Volume 12–4 (Low Res).pdf - U&lc

4
John Mauritz Bergling's name has been set in ITC Garamond
Bold Condensed' and superimposed on one of Mr.
Bergling's hand-drawn illustrations.
LETTERFORM INVENTOR, MASTER ENGRAVER, ONE OF AMERICA'S
MOST PROLIFIC-AND LEAST KNOWN-DESIGNERS AND MAYBE,
JUST MAYBE, A FATHER OF ART DECO!
It's difficult to reconstruct the numerous
details of a person's life and
achievements some 52 years after
the fact, even with the help of that
individual's direct descendant.
And yet, if the cause is important
enough, you take what you can get
and piece together some sort of
documented record to make sure
that the person's legacy is preserved
for generations to come.
In the case of John Mauritz Bergling
the cause is more than important
enough.
You see, J. M. Bergling—the professional
moniker he preferred—provided
a design bridge between the
traditional approaches of Victorian
society of the 1800s and the emerging
look of contemporary graphics
from 1900 through today.
Not only did he update and bridge
the graphics designs of his day, he
also created and constructed literally
thousands of new letterforms,
signets, monograms, ciphers and
graphic devices, many of which still
retain their dynamic appeal 80
years later!
The body of Mr. Bergling's work
includes alphabets, variations on a
theme, design studies and "applied
cleverness" in type-as-an-art-tool.
Several little-known facts about Mr.
Bergling are worth noting at this
point:
First, John Bergling did not work
in typography, as his daughter,
Virginia, is quick to point out.
Typography, as we know it, is the
domain of people in the world of
printing, that is, the world of type.
John Bergling was a jewelry engraver,
and his original designs were
produced for hand-etching on the
surface of each piece, one by one.
A remarkable aspect of this whole
story is the fact that Bergling, a
right-handed craftsman, only had
three fingers on his right hand—the
result of a childhood accident.
While that type of injury would
have been a handicap to the average
person, it might well have been the
very inspiration behind the genius
which fueled his craftsmanship for
more than 30 years.
He was born in southern Sweden in
1866 and came to the United States
as a young boy, settling in Chicago
with his father. When he became a
young man, the allure of California
and the West drew him away from
his family home.
En route, he stopped for a time in
Kansas City, where he worked for a
watch-making company. It was
there that John Bergling was first
exposed to the craft of engraving.
It may well have been his first introduction
to illustration since he had
no formal training in drawing up to
then.
According to Virginia, her father
operated his own engraving business
in Kansas City while continuing
to work at the watch company.
He did eventually reach California,
and found himself in uniform in
San Diego as America prepared for
the Spanish-American War.
Shortly after his military service, he
returned to Chicago, married in
1897, and went to work for the
C.D. Peacock Company, the leading
jewelry store in town, that same
year.
John Bergling continued to work
for Peacock for the next 35 years,
including his final year which was
spent in bed due to a long illness.
For most of those years, he was
Peacock's Master Engraver, responsible
for assigning work to the
other people in his department,
and for ensuring the high standards
of the Peacock firm.
While at Peacock—which is still in
operation in Chicago—Bergling's
renown as a designer and engraver
spread far and wide.
His personal touch was requested
by dignitaries and the well-heeled
from the Northeast, and Midwest
and abroad. Many people came to
Chicago just to order his designs
and engravings for their fine jewelry
and silverware.
A dapper fellow, J. M. Bergling had a
preference for stylish clothes and a
neat, distinguished appearance. He
fit in comfortably with the theatre
crowd and cafe society which
appreciated his work so much.
Early in his career at Peacock, Bergling
began to feel a strong empathy
with other jewelry engravers
who struggled for hours to make a
particular design work.
To help make their lives easier, he
started saving his design sketches
and letterform drawings. In 1908,
he published the first edition of Art
Monograms & Lettering, which
sold for $2.50. Containing more
than 300 designs, illustrations and
examples of monograms, signets,
ciphers, and letterforms within 28