Ira Schnapp

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.

Life and career

Early life and immigration

Schnapp was born in the small town of Sassow, then in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War II 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.Jay, Alex
"Comics: Ira Schnapp, Class of June 1913"
Alphabettenthletter.blogspot.com (May 2, 2016) 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.

Architectural design, film titles, lobby cards, and pulp magazines

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.Klein, Todd
"Ira Schnapp and the Farley Post Office"
Kleinletters.com (Aug. 9, 2015)

By 1917, Schnapp was doing lettering for the W.T. Slide Company of 115 East 23rd Street in Manhattan, according to his World War I draft card. This work was probably used as title and/or intertitle cards in silent films. Nothing is known of his output during the 1920s, but by the 1930s, Schnapp was doing show card lettering for movie theater lobbies, including huge displays for the premiere of ''King Kong'' at Radio City Music Hall in 1933, and many others.

Schnapp probably did all kinds of show card, print and advertising logos and lettering in the 1930s, including logos for pulp magazines being published by Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz