Cooper’s designs initiated trends, but he refused to take part in “the
itch of the times.” Nor was he a fan of what in 1928 he called “the balmy
wing of modernism.” However, his last face, designed in 1929 for BB&S,
originally called Cooper Fullface and later changed in ATF catalogs to
Cooper Modern, was, in fact, consistent with the dominant styles. Of this
face Cooper wrote, “This style, lately revived by the practitioners of the
‘modernistic’ typography, has created a demand for display letters that
comport well with it—letters that reflect the sparkling contrasts of Bodoni,
and that carry weight to meet the needs of advertisers, Cooper Fullface is
such a letter.”
In the 1930 s Cooper curtailed his type design, and before his death
in 1940 he turned his attention to protecting what he had created. Fighting
for copyright protections for himself and all designers, he tried to convince
the government that patents should be awarded for typefaces. He chided
his colleagues about copying, too. Copying is shameful, he argued: “To
work in the style of current trends or past periods is all right, but do it in
your own way. Study the work of the leaders, but never have another’s work
before you when you are trying to create. There was never a great
imitator—not even in vaudeville. The way to become a master is by
cultivating your own talent.”
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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