Blue Pencil no. 48—One Hundred Books Famous in Typography, Part 6 [The Machine Age] nos. 54–67

Note: When I began this dissection it was intended as a single post—even as it grew much longer than expected. However, I was forced to break it up into smaller chunks when I ran into an unexplained “failure error” when trying to save the draft one day. Rather than try to break up the dissection into equally sized posts based on word counts, I decided instead to make separate posts based on the divisions used in the Grolier Club exhibition for the one hundred books entries; and on divisions in the catalogue for the material that was not part of the exhibition (e.g. foreword, introduction, Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography, bibliography, etc.). Note that the divisions used in the exhibition itself (e.g. “The Golden Age” or Looking Back”) were abandoned for the catalogue.


The Machine Age
pp. 150–151
54. William Dana Orcutt (1870–1953), Edward E. Bartlett (1863–1942)
The Manual of Linotype Typography
Brooklyn, New York: Mergenthaler Linotype Co., 1923. Quarto.
Provenance: The Grolier Club.

• The introductory matter is set in Caslon Old Face (and its italic) which Mac McGrew says was introduced in 1923. Was this manual its debut? (See American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century by Mac McGrew (New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Books, 1993; 2nd rev. ed.), pp. 64 and 67.

• Text is c.448 words
• There are no links. The could be ones to nos. 46, 50, 82, 84, and 95.
• Ottmar Mergenthaler (1854–1899).
• Kelly’s text does not mention, even in passing, either William Dana Orcutt or Edward E. Bartlett. Orcutt was a major figure in American printing in the first quarter of the twentieth century. He was one of the founders of the Society of Printers in Boston. Orcutt designed several typefaces, the most important of which is Humanistic (also known as Laurentian) (1904), based on the Renaissance calligraphy of Antonio Sinibaldi. He worked for The University Press in Cambridge and then The Plimpton Press in Norwood, Massachusetts. For the latter he wrote the essay “The Quest of the Book Beautiful” for their 1911 Year Book of the Plimpton Press and he contributed “The Art of the Book in America” to The Art of the Book edited by Charles Holme (London, Paris, and New York: The Studio, Ltd., 1914). But Orcutt is best known for In Quest of the Perfect Book (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1926) and The Kingdom of Books (Boston: Little, Brown &Co., 1927). Bartlett was an illustrator, wood engraver, and type designer. He was the founder of Bartlett & Co., a printing business that became the Bartlett-Orr Press in 1907 and which maintained a close, often interlocking relationship with the Mergenthaler Linotype Company. Through his association with Mergenthaler, Bartlett became an expert on newspaper type and in 1913 he established their Department of Linotype Typography. He was also the author of The Typographic Treasures of Europe (New York: Putnam, 1925). For The Manual of Linotype Typography, Orcutt acted as typographical advisor and provided critical commentary. Presumably, as Director of Linotype Typography, Bartlett oversaw the design, typography, and print production of the book which was composed at the Bartlett-Orr Press but printed and bound by The Plimpton Press.

Further Reading p. 315
History of the Linotype Company by Frank Romano (Rochester, New York: RIT Press, 2014).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to The Manual of Linotype Typography. Although designed after the publication of this book, good choices for a typeface to represent Mergenthaler Linotype would be one of the Legibility Group of newspaper types by Chauncey H. Griffith or one of W.A. Dwiggins’ designs. I would suggest either Corona (1941) or Caledonia (1939).

Illustration
Title page. (The exhibition showed pp. 142–143 set in Cheltenham Bold and Jenson types.)
• There are far more exciting and informative pages and spreads in the book than the title page. Some suggestions are: pp. 96–97 or 100–101 with samples using Bodoni; p. 123 “The Importance of the Title-Page”; p. 131 “The Benedictine Face after Plato Benedictis of Bologna” (Benedictine, designed by Joseph Hill, was the first original typeface commissioned by Mergenthaler Linotype); or p. 135 a Morrisian design set in Cheltenham!


pp. 152–155
55. American Type Founders  Company
Type Specimen Book [sic]
Jersey City, New Jersey: ATF 1923. Octavo.
Provenance: The Grolier Club.

• Set in various types. The “Preface 1796–1923” is set in ATF Garamond by Morris Fuller Benton.

