The fates of real-life advertising icons

Check out this insanely detailed ten-part post on Ira R. Schnapp, the most impressive typography/logo/stamp designer you’ve never heard of. Very cool and fascinating.

But who in the world is I.R. Schnapp? Why does HE deserve to be ranked among the hallowed creators who guided Superman through his earliest adventures? And why as “Senior Vice President of Advertising,” of all things? The surprising answer: Schnapp deserves to be there, perhaps more so than any of the others, because all the other people on this masthead came to Superman after his first adventure had been published. Not Schnapp. He was there from the very beginning. Schnapp was, as they say, “present at the creation.”

Ira R. Schnapp was an eyewitness to the first-ever appearance of the Man of Steel. He also saw the debuts of the Caped Crusader, the Scarlet Speedster, the Emerald Gladiator, and the Amazing Amazon… in person. He was there the day Barry Allen raced across the bridge between the earths and became the Flash of Two Worlds. He saw the mightiest heroes of comics’ Golden Age unite for the first time to form the Justice Society of America. And he witnessed the unforgettable first meeting of the JSA and Justice League of America with his own eyes. Through it all, there was one constant, and one constant alone: IRA SCHNAPP.