Series MsC-41-0-5 - Commercial work

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Commercial work

General material designation

  • Textual records
  • Graphic materials
  • Artefacts

Parallel title

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Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on contents of the series.

Level of description

Series

Reference code

MsC-41-0-5

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1960-[2009] (Creation)
    Creator
    Rimmer, Jim

Physical description area

Physical description

92 drawings and other material

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1934-2010)

Biographical history

Jim Rimmer was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1934. In 1950, he undertook a six-year apprenticeship with local printer and publisher J.W. Boyd and Sons. He subsequently worked for seven years as a journeyman compositor for several BC newspapers, including the Vancouver Province, Vancouver Sun, and the Williams Lake Tribune. From 1972 to 1999, Rimmer ran a freelance design office, working as an illustrator, graphic designer, and type designer; some of his more notable commercial designs include the logo for Canadian Pacific Airlines, and the provincial mark for British Columbia.

Rimmer designed and cut his first typeface, Juliana Old Style, in 1980. In the years following, he designed and produced numerous faces in both metal and digital format, including proprietary fonts and typeface revivals. For several years during the 1980s Rimmer worked with Giampa Text Ware, operated by Gerald Giampa. Rimmer designed digital type fonts with this firm and its successor, Lanston Type Company. He was an active member of the American Typecasting Fellowship beginning in 1984, and founded the Rimmer Type Foundry in 1998.

In 1974, Rimmer founded Pie Tree Press, named after an old apple tree in his backyard, the fruit of which was used to make pies. As Pie Tree Press, Rimmer printed numerous broadsides and books, including Alison’s Fishing Birds, commissioned by Colophon Books. He subsequently produced four major limited edition publications, for which he did the typesetting, illustrations and book-binding: Shadow River: the Selected and Illustrated Poems of Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) (1997), A Christmas Carol (1998), Leaves from the Pie Tree (2006), an autobiographical work including “how-to” knowledge, and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2008). Rimmer was working on the design of the ‘Dubloon’ typeface for a fifth book, Treasure Island, at the time of his death (this font will be released as the “Rimmer” typeface).

Over the course of his career, Rimmer taught drawing and typography classes at many local colleges and universities, including the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design, Capilano College, Kwantlen College, Simon Fraser University, and the University College of the Fraser Valley. He also held workshops in hand-setting, printing, and book-binding. Rimmer’s work earned him awards from the Creative Club, Graphic Designers of Canada, Art Direction Creativity in Illustration, and the American Typecasting Fellowship. A series of broadsides designed for Westgraphica, now Karo, earned him the “Communication Arts Award of Excellence” in the self-promotion class. “Rimmerfest : An Evening to Celebrate Jim Rimmer and His Many Contributions” took place on November 25, 2006; the event was organized by Simon Fraser University Library. In 2007, Rimmer was made a fellow of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada.

Jim Rimmer passed away in New Westminster on January 8, 2010.

Custodial history

Scope and content

Series consists of sample, draft and completed commercial work produced by Rimmer as a free-lance designer employed by various companies, organizations and individuals. Records include items completed by Rimmer for Colophon Books, including Alison’s Fishing Birds and preliminary work on Allen Ginsberg’s Meditations at Lake Louise; editorial cartoons created by Rimmer for the Williams Lake Tribune from 1960 to 1961; and numerous prints, paintings, and logos created for commercial purposes. Companies, organizations and individuals represented include Murchie’s Tea and Coffee Ltd., Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Air Canada, Vancouver Public Library, Hot Jazz Club, the band Heart, Whistler village, Shrine Circus, and Douglas & McIntyre Publishers.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

No original order present in the material; order has been determined by the archivist. Files described within the second accession are arranged chronologically according to date(s) of creation.

Language of material

    Script of material

      Location of originals

      Availability of other formats

      Restrictions on access

      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Finding aids

      Generated finding aid

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      Accruals

      Physical description

      Includes .11 m of textual records, .05 m of graphic material, 81 prints, 9 broadsides, 3 paintings, 2 posters, 1 calendar, 7 photographs, 7 linocut blocks, 8 linocuts, 1 master pattern, 1 audio disc, 4 objects, 3 banners, 2 labels, 3 cards, 9 tickets and 1 envelop.

      Alternative identifier(s)

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      Standard number

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      Control area

      Description record identifier

      Institution identifier

      Rules or conventions

      Rules for Archival Description

      Status

      Level of detail

      Full

      Dates of creation, revision and deletion

      Created May 29, 2014. LZ

      Language of description

      • English

      Script of description

        Sources

        Accession area