This rigorous and enduring output of original artwork is unusual for a U.S. The beauty of the passes must have been a source of pride for both the transit operators and their users, because the designs continued to be produced by hand, on art board for printing plates, until 1992 with the adoption of the Mac and desktop publishing.

Thanks in part to a donation from type designer Tobias Frere-Jones, the Archive now holds about 300 tickets between 19. They follow a fairly consistent design program of large hand-drawn numbers for the week of the year, lettering for the valid range of dates, and small-print information set in type, all functionally decorated with jaunty banners, frames, and rules. The design of the passes was utilitarian and banal until the 1930s when they brought the production in-house and added color, public-service announcements, information about local events, and illustrated depictions of civic history.įor design and letterform lovers, the passes issued between 19 stand out as particularly colorful and cohesive. It was an overnight success and went into full operation in 1921. On August 18, 1919, Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (TMER&L) launched a weekly pass experiment for its extensive streetcar service. Milwaukee claims to be the inventor of the weekly transit pass, and for several decades they could also boast to have some of the most beautiful ones. Strikethrough: Typographic Messages Of ProtestĪ Milwaukee streetcar, 1955.

Milwaukee transit services