Losing Battles by Eudora Welty
Losing Battles is the last novel written by Eudora Welty (1909–2001), published on April 13, 1970, the author’s 61st birthday.
The typeface used for the book jacket is West Fantini, drawn by Dave West in a single Italic Swash style for Photo-Lettering. The stylized italic Clarendon is shown in their 1971 catalog, together with the slightly lighter West Grandanos. There is no digitization yet, but West Italiano – which can be described as a variant with more contrast – was digitized by House Industries.
The jacket design is credited to John “Mas” Masuo Kashiwabara (1933–2022), an art director who first worked in the field of publishing and later in pharmaceutical advertising. He employed a woodcut by Guy Fleming. Mary M. Ahern worked on the book’s interior design.
The author photo on the back panel is by Rollie McKenna (1918–2003).
For the title page, Ahern used Ultra Bodoni in roman and italic styles.
The typography was carried over to the cover of the paperback edition by Fawcett Crest from August 1971, with an italic Bookman added for the praise.
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West Fantini was used for Jeannie Brittan’s album Gentle Explosion (1969).
In 1974, West Fantini was used on The Shrouded Way by Janet Caired
A book called Never Calling It Loving by Dorothy Eden also used both West Fantini and Bookman.
In 1967, The Last Waltz by Engelbert Humperdinck used West Fantini, which looks like it made its early use