Southampton Docks - Gateway to Britain, 1955
A fascinating book describing the facilities and services (both passenger and freight) of the Port of Southampton that was, in 1955, indeed the 'gateway' to Britain especially for transatlantic travellers. This was just before the growth of afoordable Trans-Atlantic air services that would see a rapid decline in the port's passenger services and closure of the remarkable "Ocean Terminal" that had not long opened. The book is published by the British Transport Commission, the nationalised operator of most UK ports at the time and of British Railways - Southampton Docks having fallen into the fold with the nationalisation of the Southern railway in 1948. For a nationalised industry the BTC had unusually high standards of publicity and printing - even allowing for that this book is a real gem of its time. The book was designed by J Denison-Hunt FSIA, the book was printed by the exemplary Curwen Press in Plaistow, London and to cap it the cover seen here is by Hans Schleger, one of the most influential graphic designers and typographers of the twentieth century. Schleger (1898 - 1976) was German born but came to the UK in 1932 and working as "Zero" became an influential poster artist and designer (working for LT for example) and designing the familiar 'look' of Penguin Books for many years. I can find little about Denison-Hunt apart from an entry in the London Gazette for 1945 notes that a John Reginald Hunt, a commercial artist, of Whalley Range in Manchester, had assumed the name of John Reginald Denison-Hunt by deed poll. That I think is our man.
Southampton Docks - Gateway to Britain, 1955
A fascinating book describing the facilities and services (both passenger and freight) of the Port of Southampton that was, in 1955, indeed the 'gateway' to Britain especially for transatlantic travellers. This was just before the growth of afoordable Trans-Atlantic air services that would see a rapid decline in the port's passenger services and closure of the remarkable "Ocean Terminal" that had not long opened. The book is published by the British Transport Commission, the nationalised operator of most UK ports at the time and of British Railways - Southampton Docks having fallen into the fold with the nationalisation of the Southern railway in 1948. For a nationalised industry the BTC had unusually high standards of publicity and printing - even allowing for that this book is a real gem of its time. The book was designed by J Denison-Hunt FSIA, the book was printed by the exemplary Curwen Press in Plaistow, London and to cap it the cover seen here is by Hans Schleger, one of the most influential graphic designers and typographers of the twentieth century. Schleger (1898 - 1976) was German born but came to the UK in 1932 and working as "Zero" became an influential poster artist and designer (working for LT for example) and designing the familiar 'look' of Penguin Books for many years. I can find little about Denison-Hunt apart from an entry in the London Gazette for 1945 notes that a John Reginald Hunt, a commercial artist, of Whalley Range in Manchester, had assumed the name of John Reginald Denison-Hunt by deed poll. That I think is our man.