• Text is c.301 words
• The title should be Specimen Book and Catalogue 1923: Dedicated to the Typographic Art; and the publisher should be American Type Founders spelled out.
• Warren Chappell (1904–1991); Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869–1924).
• There are no links. There should be many: nos. 17, 22, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 30A, 32, 38, 42, 47, 54, 58, 62, 64, 82, 84, and 90.

“In the latter part of the nineteenth century there were dozens of typefoundries throughout the United States. The success of the Linotype machine (first used commercially in 1886), and shortly thereafter the Monotype machine, was an existential threat to these business. In response, in 1892 most of these independent typefounders merged to form the American Type Founders Company (ATF).” p. 152

This is the common story, but it is not true. (See the summary description of the history of American Type Founders on the website for the exhibition Type to Print: The Book & The Type Specimen Book. The exhibition was the basis for the double issue of Printing History entitled “The Rise and Fall of ATF” cited by Kelly under Further Reading, p. 319.) Contemporary accounts of the efforts, over the course of several years, to create a “type trust” or “type combine” unanimously indicate that the principal impetus was a desire to stabilize the price of type in the face of rampant price-cutting. The Chicago Tribune reported on February 28, 1891 that, “The type founders are trying to avoid severe competition and its attendant cutting of prices by forming a combination. Efforts to this end have been made for some time and apparently will meet with success. The ‘Type Founders’ Association’ has been in existence for a good many years, but its existence is now merely nominal and has long ceased to be of benefit in maintaining prices. As a substitute, it is proposed to form a company which will include all the plants in America, issuing to each concern a certain amount of stock.” The Type Founders’ Association had been created several years earlier as a cartel to establish standard prices. However, its efforts were short-lived. The Superior Printer reported in April 1889 that, “A number of type founders are now quoting large discounts from the prices adopted by the Type Founders’ Association last Fall.” (The Superior Printer vol. II, no. 2, p. 130.) Rumors of an English syndicate seeking to gobble up all American typefoundries began to swirl within the printing industry as early as December 1890. Nearly a year later, in response to a Boston printer’s letter about the rumors, an unnamed Chicago typefounder told The Inland Printer that they had some basis in fact: “The ultimate aim is to advance prices. Of the twenty-three typefoundries in the United States I don’t think more than four or five have been making any money. The balance-sheets of some of the largest and oldest concerns in the East [probably a reference to Mackellar, Smiths & Jordan in Philadelphia and the Bruce’s New-York Foundry] have shown a loss for years. This, of course, is what induced the formation of the trust.” (Quoted in The Inland Printer vol. IX, no. 1 [September 1891], p. 45.) The first official announcement from ATF following the merger, which took place in October 1892, began, “Leading typefounders have for some time considered the prevailing prices inequitable, especially since the varying discounts have resulted in unsettling the values of printing material. The new price list is established for the purpose of restoring values to an equitable basis, without increasing them and without injustice to any of the parties concerned.” (Quoted in The Inland Printer vol. X, no. 5 [February 1893], p. 399.)

The formation of ATF has always been viewed in hindsight with the knowledge that Mergenthaler Linotype, Lanston Monotype, and the English Monotype Corporation became successful companies in the 20th century. But their success was far from assured in 1892. Contemporary articles in The Inland Printer between 1890 and 1893 focus on competition between typesetting machines (e.g. the McMillan Typesetting Machine and the St. John Typobar) and typecasting machines (e.g. the Mergenthaler Linotype and the Rogers Typograph). A competition sponsored by the American Newspaper Publisher’s Association in October 1891—in which the St. John Tyobar failed to participate despite announcing in advance that it would—concluded that the Rogers Typograph “produced the best and most economical results” while the Linotype “fell far short in the general result of accomplishing what had been claimed for it by its owners and others.” (The Inland Printer vol. IX, no. 2 [November 1891], p. 434.) The Lanston Monotype machine is not even mentioned. The race was between Rogers and Mergenthaler according to Emory L. Marters who concluded a month after the formation of ATF was finalized, that, “The typecasting machine of today is vastly better than that of even a year ago. It has come to stay.” (The Inland Printer vol. X, no. 2 [November 1892], p. 125.) [The thesis I am presenting here regarding the influence of the Linotype and Monotype machines on the formation of American Type Founders is supported by David M. MacMillan. See Making Printers’ Type: Man’s 500 Year Quest to Develop Better Methods by R. Stanley Nelson, Stephen O. Saxe, David M. MacMillan, and Richard L. Hopkins (Terra Alta, West Virginia: Hill & Dale Press and Typefoundry) pp. 99–100.]

