Tri-Arts Press, Inc. was a New York City printing firm active from the 1920s through at least the 1970s, known for producing some of the most notable commercial printing of the mid-20th century. The company is of particular interest to design historians because of its long association with typographer and art director Freeman Craw, who shaped its visual output for over two decades.
Design and History
Tri-Arts Press was incorporated as a Domestic Business Corporation on August 3, 1923, with its office address at 1228-103 St., Woodhaven, NY.[1] By the 1950s and 1960s, the firm was operating from 331 E. 38 St., New York City, advertising “night & day service” in trade publications.[2]
Freeman Craw joined Tri-Arts Press in 1943 as its art director, and in 1958 he was named vice president of the company.[3] He remained with the firm until 1968, when he left to establish his own company, Freeman Craw Design, as a specialist in design-for-printing.[3] During his tenure, Craw’s responsibilities included “complete graphic control over some of the most impressive printing of the 1950’s and 60’s,” and he created “unique visual identity programs for numerous prestigious clients, both business and institutional.”[4]
Tri-Arts Press also served as printer for work by other notable designers. Paul Rand’s poster for the Yale University School of Art (ca. 1975) credits Tri-Arts Press with composition and printing,[5] and Rand produced a collection of four sketches for a Tri-Arts Press poster around 1980.[6]
The firm also published its own type specimen books, including Type: type faces at Tri-Arts Press, Inc. (1957)[7] and Olde Type Faces at Tri-Arts Press, Inc. (1971), the latter drawn from the Frederic Nelson Phillips collection of antique type faces.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
No official documentation has been located that describes a specific Tri-Arts Press logo mark, its symbolism, or its official colors. While the company’s name suggests a connection to three arts, no primary source confirms the meaning behind the name or any emblem associated with it. The firm’s visual identity appears to have been expressed primarily through the high-quality printed materials it produced for clients rather than through a widely documented corporate mark of its own.
Typography and Design
Freeman Craw is best known to typographers for his type designs commissioned by American Type Founders Company, including Craw Clarendon, Craw Clarendon Book, Craw Clarendon Condensed, Craw Modern, Craw Modern Bold, Craw Modern Italic and Ad Lib.[4] His later typefaces, primarily designed for photocomposition, included Canterbury, Chancery Cursive, Classic and CBS Sans.[4]
Tri-Arts Press’s own specimen books demonstrate the firm’s typographic range. The 1957 volume covered type faces available at the press,[7] while the 1971 publication showcased antique and exotic faces from the Phillips collection, printed on white, brown, yellow, orange, blue and green paper.[9]
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