Big Bend by Richard Meade (Signet, 1970)
Two similar slab serifs, combined on the cover of Big Bend. The title is set in the heaviest weight of Heinrich Jost’s Beton, the extrafett. It was copied in the U.S. by Intertype as Beton Extra Bold. While Bauer’s family included condensed weights, too, these weren’t available from Intertype. The smaller text is set in caps from Linotype’s Memphis Medium Condensed and Bold Condensed.
The book was written by Ben Haas (1926–1977) under his pen name Richard Meade. First published in 1968 by Doubleday, this is the first paperback edition, issued as Signet Brand Western (P4130) in 1970. From Lynn Munroe Books:
The Big Bend of the Rio Grande in South Texas is the setting for several of Ben’s Westerns under various pen names. One of them is Richard Meade’s BIG BEND, the story of Nora Stewart, lost in the wild country with two men who love her – a rancher named Sam Ramsay looking for his rustled horses, and the huge and powerful ex-slave named Concho.