“Aside from ATF’s influential revivals of Garamond, Baskerville, Bodoni, and other historical typefaces, original designs produced by ATF such as Bookman, Clearface, and Souvenir are still in use today, a century later.” p. 152

“ATF pioneered the concept of the extended type family, including different weights and widths of one basic style. Type families such as Warren Chappell’s Lydian and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue’s Cheltenham were enormous successes for ATF.” p. 152

This statement is only partially accurate. Bodoni and Garamond were very successful typefaces commercially. Baskerville, Cloister Oldstyle (based on Nicolas Jenson’s roman of 1470), and Bulmer were less so. Bookman was not an original ATF design, but a renaming of Old Style Antique No. 10 from the Bruce foundry. (See no. 91 Anatomy of a Typeface by Alexander Lawson (Boston: David R. Godine, Publisher), p. 267.) It was a popular typeface in the metal era. In contrast, Souvenir (Morris Fuller Benton, 1914) was a bust. Neither Bookman, Clearface, nor Souvenir—as originally designed by ATF—are in heavy use today. Perhaps Kelly is thinking of the redesigned versions of these three typefaces by the International Typeface Corporation (ITC Souvenir [Ed Benguiat, 1970], ITC Bookman [Ed Benguiat 1975], and ITC Clearface [Victor Caruso, 1979]), which were very popular into the early 1990s. The original ATF designs that have had greater longevity are Goudy Oldstyle, Century Oldstyle, Century Schoolbook, Cheltenham, Franklin Gothic, and News Gothic.

Fournier was the first punchcutter to create style variations of types involving subtle changes in visual size without a change in body size (e.g. Cicero Ordinaire, Cicero Moyen, and Cicero Gros Oeil). Bodoni built upon his idea with variations of style, visual size, width, and weight of several of his type sizes (e.g. thirteen iterations of Testo). In the early 1890s the Inland Type Foundry of St. Louis was the first to offer several stylistically-related typefaces under a single name. The first of these was Woodward (Woodward, Woodward Condensed, Woodward Extended by Nicholas Werner, 1894; Woodward outline by Carl Schraubstadter, 1897; Woodward Extra Condensed by Nicholas Werner, 1901). (See Recasting a Craft: St. Louis Typefounders Respond to Industrialization by Robert A. Mullen (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern University Press, 2005), pp. 41–42, 146, 150, and 154.) But Inland never boasted of this innovation.

ATF proclaimed early and often that they invented the typeface family. Although that is not true, they did coin the term and they popularized the concept. (See the company’s advertisement in The Inland Printer vol. XLI, no. 2 [May 1908], p. 295 headlined “The Family Type Idea”.) Their first type family was Cheltenham—”The Largest Type Family Ever Brought Out—and it is still growing”—shown in the 1906 ATF specimen book (pp. 163–164). At that time it consisted of eight members (which ATF described as if they were members of a noble family: e.g. “the lusty twins Master Cheltenham Bold and Miss Cheltenham Bold Italic” and “Sir Cheltenham Wide”). The tremendous popularity of the basic Cheltenham design led ATF and Morris Fuller Benton to rapidly extend the family. By 1913 it consisted of twenty members. (See American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century by Mac McGrew (New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Books, 1993; 2nd rev. ed.), pp. 85-86; McGrew also shows other versions of Cheltenham created by Linotype, Monotype, and Ludlow.) ATF extended the family idea to its Century, Clearface, and Bodoni designs by 1912 and to others in the following decade, including Goudy Oldstyle whose family was accorded its own type specimen in 1927 (see no. 58 in this catalogue). ATF was so keen on the type family concept that they tried to convince printers that Benton’s group of sans serifs (Franklin Gothic, Alternate Gothic, News Gothic, Lightline Gothic, and Monotone Gothic) constituted a family since they were all the product of the same man. Although Lawson says that Lydian was popular from the moment of its release in 1938, and remained so for another twenty years, its family (seven members) was eclipsed in size and success by the Stymie family (eighteen members), the Century family (twelve members), and the Goudy family (ten members).

