Chester Cunningham

Chester Cunningham
from Signcraft magazine; Spring, 1981 issue, pp. 18-23

Chester Cunningham was born on September 7, 1942, in Gadsden, AL. In 1947, his family moved to Headland, AL. From a very early age, Chester's natural art ability was apparent. By the time he was in the fifth or sixth grade he started lettering. Within a few years he began to provide paper banners and showcards for many local businesses. Completely self-taught, he was a signwriter in the E.C. Matthews style by the time he was 16 years old.

Chester was also interested in television. In the days before electronic graphics and videotape, showcards--TV cards--were held in front of the camera. The cards introduced programs or served as advertisements. He did cards for businesses that advertised on a nearby station.

After high school, Chester attended Troy State College in Dothan, AL, majoring in art. After 2-1/2 years he left Troy to work in a signshop. He then went to jobs at TV stations in Dothan, AL and Columbus, GA--first as an artist, then as art director. During his career, Chester also continued his interest in fine art, producing paintings which decorated his home.
He eventually returned to full-time sign work, doubling as a signwriter and sketch artist/designer with companies in Dothan. Most signwriters who knew of Chester were most influenced by his work from this period, and his work in the Atlanta area. In Atlanta he worked mainly as a sketch artist, designing large electrical displays as well as commercial work.

While moving to Las Vegas in December, 1979, Chester was critically injured in an auto accident. He suffered severe spinal damage that left him a paraplegic. After several operations, he completed his move to Las Vegas in the summer of 1980.

His death on October 20, 1980, in Las Vegas was a great loss to family and friends, as well as the sign world.
Chester was an exceptionally creative, gifted sign artist with an increasing interest in the craft. Bob Seelander described him best as "intense." His interest in commercial sign design led him to research the roots of outstanding design trends. He had hundreds, if not thousands, of friends and admirers, many who never had the opportunity to talk with him. Chester left an indelible impression on the sign craft. Following are some thoughts he sent to SignCraft magazine, to be included with this feature.

Chester Cunningham on Chester Cunningham
There are two things I enjoy looking at, pretty signs and pretty girls, in that order. I fell in love with signs at an early age, against my parents' wishes. They wanted me to be an artist instead. When I came up through the ranks, the "old timers" guarded their sign secrets closely and wouldn't show a beginner anything. In a way I don't blame them because the beginner would only give away his work until he felt he was qualified to charge for it. This gave journeymen more problems, by lowering the value of signs--especially since the customer rarely knew the difference

between a good or bad sign. I now feel flattered, because the same "old timers" who refused to show me anything now swell with pride as they announce, "I taught him everything he knows."

The funny part is, they are the same people who said I'd never make it.
I loved my mistress (signs) so much that it eventually cost me three marriages, but I gained some of the best friends in the world. There is no greater satisfaction than that derived from a job well done--and I was absolutely possessed by signs and designing. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't have been so gung-ho for lettering and sign design, but would have kept up with my original talents of cartooning and watercolor.

My advice to a beginner is to master casual and script lettering first, and learn to do showcards before signs, otherwise he may develop a stiff style. After I finally developed a style and mastered a few alphabets, I thought I could just coast

and have fun with layouts. Guess what? After I achieved this plateau, all the alphabets, color combinations, design styles and trends changed. So the struggle to keep up cranked up again.
Today it seems to me that we signwriters, shop owners especially, are losing control of our own craft--by giving away sketches and designs just to speculate on a job. The usual signwriter seems to be too good-natured to be a good businessman. Also, we signwriters have historically been guilty of an inability to bind together (heavy egos, throat-cutting and professional jealousy).
Now the graphic people and design groups are making more money than us, simply by charging for the signage design we give away, and ours is usually better. At least we know typestyles other than Helvetica, and colors other than anodized bronze and white. If the graphic people had their way, all hand lettering would be replaced with die-cut letters.

We are some of the last of the master craftsmen, yet we are plagued with poor tools. It seems every time a sign product manufacturer goes up on his prices, he lowers the quality. What ever happened to the good brushes and paint we used to have?

I personally don't care how much a product costs if it is quality . . . because our work is 90% labor anyway.
In the meanwhile, I hope our craft is not reduced to simply execution for the graphic and design people, and we will be respected for our true talents.
--Chet

Personal tributes from friends and admirers
It was a hot day in July, I was at my bench lettering a card when the door opened and I heard, "Hey, Emm." It was Chester.
Some ten months previously Chester called from Atlanta and said he had his trailer loaded with all his equipment including his prized drum set (most people don't know this but Chester was quite a musician too), and was heading for Vegas. Man, what great news!! I felt like a kid with a handful of lollipops.
Just a few days later, Paul Friies called and informed me that Chester met with a terrible accident. He was driving a few miles outside of Kingman, AZ, when his trailer blew a tire and threw him and his jeep off the highway. He was flown to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix where he was listed in critical condition. The rest we all know. Chester was confined to a wheel chair, paralyzed from the waist down. He spent some six months in the hospital in Phoenix.

