Walter Tracy
Encyclopedia
Walter Valentine Tracy RDI
(1914–1995) was an English
typographer
and writer
and designer
of book
s, magazine
s, and newspaper
s.
, London
and attended Shoreditch
Secondary school. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed
to the large printing
firm William Clowes
as a compositor
. When he had completed his apprenticeship, Tracy went to work in the design studio of The Baynard Press. During the Second World War
he worked in and advertising agency as a print buyer. In 1947 he became manager of typeface development at Linotype, where he specialised in designing typefaces for newspaper
s, and classified advertising. His typeface Jubilee, designed to be more robust than Stanley Morison's
1931 font Times New Roman, was adopted by a number of newspapers, and his Telegraph Modern was used by the Daily Telegraph
from 1969. While at Linotype he was also responsible for overseeing the development of systems for the electronic composition of Arabic
.
In 1972 he was asked by The Times
to design a replacement for Times New Roman. This was Times Europa which was adopted by The Times in late 1972. He retired in 1977 but still kept busy, designing many Arabic typefaces for Linotype, Letraset
and Bitstream
. In the same period he also designed a Hebrew font, under a pseudonym.
In 1973 he was elected a Royal Designer for Industry.
His papers are held at the Type Museum
, London.
Royal Designers for Industry
Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for...
(1914–1995) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
typographer
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
of book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s, and newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s.
Biography
Walter Tracy was born in IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and attended Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
Secondary school. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
to the large printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
firm William Clowes
William Clowes Ltd.
William Clowes Ltd. is a British printing company founded in London in 1803 by William Clowes. It grew from a small, one press firm to one of the world's largest printing companies in the mid-19th century. The company merged with Caxton Press, operated by William Moore in Beccles, Suffolk in the...
as a compositor
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
. When he had completed his apprenticeship, Tracy went to work in the design studio of The Baynard Press. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he worked in and advertising agency as a print buyer. In 1947 he became manager of typeface development at Linotype, where he specialised in designing typefaces for newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, and classified advertising. His typeface Jubilee, designed to be more robust than Stanley Morison's
Stanley Morison
Stanley Morison was an English typographer, designer and historian of printing.Born in Wanstead, Essex, Morison spent most of his childhood and early adult years at the family home in Fairfax Road, Harringay...
1931 font Times New Roman, was adopted by a number of newspapers, and his Telegraph Modern was used by the Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
from 1969. While at Linotype he was also responsible for overseeing the development of systems for the electronic composition of Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
.
In 1972 he was asked by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to design a replacement for Times New Roman. This was Times Europa which was adopted by The Times in late 1972. He retired in 1977 but still kept busy, designing many Arabic typefaces for Linotype, Letraset
Letraset
Letraset is a company based in the Kingsnorth Industrial Estate in Ashford, Kent, UK.It is known mainly for manufacturing sheets of artwork elements which can be transferred to artwork being prepared. The name Letraset was often used to refer generically to sheets of dry transferrable lettering of...
and Bitstream
Bitstream Inc.
Bitstream Inc. is a type foundry that produces digital typefaces . Founded in 1981 by Matthew Carter and Mike Parker among others, it claims to be the oldest such company...
. In the same period he also designed a Hebrew font, under a pseudonym.
In 1973 he was elected a Royal Designer for Industry.
His papers are held at the Type Museum
Type Museum
The Type Museum is a unique and massive collection of artifacts representing the legacy of type founding in England, whose famous type foundries and composing systems supplied the world with type in all languages...
, London.
Typefaces
- Jubilee (1954)
- Adsans (1959)
- Maximus (1967)
- Telegraph Modern (1969)
- Times Europa (1972)
- Doric (1973)
- Telegraph Newface Bold (with Shelley Winter, 1979)
- Qadi (1979)
- Kufics (1980)
- Oasis (1985)
- Sharif (1989)
- Malik (1988)
- Medina (1989)