Source: archive.org Internet Archive. License: All Rights Reserved.

Harpers is a geometric sans that hasn’t been featured on Fonts In Use before. Designed by artist and illustrator Adrian George (1944–2021) for the British edition of Harper’s Bazaar, it was shown in the Modern Publicity yearbook of 1969 under the name Harper. The typeface with the long extenders was available from London-based Face Photosetting and appears in their catalogs as Harpers. Shin Oka, who refers to the typeface as Bazaar, made a digitization in January 2019.

The lighter weights of Germanic Sans (Headliners, c.1970), a related design in two widths and several weights, come pretty close, see for example the G with large aperture and low bar, the angled e, the g with semi-circle descender and angled ear, and the lazy s/S.

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Glyph set of Harpers from a c.1981 Face catalog

No designer/typographer is credited. The illustration by Chesley Bonestell (1888–1986) is titled Saturn as it appears in the dark sky of its satellite Japetus and was first shown in Life magazine, May 29, 1944. Palace Script is used for the import note on the golden sticker.

This recording of The Planets by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Bernard Haitink (1929–2021) was issued by Philips Records in 1970. From Geoffrey Crankshaw’s liner notes:

“The Planets” suite was composed between 1914 and 1917 and received its first public performance in 1918 under Adrian Boult. Holst was always keen on astrology and the idea of a musical representation of the different “characters” of the planets held irresistible attraction for him. But there was much more to this vast conception than the mere satisfaction of an astrological whim. The work would never have held such wide appeal if its content had been limited to celestial portraiture. Deeper issues are involved. Holst was a man of vast culture, rich humanity, and powerfully experienced national affections. He was an expert in Sanskrit literature, an enthusiast for English folk-music and, withal, a visionary. All these facets of his protean make-up are fused in the unique totality of “The Planets.” For the most remarkable aspect of the work is its universality. The seven movements combine, though with no thematic linkage, to produce an effect far greater than consideration of each part would suggest. As the stillness of Neptune’s closing bars draws us towards infinity we feel that a vast journey has transpired – and, even more significantly – that a wider exploration awaits us.

This recording is the first to use the newly revised score, published in 1969 by Messrs Curwen and Sons, which incorporates amendments made by the composer himself on the margins of his own score. These are mainly concerned with the dynamics, and represent the fruits of experience in the handling of the vast orchestral tissue. Even more recent corrections — including one vital “wrong note” — are listed on a slip issued with the new edition.

[More info on Discogs]

A spoken-word album with three stories by English science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, “Transit of Earth”, “The Nine Billion Names of God” and “The Star”, read by the author and interspersed with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. The typography inside the blue sky of Chesley Bonestell’s cover art features Chevalier, a calligraphic typeface released by VGC.

[More info on Discogs]

Detail of the typography