Robert E. Smith / BrushScript.

[CFCG]

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Hi All,

I am looking for information about the designer Robert E. Smith and the designing process of his typography Brush Script, created in 1942 for the American Type Founders (ATF).

The only relevant thing I have found is that he designed the mentioned font and another one calles Park Avenue. In the internet or in books, there is not much information about Brush Script besides stating it was a landmark for Script typographies along with Mistral.

Best,

--
CFCG

[oldnick]

Good luck in your search. All that I can add is that he was born in Chicago in 1910…

[CFCG]

Thanks!

[gargoyle]

A bit of info on Brush Script from American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century:

...designed in 1942 by Robert E. Smith as one of ATF's group of contemporary scripts, intended to replace designs from the early part of the century. This one has a handlettered, freely-drawn appearance, with the letters joined skillfully so the connections are not obvious. The availability of the face on Monotype mats has given it a much greater range of popularity and usefulness. A heavier weight was projected but not completed.

Other ATF fonts in that group include Brody (Harold Broderson, 1953) and Repro Script (Jerry Mullen, 1953), the latter described as "another of the foundry's attempts to replace its delicate old traditional scripts with contemporary faces."

American Type Design & Designers mentions that Smith worked with ATF from 1933 to 1942 and was the art director of the New York World's Fair in 1939.

[oldnick]

art director of the New York World's Fair in 1939

Wow: that is incredibly cool if it’s true…