“To promote their wares, ATF printed some of the most elaborate (and heaviest!) type specimen books ever seen. These culminated in the huge 1923 volume, following on the amalgamated ATF specimen books of 1912 and 1915 (the latter, running to over 1,500 pages, became known as ‘Big Red’).” p. 152

There is a comprehensive inventory of specimen books from American Type Founders and some of its constituent foundries at the Circuitous Root website which also includes links to that have been digitized. There is no such thing as the “amalgamated ATF specimen books of 1912 and 1915”. ATF’s largest specimen book was American Specimen Book of Type Styles: Complete Catalogue of Printing Machinery and Printing Supplies of 1912, topping out at 1301 pages. In 1917 the company separately published American Specimen Book of Type Styles Supplement to go with the 1912 catalogue. It was 214 pages in length. Although both the 1912 and 1917 specimen books have red bindings, neither was ever known as “Big Red”. That appellation was applied to the largest specimen book (over 1200 pages) from the Mergenthaler Linotype Company titled Specimen Book of Linotype Faces. (Brooklyn: Mergenthaler Linotype Company, n.d. [c.1939]).

Further Reading p. 319
The Rise and Fall of ATF. Volumes 43/44 of Printing History: The Journal of the American Printing History Association edited by David Pankow (New York: APHA, 2002). This double issue contains: “Editor’s Introduction: The Rise and Fall of ATF” by David Pankow, “Introduction to the Exhibition Type to Print: The Book & The Type Specimen Book” by Jennifer B. Lee, and “The Bullen Letters” edited by Jennifer B. Lee. Despite its title this is not a comprehensive history of the American Type Founders Company, something which still needs to be written.

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
p. 295—News Gothic / Morris Fuller Benton 1908 / ATF / See no. 55

Century Schoolbook “Legibility in Type Designs” from Specimen Book and Catalogue 1923: Dedicated to the Typographic Art (Jersey City, New Jersey: American Type Founders, 1923), p. 203.

Illustrations
Four pages displayed over three pages: p. 153 has p. 653 (Cleland Borders) overlapped by p. 787 (Cloister Initials) showing Decorative Material; p. 154 has National Oldstyle (p. 304); and p. 155 has Souvenir Series (p. 453); (The exhibition displayed pp. 322–323 with the Freehand Series.)
• Goudy designed National Oldstyle and the Cloister Initials; Souvenir was designed by Morris Fuller Benton.
• These typefaces were not the most important ones created by American Type Founders. Much better choices for illustrations would have been: p. 5 Preface 1796–1923 (with ATF Garamond and Cleland decorations); p. 17–18 “A first complete display of the Garamond Series” [the foliation is incorrect]; p. 20 the background of ATF Garamond; p. 96 (Cheltenham Oldstyle); pp. 101–102 [the foliation is incorrect again] showing samples of the Cheltenham Family; pp. 132–133 “Original Caslon Oldstyle Roman and Italic Types”; pp. 192–193 (Century Oldstyle and Century Oldstyle Italic); pp. 202–203 (Century Schoolbook with an explanation of the legibility studies behind its design); and p. 221 (Clearface Family).
• The online exhibition shows all of the same pages as the catalogue without any overlapping.

News Gothic from Specimen Book and Catalogue 1923: Dedicated to the Typographic Art (Jersey City, New Jersey: American Type Founders, 1923), p. 472.


pp. 156–159
56. Stanley Morison (1889–1967), Oliver Simon (1895–1956)
The Fleuron
London: The Fleuron (nos. 1–4), and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press & Garden City, New York: Doubleday (nos. 5–7), 1923–1930. Seven volumes. Quarto.
Provenance: The Grolier Club.

• Set in various types.

• Text is c.406 words
• There are no links. There could be ones to nos. 46, 57, 57A, 69, 78, and 83.
• “Holbrook Jackson” is Holbrook Jackson (1874–1948), journalist and bibliophile.
• “Francis Meynell” is Francis Meynell (1891–1975), poet, printer and publisher.
• “Bernard Newdigate” is Bernard Newdigate (1869–1944), printer and typographer.

