Cruising Speed by William F. Buckley, Jr.
Contributed by Marcel Sélavy
on Mar 1st, 2026. Artwork published in
.
From Patrick Adcock:
Cruising Speed by William F. Buckley, Jr. is a diary-style reflection chronicling a week in the life of the notable conservative writer and commentator from November 30 to December 6, 1970. Set against a backdrop of significant historical events, including the ongoing Vietnam War and the political climate of Nixon’s presidency, Buckley provides insight into his multifaceted life as an author, editor, and television personality.
The jacket of the first edition by Putnam Books was designed by Jim O’Bryan of Ultra Arts, Inc., using Benguiat Caslon.
2 Comments on “Cruising Speed by William F. Buckley, Jr.”
The author’s name definitely is in Benguiat Caslon, and “A Documentary” in caps from the similar Caslon Graphique.
The title may look like an italic version of Benguiat Caslon, but I think it’s actually lettering. Why so? Firstly, I don’t think there was an italic version of Benguiat Caslon. At least there’s no such style listed in PLINC’s 1971 catalog (and the type on the cover is not just an obliqued version as shown in the Alphabet Thesaurus Vol. 3).
Secondly, some details suggest that the letterforms were handmade, see for example how the two i dots are not on the same height, and how the two e’s aren’t identical (see overlay below). Lastly, the curves in the swash caps are not really on par with what I’d expect from a Benguiat original.
Correction regarding “A Documentary”: that’s Benguiat Caslon as well, see the sample for 5533e, i.e. Benguiat Caslon 9 with extended (stretched) letterforms. Caslon Graphique comes close, but one difference can be found in the bottom right part of N, which is pointed in Les Usherwood’s version.