Friday Gem from the Stoddard – Templeton Design Archive: Logos

By sammaddra on April 8, 2011 • ( 1 )

The subject of this week’s gem are the logos of the various companies that make up the Associated Design Records of the Stoddard Templeton Archive, and their evolution over time. The greatest span that can be seen are those of James Templeton & Co Ltd.

The above eight versions of the Templeton logo date from c1900 to c1950, and illustrate subtle variations on the same theme. They can be roughly dated by related documents and the additional typeface that has been used upon the items, as is illustrated below.

Despite these slight variations, Templeton were clearly the most consistent of the five companies in the use of their logo. Indeed the logo appears on their individually painted Sample Boards, which were the 19th century precursors to their mass produced catalogues.

However, by the 1970s Templeton had had a logo makeover.

We have fewer records for Henry Widnell & Stewart Ltd and Grays of Ayr, and therefore the evolution of their logos appears quite marked. However, their transformation clearly illustrates how logos developed over the 20th century. A logo should be simple so that it retains its clarity of design in different contexts. If it is too complicated, its details may be lost when it is reduced in scale. Also, a simple logo design is faster to read, easier to remember and consequently more instantly identifiable.

Blackwood Morton & Sons Ltd went through a variety of logos utilising their trademark ‘BMK’, which denotes Blackwood and Morton of Kilmarnock. In the 1950s they introduced their animated lamb, presumably to symbolise or suggest soft woollen products.

A. F. Stoddard & Co Ltd appear to have not made the same kind of use of a logo as the other companies and instead primarily used their name to mark their products. However, when they did, they alternated between using a shuttle, and their Horse and Crown trademark, or a combination of both.