Crimilda Pontes Archive
The picture shown was taken by Crimilda Pontes. Her work was used professionally,
on book covers and dust jackets.
Crimilda Pontes (1927-2000) was a graphic designer specializing in book covers
and dust jackets for commercial book companies. She was also a calligrapher who
presented her calligraphic works to world leaders and royalty, including Prince
Philip of Britain.
Miss Pontes was a student of the renowned calligrapher, designer, and letter
carver John Howard Benson whom she met while receiving her BFA in Fine Arts from
the Rhode Island School of Design (1948).
After graduating from Rhode Island
School of Design she worked as Benson's apprentice at the John Stevens Shop in
Newport, Rhode Island. From 1951 to 1954 she worked as the Illustrator General
at the Naval War College also in Newport and then moved to Buffalo, NY to become
an art instructor at Rosary Hill College until 1957.
After receiving her MA in
Graphic Arts from Yale University in 1959, she took a job at the Yale University
Press designing books and book jackets until 1964. Miss Pontes was a frequent
winner in the University Press selections for design and production. She was
cited for design excellence both in the United States and abroad. Her last job,
which she held for 23 years, was in Washington D.C. where she worked for the
Smithsonian Institute. She retired from the Smithsonian in 1988.
The majority
of the Pontes Archive focuses on her career while working for Yale University
Press and the Smithsonian Institute where she designed and redesigned banners,
logos, posters, and the institution's seal.
The archive contains books from Miss Pontes' personal library on book design,
art, and calligraphy. The archive also contains examples of much of the books
on which she worked as an illustrator or designer. The archive includes production
notes and projects, photographs of her associates and New England scenery, and
correspondence with other New England calligraphers, typographers, and book artists.
Finding Aid: Crimilda Pontes Archive
|
