Printer's Pie

I dug out an old type book, Lettering Alphabets the other day that I bought a long time ago but never really looked at. In it I found this article about Printer's Pie, a 10' x 5' typographic mural by Alan J Bastien in 1955.

Printer's Pie was commissioned by Fuller's Ltd. for the newly refurbished 'Jiffy Bar' in their Ludgate Circus restaurant - right by Fleet Street in the heart of London's print-land.

The mural, "composed entirely of a giant photograph of letters chosen from nearly four hundred of the type alphabets used in modern printing and general lettercraft" includes names of UK newspapers, typefaces, type foundries and type designers. It's also thought to be the first public presentation of the Mistral typeface, designed by Roger Excoffon for the Fonderie Olive, Marseillies in 1955.

In December 1955 Printing News used Printer's Pie as the basis of a type identification competition and it was also the theme of 'Typographical Centre' exhibitions at Southgate Library and at the Bastien Studio during the 'International Typographical Year 1957'.

I have no idea if the mural still exists, but here it is in all it's glory back in 1955...