Back to July . . . Chester looked good as he negotiated his "big wheel" into the shop. He accepted his condition rather well, I thought, and his outlook on life and mainly sign work was exhilarating. I immediately got on the horn and called

Jim Hendrix, artist/sign man; Jim Dix, designer at Young Electric . . . Bob Shepherd and Ross Hurdle at Shaw's Advertising, and Bob Harper at Greyhound Convention Services. (Incidentally, all these guys are good mechanics and you'll be seeing their work in SignCraft from time to time).
Bob Shepherd worked with Chester in Atlanta. We all met at a little restaurant next to my shop--ordered a few pitchers of beer and had a good old home week . . . I didn't finish that card that day.
Chester had a charisma about him that was phenomenal. Bob Barnett and a few other sign men came up from California--some salesmen flew in from Atlanta--it seemed like we were having a convention in Vegas.

Chester introduced me to Tom McIltrot (SignCraft) and was instrumental in getting some of my stuff in the fall issue. To my surprise, I made the cover too!!! Things got back to normal . . . working along side Chester, I found him to be very precise

about everything. He exploited every possible aspect, even down to his casual lettering, which later we got to calling "Coor's Casual." I couldn't help believe that he was blessed with the touch of God, yet he was very humble in receiving compliments, surely the traits of a great human being. I honestly believe he didn't think he was as great as he was. One day he suggested that it might generate more business if I applied something on the side of my building and on my front door. I worked on a 4' X 8' that night and couldn't wait till morning to hear his reaction. "Hey Emm, that's nice." That's all I wanted to hear. He never saw the door I lettered.
Raymond Chapman put it very aptly . . . he was often imitated but seldom duplicated. I feel very honored that a Chester Cunningham passed my way. The sign business indeed lost a great friend.
Emmett Morelli
Las Vegas, NV

Anytime there was a gathering of the finest in any field, invariably one will rise above the others. One will have that special quality that sets him apart from his peers. Every four years, the Olympics gathers the finest athletes of the world, but one or two will be the "superstars."

The Super Bowl pits the two best teams in the United States, but standing out above the finest is the Most Valuable Player; the best of the best. Such was Chester Cunningham. Chester was more than a signman, he was THE signman. His name became an adjective to describe outstanding sign design . . .

"That's a Cunningham." He reached the pinnacle that the rest of us are constantly struggling to obtain. Chester had a style that many tried to imitate, but few could duplicate. His work had the Cunningham look that is not easily described. Every sign was different and yet with the same significance that made it a "Cunningham." His layout ability along with pleasing color combinations and strong graphics made him the envy of the sign profession.
Chester corresponded with signmen all over the world, giving encouragement to the beginner and seeking advice from the experienced. Through letters and phone visits, I found Chet to be obsessed with sign design. He studied, listened, observed, read, slept and ate this business of ours. No detail escaped his searching mind. Even with all his accomplishments, he still remained humble, never seeing himself as anything more than a fellow brother-of-the-brush. Always willing to share his knowledge with others, always encouraging, constantly trying to upgrade his profession . . . such was Chester Cunningham.
In this present age of Howard Cossell superlatives, it becomes difficult to use adjectives that have meaningful impact. I would choose one overused word to sum up my feeling for Chet . . . GENIUS.
Raymond Chapman
Harker Heights, TX

Chester was quite an individual, probably the finest sign designer this world will ever see. It's been good to have known him: He will be an inspiration to us all the years to come. I believe Chester's genius came from the basic use of panels, colors and layouts he loved so much from greats like Tony Gorsich, Ed Eberhardt, Bob Seelander and so on. He loved the style of the signs of the very late 1940s through the 1950s. I went to California in late 1959, and those styles were still

hanging in there at the time. Chester came to California in 1972 or '73 with Keith Knecht. They stayed with me about 10 days. I drove them all over Southern Cal and showed them signs I appreciated. Chester took a lot of photos while there, and we almost go arrested, impounded or shot more than once. A lot of people thought

we were casing their business for a potential robbery. On several occasions we were accosted by the owners and asked what we were doing out in front of their stores. Ol' Chet would tell them his name, state the obvious fact that he was from Dothan, AL, and that he had fallen in love with their sign. The story sounded unlikely to some stern-faced proprietors, but you just couldn't get mad at Chester. I have seen Chester back out onto a six-lane freeway with no regard to traffic whatsoever, just to get a shot of a sign across the way. He once fell into a drainage ditch about 12 feet deep, camera and all, trying to photograph a sign.
There will never be another Chester Cunningham.
Big John Brassell
Natchez, MS