“…The Fleuron, with its well-researched, insightful article dealing with typography from the 1500s to the present day [sic]…” p. 156

Unfortunately, Kelly does not mention any specific articles. In the first volume of The Fleuron (the only one online) there are four articles of typographical interest: “Printers’ Flowers and Arabesques” by Francis Meynell and Stanley Morison, “The ‘Lost’ Caslon Specimen of 1748” by D.B. Updike, “Initial Letters in the Printed Book” by Percy J. Smith, and “The Title-Page” by Oliver Simon. The Fleuron Anthology (1973), listed under Further Reading, is not only the least expensive way to sample The Fleuron, but it includes several of its most celebrated articles (highlighted in red below).

“Printers’ Flowers and Arabesques” / Francis Meynell and Stanley Morison
“Claud Lovat Fraser: Illustrator” / Holbrook Jackson
“Initial Letters in the Printed Book” / Percy J.D. Smith
“The Title-Page” / Oliver Simon
“Emil Rudolf Weiss” / Julius Meier-Graefe
“On the Planning of Printing” / D.B. Updike
“Emery Walker” / Bernard H. Newdigate
“Mr. C.H. St. John Hornby’s Ashendene Press” / Bernard H. Newdigate
“Stanley Morison” / Frank Sidgwick
“The Nonage of 19th Century Printing in England” / Holbrook Jackson
“D.B. Updike and the Merrymount Press” / W.A. Dwiggins
“Modern Styles in Music Printing in England” / Hubert J. Foss
“Typographical Work of Percy Smith” / Frank Sidgwick
“On the Work of Bruce Rogers” / Frederic Warde
“Karl Klingspor” / Julius Rodenberg.
“‘Garamond’ Types: XVI & XVII Century Sources Considered” / Paul Beaujon [Beatrice Warde]
“The Work of Rudolf Koch” / Albert Windisch
“Geofroy Tory” / A.F. Johnson
“On Decorative Printing in America” / Paul Beaujon [Beatrice Warde]
“Eric Gill: Sculptor of Letters” / Paul Beaujon [Beatrice Warde]
“An Unacknowledged Movement in Fine Printing” / A.J.A. Symons
“Thomas Maitland Cleland” / D.B. Updike
“Decorated Types” / Stanley Morison.

Missing are two key articles by Stanley Morison: “On Script Types” from The Fleuron No. 4 (1925) and the controversial “Towards an Ideal Italic”  from The Fleuron No. 5 (1926) which influenced the designs of Felicity (Perpetua Italic) by Eric Gill, Electra Italic by W.A. Dwiggins, and Romulus Sloped Roman by Jan van Krimpen.

Further Reading p. 319
The Fleuron Anthology by Francis Meynell (London: Ernest Benn Limited; Toronto: University of Toronto Press; and Boston: David R. Godine, Publisher, 1973).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
p. 296—Weiss Italic / E.R. Weiss 1927 / Bauer/FontShop / See no. 56
• An alternative to Weiss Italic would have been Perpetua by Eric Gill which is shown in “Eric Gill: Sculptor of Letters” by Paul Beaujon [Beatrice Warde].

Illustrations
Cover of The Fleuron no. VI (1928); unidentified page 124 from The Fleuron no. V (1926) (showing what appears to be redrawn Caslon type to show the concept of a sloped roman); and an unidentified item from The Fleuron no. VII (1930) (showing Eric Gill’s initials for the Golden Cockerel Press). The last image has been doctored with the vermilion initial changed to dark red. A flat tone as a background has been added to all of the images.

“Fig. 23—From the Imprimerie Royale Specimen of 1809” from “On Script Types” in The Fleuron No. 4 (1925). Image courtesy of Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University. Note that the first three script types were owned by Madame Hérissant.


pp. 160–162
57. Stanley Morison (1889–1967)
Four Centuries of Fine Printing
London: Ernest Benn, 1924. Folio.
Provenance: Inscribed by the author. The Grolier Club.

• Set in Poliphilus and Blado.

