Gilbert Paper, Sampler Booklets

While senior designer at Eric Baker Design Associates, I collaborated with Eric on some groovy collateral pieces for the Gilbert Paper Company. Gilbert wanted to bolster their communication paper line. At the time, most promotions for writing and business papers involved creating suites of stationery designs for imaginary businesses, so they asked us to come up with something that would stand out from the norm. Eric had amassed a collection of bizarre and humorous news clippings, and had acquired a ream of old letterheads and business letters from the turn of the last two centuries. We conceived of two separate promotions: one would be a small two-color booklet presenting a selection of news stories printed like clippings on various weights, colors and textures of paper; the other piece would be a series of three oversized booklets showcasing letterheads and business letters from days gone by on Gilbert’s Cottons, Esse and Oxford writing papers.

The Gilbert Paper Company was established in 1887 by William Gilbert Sr. and his sons William Jr., Albert, Theodore and George. In 1960, the firm was purchased by the Mead Corporation and, in 2001, by the Fox River Paper Company but ceased production later that year. Throughout its history, the company produced “higher quality, cotton-fiber content papers including bond, ledger, index and onion skin papers."

"Strange But True," a collection of stories clipped from newspapers, presented on various paper stocks to illustrate their printing benefits, sent to printers and designers. Offset printed in 2 colors and perfect bound with metal rivets.

A series of three booklets showcasing three lines of paper stocks for stationery printing. Each booklet is double wiro bound in copper with French-fold covers and offset 4C process. The series presents a collection of letterheads from the late 19th and early 20th century that offers a glimpse into a past where commercial correspondence was earnestly drafted and writing surfaces were elaborately decorated.

With the third booklet in the series, we had the opportunity to add blind embossing and foil stamping to the cover and a few interior pages.

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