Edwin W. Shaar
The American type designer Edwin W. Shaar was director of the type design program at Intertype (now part of the Harris Corporation) during the middle of the 20th century. In the 1950s, he directed the design group's work creating Nuptial Script. This new face was produced specifically for use on wedding invitations.
He designed Imperial with the intention that it should preserve word count and maximise legibility. It was adopted by the New York Times newspaper in 1967, and it remained in use on the title even after its 2003 design overhaul.
Shaar also contributed to Paul Renner's Futura font family.
[LC, December 2009]