• Text is c.406 words
• The subtitle of the book is Upwards of Six Hundred Examples of the Work of Presses Established during the Years 1500 to 1914.
• The subtitle of the German edition is Die Entwicklung des Buchdrucks in lat. Schrift in mehr als 600 Abb. in Lichtdruck dargest. nach Druckwerken a. d. J. 1500–1914.
• There are no links. There should be ones to nos. 56, 57A, 69, 78, 79, and 81.

“…a survey of masterpieces of the art of typography in the roman letter from the 1500s to 1914…” p. 160

Kelly does not explain why Morison limited his survey to books printed after 1500 and only in roman type. Was this a prejudice against books set in blackletter or evidence of anti-German bias in the wake of World War I?

Further Reading p. 320
The Writings of Stanley Morison compiled by Tony Appleton (Brighton, Sussex: Tony Appleton, 1976).
• Suggested readings: The Typographic Book 1450–1935: A Study of Fine Typography through Five Centuries, Exhibited in Upwards of 350 Title and Text Pages… by Stanley Morison and Kenneth Day (London: Ernest Benn, 1963); and Five Hundred Years of Book Design by Alan Bartram (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2001).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to Four Centuries of Fine Printing.

Images
Title page; page showing items nos. 188–191. (I don’t know what the latter are since I have not had access to a copy of Four Centuries of Fine Printing while preparing this dissection.)


pp. 163–165
57A. Stanley Morison (1889–1967)
Modern Fine Printing
London: Ernest Benn, 1925. Folio.
[There is no provenance given. The online exhibition credits the Grolier Club as the lender.]

• Text is c.238 words
• The lengthy subtitle is An Exhibit of Printing Issued in England, the United States of America, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Czecho-Slovakia, Holland and Sweden During the Twentieth Century and with Few Exceptions Since the Outbreak of the War.
• There are no links. There should be ones to nos. 51, 56, and 57.
• “Elmer Adler” is Elmer Adler (1884–1962), book designer, printer and book collector.
• “Carl Ernst Poeschel” is Carl Ernst Poeschel (1874–1944), typographer and publisher.
• “Rudolf Koch” is Rudolf Koch (1876–1934), calligrapher, type designer, and artist (see no. 52).
• “Giovanni Mardersteig” is Giovanni Mardersteig (1892–1977), printer and type designer (see no. 80).

“However, this volume [in contrast to Four Centuries of Fine Printing] contains only examples from 1914 to 1925, organized by country.” p. 163

The subtitle contradicts the statement that the book includes only books printed after 1914.

Further Reading p. 320
Stanley Morison Displayed by Herbert Jones (London: Frederick Muller Limited, 1976).
• Suggested readings: Breaking the Rules: The Printed Face of the European Avant Garde 1900–1937 by Stephen Bury (London: The British Library, 2008); and Bauhaus, Modernism, & The Liberated Book by Alan Bartram (London: The British Library, 2004).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to Modern Fine Printing. A good choice, though, would be Zilvertype Pro from Canada Type (2014), based on S.H. De Roos’ original Zilvertype (1916), created for his Zilverdistel private press.

Illustration
Six illustrations on two pages: p. 163 shows items numbered 109–112 (Donne’s Sermons by Logan Pearsall Smith [Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1920], Shakespeare’s Handwriting by Edward Maunde Thompson [Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1916], and The Life of Philip Skelton by Samuel Burdy [Oxford:At the Clrendon Press, 1914]); and p. 165 shows items numbered 290–293 (both spreads from Zilverdistel books). The first appears to be from Over Boekkunst en de Zilverdistel by J.F. van Royen and P.N. van Eyck (‘s-Gravenhage [Holland]: De Zilverdistel, 1916), pp. 2–3; but I am unsure of the latter.


pp. 166–167
58*. Frederic W. Goudy (1856–1947)
The Goudy Type Family
Elizabeth, New Jersey: American Type Founders Company, 1927. Quarto.
Provenance: Florence E. Duval [sic]; The Grolier Club.

• Set in Goudy Oldstyle.

