Forgive the inexcusable pun. This is serious. Well, serious if you are a fan of letterhead design. Below are a selection of Danish letterheads (brevpapir) and bill-heads (fakturablanketter) from a rare specimen book published in the early 1950s in Copenhagen. The editor, Henry Thejls, collected almost 100, many from printing houses in Denmark, not only to show a wide stylistic variety but to exhibit the various paper stocks and printing options available. There is very little typographic risk taking, which is appropriate. Conversely, each letterhead is a little typographic gem. Nyd showet!
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For more Steven Heller, check out Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design—one of the many Heller titles available at MyDesignShop.com.