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Ed Benguiat Collection

About the Collection

Ephram Edward Benguiat is a typographer and lettering artist. Most of his typefaces are published by International Typeface Corporation; some of his more notable typefaces include Bookman, Panache, Souvenir, and Avant Garde Condensed. Benguiat became the typographic design director of Photo-Lettering Inc (PLINC) in 1962 and, in 1971, played a critical role, along with Herb Lubalin, Aaron Burns and Ed Ronthaler, in the establishment of the International Typeface Corporation (ITC), the first independent licensing company for type designers. Benguiat eventually became Vice President of ITC, and he partnered with Lubalin to found U&lc, ITC’s magazine. Benguiat is also responsible for designs or redesigns for logotypes for Esquire, The New York Times, McCall’s, Sports Illustrated and The San Diego Tribune, among many others. His eponymous typeface, ITC Benguiat, returned to the public eye in the title sequence of the TV show, "Stranger Things." A longtime SVA instructor, Benguiat began teaching at the College in the mid-1960s. He is a member of the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. The collection comprises printed material (mainly poster advertisements showcasing typefaces, mounted on foam core, but also logotypes and periodical covers) and working files (drafts, sketches, original art for typefaces and logos) for Benguiat's work with Photo-Lettering Incorporated, and those published by the International Typeface Corporation.