The Evolution of Stymie

Figure 4

The first use of Century Roman in The Century Magazine, 1895.

The Advancement of Typography

Linn Benton’s Century Roman (Figure 4), released in 1894, was well received, resulting in the demand of more variations. One of Morris Benton’s first design projects at the foundry was to revise the typeface. In 1900, Morris created a version of Century called Century Expanded to meet the requirements of the Typographical Union standards. Century rapidly became a staple typeface, with more than eighteen variants generated, including Century Oldstyle (1906) and Century Schoolbook (1924). Today, Century remains a standard text, available for use. Benton’s successful modifications made way for him as a designer in the type industry.9

Through the observation of the work composed by Morris Benton, it is clear that Benton maintained a strong balance between the imaginative and the formal. Each of Benton’s texts are the result of investigation, analysis, and exploration. This deep sense of innovation can be traced back to Morris’s childhood. As a child, Morris and his father would build toy cars together for Morris to play with.10 For as long as Morris lived, he was rooted in an environment of inventive and visionary people. Therefore, revising typefaces and originating new texts came naturally. Benton’s career was fruitful, even twice as much as that of Frederic W. Goudy’s career.11 His typefaces can be labeled anywhere from systematic, to elegant, to playful. The handiwork of Morris Fuller Benton includes the following fonts, to mention a few: • Cheltenham (1902) • Franklin Gothic (1902) • News Gothic (1908) • Hobo (1910) • Broadway (1928) • Alternate Gothic (1903) • Clearface (1906) • Cloister Oldstyle (1914) • Bodoni Open (1918) • Ultra Bodoni (1928) • Engraver’s Bold (1902) • Commercial Script (1908) • Souvenir (1914) • Bank Gothic (1930-1933) • Empire (1937) • Shadow (1934) • Stymie (1931) 12

9. Consuegra, Morris Fuller Benton, 131. 10. Haley, Typographic Milestones, 64. 11. Consuegra, Design & Designers, 64. 12. Ibid., 64-71. 07

Figure 5

Top: Rockwell Antique Middle: Stymie Black Bottom: Stymie Black over Rockwell Antique.

Need for a New Typeface

Slab serif typefaces are generally strong, defined, attention grabbling, and impactful. In the 19th century, European slab serifs were often used as typewriter text, as well as in printed material such as newspapers, magazines, posters, advertisements, and more.13 Around the end of the 19th century, slab serifs declined in prevalence and did not rise again until the 1930s. In a time where the use of slab serifs was increasing once again, Morris F. Benton was given the challenge of creating a new and appropriate version of the popular style. Multiple renditions of slab serifs were emerging, however, slab serifs were very familiar, repetitive, and redundant, paralleling one another.

Therefore, Morris Fuller Benton generated an unprecedented approach to the call for this typeface. Now accredited to the Linotype Type Foundry, Stymie was originally created as a redesign of Rockwell Antique (Figure 5), which stood as a new version of Litho Antique, an ATF typeface released in 1912. 14 Compared to the two previous typefaces, Stymie was fresh and advanced, as its characters were more precise. The spacing between the characters was tight and clear cut. While some slab serifs are heavy and used as display text, Stymie was created to be more legible and flexible. Though Stymie was based on an earlier typeface, it became a more modern and resourceful slab serif. This resulted in Stymie having a distinct presence in the 1930s, useful and suitable for its time. It was also a typeface capable of communicating the industrial image resembling the architecture of the time period in a more stylish and contemporary way.

13. Philip B. Meggs, Rob Carter, Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993), 352. 14. Ibid. 09