mother did during the war years, I laugh atr the prices.

Coooool.