Maine Coast Lobster Print

Maine Coast Lobster depicts a cooked, idealized Maine caught lobster from an atypical oblique perspective. It is inspired by the original Maine lobster mixed-media paintings created by Kenneth T. Murphy, in 2002 and 2006, (which were based on a postcard rendering from 1925). Maine Coast Lobster was designed in the fall of 2017 and includes custom hand-made and hand-set typography of the title and specimen details.

Inspired by a deep passion for coastal Maine nautical and maritime history and a love of vintage hand-made type and illustration, Kenneth produced this print design as an homage to the American Lobster (Homarus americanus): a timeless, powerful, highly edible and venerable icon that is beloved globally and remains an essential economic source of livelihood for so many on the North Atlantic Seaboard, particularly harvesters of the Maine lobster.

The accompanying type in the print is an homage to the classic forms of vintage typography and letterforms that were seen throughout the Northeast from the 18th century through the early-mid 20th century on storefronts, ship bows and transoms, shipping crates, can and jar labels, flags and banners, and pretty much anything that was made to visually inform – all painted or etched by hand.