Re: Blacked Letraset Artwork

[stafford baker]

In passing, there was a period when the Union in the London area blacked artwork coming from non-union sources. Much of this was using Letraset with varying skills from advertising agencies.  It
was of course hurting the repro-houses like C & E Laytons.   A million ways of getting round this were found by managements, at least one works office had its own chapel approved rubber stamp!   Also to add that the Assistant Works Manager of Eden Fisher & Co,  a great chap called  Ron Spring, left Fishers and went to be the Letraset comapny's Works Manager in its very early days,  The Letraset system was devised by a bloke at McCorquodales, in their materials checking department,  Macs in typical arrogant fashion told him to get on with his proper work,  and the rest is history.  Re Macs,  The leather for the chair in Euan McC'ss Fleet Street office (decorated in Roman Emperor style) was specially dyed at a cost of £270 - thats just the dyeing, not the leather nor the chair itself!.

[Dave Hughes]

So Tony Hall's depiction of a proprietor's office in Fleet Street may not have been a massive exaggeration.

Fleet Street Exposed, 1982, Tony Hall