AN ATTRACTIVELY PLAYFUL AND COLORFUL COLLECTION OF EPHEMERA PRINTED BY FRIDOLF JOHNSON AT HIS MERMAID PRESS by (Johnson, Fridolf; and The Mermaid Press) - mid-1950s-mid-1980s.

New York: The Mermaid Press, mid-1950s-mid-1980s.. mid-1950s-mid-1980s.. Fine. - sc 50 individual items of ephemera plus 10 duplicates, printed on stock of various sizes & colors in variously colored inks, most of them illustrated with decorations or vignettes. 3 of the pieces have creases at their edges; 7 pieces have the remnants of mounting tape on the versos. Else, all are fine. <p>The ephemera include such items as Christmas greetings, calendars, tributes and type samples. Among them are a New York City item with a decorative letter "B" surrounded by playful blue vignettes and iconic place names [Bronx Zoo, Broadway, BMT, The Bowery and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens]; an apologetic late Christmas card from Fridolf Johnson and his wife to their friends with the caption "oops! our Christmas card ended up in the Soup" above a reproduction from Merry's Museum depicting a Santa carousing in a bowl marked "Christmas"; an announcement that "now that the hammering and painting is over" at the Architectural League, the Typophile Luncheons will be held there once again--decorated with birds and pointing fingers directed towards a building in blue; a proposed watermark for Herbert Farrier; a 1960 Mermaid Press brochure, "a brief description of its work and its collection of types", including a page of four type samples and a delightful sample of decorative color vignettes; an illustrated October calendar page; a birthday greeting to Eleanor F. Steiner-Prag decorated with "A specially picked Bouquet of TYPE-ogenous Flowers"; a Christmas and New Year greeting from the employees to the tenants of 336 Central Park West; and a playful membership certificate for members of the New York Chappel of Private Presses.