“Entertainment” Clip Book of Line Art, Volk (1955)

Cover for an “Entertainment” themed clip book of line art issued in 1955 by Harry Volk Jr. Art Studio, Pleasantville, New Jersey.

The title is set in Quaker, an inline version derived from the solid Cameo, which is an inclined casual sans from Filmotype. Quaker’s upright sibling was named Quartz – at Filmotype, names starting with Q identified “novelty” styles.

“[…] ex-journalist Harry Volk had come up with the idea of publishing stock artwork – high quality line-drawings of people and objects, generic, any-purpose illustrations and cartoons known in the trade as ‘spots’ – and in Harry’s case as ‘clip-art.’ […] Printed on glossy stock, costing the end-user pennies, these drawings were cut-and-pasted into advertisements, brochures, newsletters appearing all over the country, even used as artwork on packaging, on TV and displayed on billboards. […] For years the Volk Clipbooks of Line Art were ubiquitous, a presence in the art departments of virtually every non-major ad agency, house-organ and art service in the US.” — From The Adventures of the Real Tom Sawyer by Thomas B. Sawyer, via Today’s Inspiration.

See more covers from this series in the Flickr album by Bart Solenthaler, who also maintains The Bart&Co. Historic Clip Art Collection.