• Text is c.252 words
• The correct title and publication information is: A Composite Showing of Goudy Types; A Pamphlet Supplementing the Specimen Book of 1923 Showing Important Additions to the Goudy Family (n.p.: American Type Founders Company, 1927).
• The online exhibition: “Provenance: The Library of the Grolier Club and Florence E. Duvall”. There is no mention of Florence E. Duvall in the Grolier Club catalogue entry.
• There are no links. There should be some to nos. 55 and 68.
• “(1856–1947)” should be “(1865–1947)”
• “Goudy Old Style” should be “Goudy Oldstyle”
• “Florence E. Duval” should be “Florence E. Duvall”

“Building on the success of the original [Goudy Oldstyle] roman and italic styles, ATF issued numerous variations on the them (not all of which were drawn by Goudy himself)…” p. 166

Morris Fuller Benton (1872–1948) was responsible for all of the additional members of the Goudy family with the exception of Goudy Cursive (1916). (See American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century by Mac McGrew [New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Books, 1993; 2nd rev. ed.], p. 161.)

Further Reading p. 320
A Half-century of Type Design and Typography by Frederic W. Goudy (New York: The Typophiles, 1946). 2 vols.

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
p. 297—Goudy Old Style [sic] / Frederic W. Goudy 1915 / ATF / See no. 58

Illustration
Single page (p. 8 “Type Families”). (The exhibition showed a spread of the character set of Goudy Oldstyle.) The color of the initial T has been changed from orange to a deep red and a cream background tint has been added.


pp. 168–169
59*. Jan Tschichold (1902–1974)
Die neue Typographie
Berlin: Bildungsverband [sic] der Deutsche Buchdrucker [sic], 1928. Octavo.
[There is no provenance given. The online exhibition says the lender is Jerry Kelly.]

• Set in a light weight of Aurora Grotesk, a sans serif similar to several others such as Edel Grotesk and thus with a murky history. Possibly issued originally in 1912 by the Johannes Wagner foundry.

• Text is c.448 words
• Full title: Die neue Typographie: Ein Handbuch für Zeitgemäss Schaffende
• The online exhibition: “Lender: Jerry Kelly”.
• There is a link to no. 70. There should also be links to nos. 21, 63, 67, 75, 92, 93, and 100.
• “Bildungsverband der Deutsche Buchdrucker” should be “Verlag des Bildungsverbandes der Deutschen Buchdrucker”
• “Penguin” should be “Penguin Books“.

“He [Jan Tschichold] exclaims near the beginning of Die neue Typographie ‘…The new age has created an entirely new visual world, and has guided us to the primary elements of human expression: geometric shapes and pure exact form.’ One assume that the members of the Bauhaus could not have agreed more.” p. 168

Of course the members of the Bauhaus would have agreed. The title of Tschichold’s book was taken from the short essay “Die neue Typographie” written by László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946) that appeared in the catalogue Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar 1919–1923. Moholy-Nagy and Herbert Bayer (1900–1985) were both cited as leading exponents of the “new typography” in Tschichold’s essay “Elementare Typographie” in 1925 and again in this book. Kelly’s text focuses too much on the Bauhaus. He says nothing about Tschichold’s career prior to the publication of Die neue Typographie and, more importantly, nothing about his views on typography other than that he propounded the use of sans serif types. Die neue Typographie was a manifesto, a manual, and a promotional vehicle. As one of the most important books in the exhibition, its contents—whether or not Kelly agrees with them or not—deserve a more detailed discussion. Instead, Kelly stresses Tschichold’s later volte-face, failing to see the continuity between the two phases of his typographic career.

For a more detailed, nuanced, and informative understanding of Die neue Typographie see Robin Kinross’ introduction to the English translation—The New Typography: A Handbook for Modern Designers by Jan Tschichold; translated by Ruari McLean (Berkeley, California and London: University of California Press, 1995)—and read Tschichold’s own words.

Further Reading p. 320
Active Literature: Jan Tschichold and New Typography by Christopher Burke (London: Hyphen Press, 2007).
• Suggested readings: “Elementare Typographie” special issue of Typographische Mitteilungen (October 1925); Typographische Gestaltung by Jan Tschichold (Basel: Benno Schwabe & Co., 1935); and Typography Papers 4 (2000) which contains “The Dispute between Max Bill and Tschichold of 1946, with a Later Contribution by Paul Renner” by Christopher Burke and Robin Kinross, “On Typography” by Max Bill, “Belief and Reality” by Jan Tschichold, and “On Modern Typography” by Paul Renner.

