Cover not available
Article published In:
Information Design Journal
Vol. 25:2 (2019) ► pp.171–191

Information, typography and persuasion in Brazilian late 19th and early 20th century ephemera

| University of São Paulo
| University of São Paulo
This paper aims at a better understanding of the informational structure of late 19th and early 20th century ephemera through an analysis of recurrent informative and persuasive elements in a set of printed artifacts produced in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The research methods adopted involved gathering, describing and comparing verbal and visual information found in those artifacts. Recurrent graphic elements, employed not only for providing information but also for characterizing and differentiating competing companies were found, suggesting that Brazilian printers were making use of graphic elements to promote their services and visually communicate the identity of their businesses.
Keywords: ephemera, book labels, print culture, design history, graphic memory
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The papelarias de são paulo: ROTULOS album and its contents
  • 3.Methods and procedures
    • 3.1Letterform styles
    • 3.2Arrangement of verbal elements
    • 3.3Colors and typographic variations
    • 3.4Graphic elements denoting distinction and identity
    • 4.Results
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Appendices
    • Appendix A.In Figure 3 (p. 173) the label reads
    • Appendix B.In Figure 4 (p. 174) the billhead reads
    • Appendix C.In Figure 5 (p. 176) the billhead on the left reads
    • Appendix D.In Figure 5 (p. 176) the label on the right reads
    • Appendix E.In Figure 9 (p. 182) the label reads
    • Appendix F.In Figure 10 (p. 183) the details of billheads read
    • Appendix G.In Figure 11 (p. 183) the billhead on the top reads
    • Appendix H.In Figure 11 (p. 183) the billhead on the bottom reads
    • Appendix I.In Figure 12 (p. 184) the account-book label on the left reads
    • Appendix J.In Figure 12 (p. 184) the account-book label on the right reads
    • Appendix K.In Figure 13 (p. 184) the account-book label on the left reads
    • Appendix L.In Figure 13 (p. 184) the account-book label on the right reads
    • Appendix M.In Figure 14 (p. 185) the billhead on the top reads
    • Appendix N.In Figure 14 (p. 185) the billhead on the bottom reads
  • References
Published online: 7 July 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.25.2.03per
References (22)
References
Almeida, S., & Coutinho, S. G. (2018). O registro de marcas no Brasil e as imitações entre rótulos de cachaça de meados do século XX. In J. G. Santa Rosa, & C. Portugal (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th Information Design International Conference (pp. 1279–1290). São Paulo: Blucher.Google Scholar
Cleveland, P. (2017). Curwen Press, early adapters of brand strategy. Journal of Design History, 31(1), 66–82. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Consolo, M. C. (2012). Marcas, a expansão simbólica da identidade: Origem da metodologia projetual das marcas corporativas e revisão dos métodos de implantação dos sistemas de usos (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dixon, C. (2008). Describing typeforms: A designer’s response. InfoDesign, 5(2), 21–35.Google Scholar
Farias, P. L. (2005). Os baralhos da COPAG entre 1920 e 1960. In Cardoso, R. (Ed.), O design brasileiro antes do design: Aspectos da história gráfica, 1870–1960 (pp. 260–295). São Paulo: Cosac Naify.Google Scholar
(2014). On graphic memory as a strategy for design history. In Tradition, Transition, Trajectories: Major or minor influences? Proceedings of ICDHS 2014: 9th Conference of the International Committee for Design History and Design Studies, Aveiro (pp. 201–206). São Paulo: Blucher.Google Scholar
(2019). Visualizing data on graphic memory research. In L. M. Fadel, J. G. Santa Rosa, & C. Portugal (Eds.), Selected Readings of the 8th Information Design International Conference (pp. 93–114). São Paulo: Blucher.Google Scholar
Farias, P. L., Aragão, I. R., & Cunha Lima, E. L. (2012). Unraveling aspects of Brazilian design history through the study of 19th century almanacs and type specimens. In DRS 2012 Bangkok: Design Research Society International Conference Proceedings (pp. 498–511). Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University.Google Scholar
Farias, P. L., & Braga, M. C. (2018). O que é memória gráfica. In P. L. Farias & M. C. Braga (Eds.), Dez ensaios sobre memória gráfica (pp. 10–28). São Paulo: Blucher.Google Scholar
Farias, P. L., & Coutinho, S. G. (2013). Females, alcohol, and inebriating things: Representations of women in cachaça labels. In Proceedings of the 5T Conference 2013: Gendered Perspectives in Design (pp. 69–70). Izmir: Yaşar University.Google Scholar
Farias, P. L., & Cunha Lima, E. L. (2016). Transatlantic eccentricities: Tuscan typefaces as an example of transnational typographic taste. Communication Design, 4(1–2), 4–20. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Farias, P. L., Hanns, D. K., Aragão, I. R., & Dixon, C. (2018). Designing the early history of typography in Brazil, starting from printing in São Paulo. In Back to the future. The future in the past. Conference Proceedings Book (pp. 493–498). Barcelona: University of Barcelona.Google Scholar
Floeter, F. S., & Farias, P. L. (2010). Marcas da virada do século XX no acervo da JUCESP: Primeiras impressões. In Proceedings of the 9th Brazilian Conference on Research and Development in Design: P&D Design 2010 (pp. 1525–1532). São Paulo: AEND Brasil.Google Scholar
Freitas, A. A. (1915). A imprensa periódica de São Paulo desde seus primórdios em 1823 até 1914. São Paulo: Typographia do Diario Official.Google Scholar
Gray, N. (1938). Nineteenth century ornamented types and title pages. London: Faber & Faber.Google Scholar
Iumatti, P. T. (2016). Arte e trabalho: Aspectos da produção do livro em São Paulo (1914–1945). São Paulo: Hucitec.Google Scholar
Machado, U. (2003). A etiqueta de livros no Brasil: Subsídios para uma história das livrarias brasileiras. São Paulo: EDUSP.Google Scholar
Paula, A. A. de (1989). Artes gráficas no Brasil: Registros 1746–1941. São Paulo: Laserprint.Google Scholar
Rickards, M. & Twyman, M. (Eds.) (2000). Encyclopedia of ephemera: A guide to the fragmentary documents of everyday life for the collector, curator and historian. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Rezende, L. L. (2005). A circulação de imagens no Brasil oitocentista: Uma história com marca registrada. In R. Cardoso (Ed.), O design brasileiro antes do design: Aspectos da história gráfica (pp. 20–57). São Paulo: Cosac Naify.Google Scholar
Semeraro, C. M., & Ayrosa, C. (Eds.) (1979). História da tipografia no Brasil. São Paulo: Museu de Arte de São Paulo.Google Scholar
Twyman, M. (2008). The long-term significance of printed ephemera. A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, 9(1), 19–57. DOI logoGoogle Scholar