Barbara Hazard paperbacks, Signet Regency Romance

Published November 17, 2024

The Disobedient Daughter, June 1982

Before Barbara Hazard (1931–2019) started to write poetry (at sixty) and to quilt (at seventy), she already explored several other creative fields. In 1953, she graduated from Rhode Island School of Design and worked as a graphic designer for an advertising firm in Concord, New Hampshire. Hazard also trained as a musician and studied oil painting with Amy Jones. According to Open Library’s bio –

she began to write historical fiction in 1978. First published in 1981, she went on to write and publish 48 books, several of which are also in circulation abroad. She won several awards for her writing.

Shown here are the covers of fourteen romance novels published in the Signet Regency Romance series between 1982 and 1988. The title typeface on all of them is Reid Bookman. This Bookman variety was drawn by William Reid in a single Italic Swash style and issued by Photo-Lettering in 1967. Between the fourteen covers, we get to see a good chunk of Reid Bookman’s character set – including the q and the Q.

It’s not clear who was responsible for the typography. With her background in graphic design, Hazard might have had a say in it herself. In any case, the art is not by her: thirteen of the covers were illustrated by Allan Kass. Only one title, The Rake’s Protégée, has art by Walter Popp.

Hat tip to Javi Gonzales for the pointer.