Ross Frederick George was a talented sign painter,
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
, and
type designer who resided in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
. He learned to letter from William Hugh Gordon.
George and Gordon were asked to design pens for
''Hunt Pen Company'' in 1913. By 1915 the pens were patented, and then put into production. The pens included A-style, B-style, C-style, D-style, and E-style nibs that reportedly cut the labor time of the lettering artist in half. George then proceeded to produce a periodical ''Speedball Text Book'' which was a way for him to provide insight to those who wished to learn the art of
lettering and sign painting. He created numerous editions until his death in 1959. His last was the 17th edition, although he had some involvement with the 18th edition.
In 1929, Ross F. George received a patent for a noiseless switch.
References
*Art Chantry, "Ross F. George: typographic man of mystery", pp. 125–129 in ''Art Chantry Speaks: A Heretic's History of 20th Century Graphic Design'', Feral House, 2015 .
External links
Ross F. George mentioned in the Hunt Manufacturing Company history under the Speedball® Pen''
Ross F. George mentioned in the second paragraph "In the Early twentieth century"
Ross F. George Story by Luc Devroye, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Scroll or Search for George, Ross F. mentioning a 1932(c) Speedball copy book
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Ross F
American calligraphers
American graphic designers
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
20th-century American inventors