Ira Schnapp
| Ira Schnapp | |
|---|---|
| Born | Israel Schnapp October 10, 1894 Sassow, Austria (now Sasiv, Ukraine) |
| Died | July 24, 1969 (age 74) New York City, New York |
| Nationality | Naturalized American citizen |
| Area(s) | Letterer, Designer |
|
Notable works
|
Superman logo redesign (1940),DC Comics house style in logos, cover lettering and in-house advertising (1950-1967) |
Ira Schnapp (October 10, 1894 – July 24, 1969) was a logo designer and letterer who brought his classic and art deco design styles to DC Comics (then National Comics) beginning with the redesign of the Superman logo in 1940. He did a great deal of logo and lettering work for the company in the 1940s. Around 1949, he joined the staff as their in-house logo, cover lettering and house-ad designer and letterer, and continued in that role until about 1967.
Schnapp was born in the small town of Sassow, Austria, then in the province of Galacia, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War Two that area became part of Ukraine, and the town is now known as Sasiv. He was one of eight children, five born in Austria, three born after the family regrouped in New York City. Ira's father Max emigrated in 1895 and established himself in a grocery business. His oldest son Jacob followed in 1898. The rest of the family — mother Sadie, and sons Samuel, Joseph, Israel (Ira), and Moses — followed in 1900. Daughters Lena, Sara and Minnie were born in New York. The Schnapp family lived at 86 Ludlow Street in lower Manhattan, and Ira and his siblings probably attended New York’s Public School #188. Ira definitely attended New York City's Stuyvesant High School, graduating in June 1913. Nothing specific is known about his art training. Ira's occupation is listed as Salesman in the New York State Census of 1915, and his family was then living in The Bronx. On September 30, 1918, he married Beatrice Schwadron. By 1920 the couple were living in their own home in The Bronx.
Little evidence has surfaced about Schnapp's early work during and after leaving school, but late in his life he often talked about helping to design the very large carved inscriptions on the façade of the James A. Farley Post Office Building on Manhattan's Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets, constructed from 1908 to 1912. He was probably part of a design team working for the architects McKim, Mead and White. His role was making huge full-size tissue layouts of the letters, which are in the style of Rome's Trajan's Column, as drawn on the architectural plans by the architects. The tissues served as a guide for the stonecutters carving the letters on marble blocks. Schnapp later showed some of these tissue layouts to artist Neal Adams. He may have done similar work for inscriptions on other monumental buildings of the time like the New York Public Library Main Branch at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. How Schnapp became involved in this high-profile design job is unknown.
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