In reply to Morris Fuller Benton’s Souvenir:
I beg to differ from Loxley’s analysis.
In 1923 the original Souvenir was actually behind its time, with its art nouveau forms, which would perhaps still have been current when it was designed, before the War.
Similar vibe to Hobo, a slightly earlier Benton face.
Souvenir’s construction was somewhat based on the round-nibbed Speedball pen.
Both those types were in styles that Benton derived from lettering artists, although his Souvenir was quite typographically disciplined.
Art Nouveau was popular in the late sixties and early 1970s, hence some of Souvenir’s appeal then.
With its small serifs, it was suited to tight setting, in vogue during the 1970s.
Arnold Bocklin was another art nouveau style popular then.
Souvenir also had some of the soft finish of Cooper Black, which had no weight or style range, so Souvenir kind of acted as a slicker, more contemporary Cooper Black family.
It held up well as a text type in photosetting, no hairlines or pointy serifs to disappear in less-than-perfect processing.
Good for foil stamping too, thermography and embossing.
Ed’s Souvenir was not at all informal or laid back, but rigorously stylized, very precisely drawn.
Rather than informal, one could say “friendly”, and that might explain how it became cloyingly so, when overly familiar.
The Light made an interesting effect in text.
Ed Benguiat continued to mine Art Nouveau, with his original designs Benguiat, also huge in the 70s, and Barcelona, not at all popular when it came out later.
I don’t see why Souvenir should be vilified now, when rounded styles such as GE Sans have bowed diagonals, so Souvenir again, sure, and perhaps other original rounded serif designs. There have been some, but it’s not an easy task, and Ed aced it.
The style really needs dramatic letter forms, such as art nouveau, to counteract the blandness of the soft finish, small serifs, and low contrast.