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
p. 294—Akzidenz Grotesk / Berthold 1898 / Berthold / See no. 59

Illustration
Double-page title. The entire image appears to have been faked: the black of the verso is too solid and the white of the recto is now creamier.
• The title page is important, but one or two additional images from the interior showing Tschichold’s concept of the “new typography” (e.g. p. 135 with the Geschäftsbrief diagram) are essential to a proper appreciation of this groundbreaking book.

Comparison of “unschön” (unattractive) and “schön” (pleasant) arrangements of illustrations within text pages. The former is the older method. From Die neue Typographie by Jan Tschichod (Berlin: Verlag des Bildungsverbandes der Deutschen Buchdrucker, 1928), pp. 214–215. Also note the improved placement of running heads, folios, and captions.


pp. 170–171
60. Robert Proctor (188–1903)
The Printing of Greek in the Fifteenth Century
London: The Bibliographical Society, 1900. Folio.
Provenance: The Grolier Club.

• Set in what looks like the original Old Style type of Miller & Richard.

• Text is c.294 words
• There is a link to no. 14. There should also be a link to no. 5.
• Proctor’s Otter Greek was cut by Edward Prince, who also cut types for the Kelmscott and Doves presses. (See “Robert Proctor’s ‘Otter’ Greek Type” by J.H. Bowman in Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society vol. 9, no. 4 [1989], pp. 381–398.)

Further Reading p. 320
Greek Printing Types, 1465–1927 by Victor Scholderer (London: King’s Library of the British Museum, 1927).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to Proctor’s book. However, the Greek Font Society’s GFS Complutum Greek (2008) is based on the Complutensian Polyglot Bible (1514–1517), the same source used for Proctor’s Otter Greek typeface.

Illustration
Single page (p. 134 showing a Greek by Miscomini, Florence 1489).
• This image appears condensed (distorted laterally) compared to the same page in the Internet Archive copy online (see the link above).


pp. 172–173
61*. W. Turner Berry (1888–1978), A.F. Johnson (1884–1972)
Catalogue of Specimens of Printing Types by English and Scottish Printers and Founders
London: Oxford University Press & Humphrey Milford, 1935. Quarto.
Provenance: Annotated by Daniel Berkeley Updike, later the curator [Jerry Kelly].

• Set in Bembo. The title page (illustrated on p. 173) contains a mix of Caslon, Centaur and Bembo.

• Text is c.476 words
• The online exhibition: “Provenance: Annotated by Daniel Berkeley Updike, printer and type historian, later Jerry Kelly”.
• There are links to nos. 6, 7, 14, 16, and 30. More importantly, there should be links to nos. 19, 23, 30A, 31, 32, 41, 65, and 78; and there could be ones as well to nos. 54, 55, 66, 66A, and 97.
• “Bell” is John Bell (see my notes for no. 32).
• “Figgins” is Vincent Figgins (1766–1844), a London typefounder who was important in the development of Fat Faces, Egyptians, and Grotesques in the early 19th century.
• “Steele” is Isaac Steele, who became a partner in the Bristol foundry Fry & Steele in 1794. Since there seems to be nothing known about Steele, Kelly’s mention of him (rather than Joseph Fry or Isaac Moore) is peculiar.
• “Wilson” is Alexander Wilson (1714–1784), Glasgow typefounder (among other activities).
• “Miller” is William Miller (fl.1799–1832) of the Edinburgh foundry Miller & Richard (see no. 38), which was established in 1809 as Typefounders William Miller & Co.
• “Thorne” is Robert Thorne (1754–1820), the original owner of the Fann Street Foundry.
• “Thorowgood” is William Thorowgood (d. 1877), successor to Thorne at the Fann Street Foundry.
• “Caslon 1816” refers not to William Caslon, but to William Caslon IV (sometimes called William Caslon Junior) (1780–1869) and the date commonly ascribed to his 2-Lines English Egyptian, the first known sans serif typeface.

“By the eighteenth century, however, British typefounders were producing many of the best types available.” p. 172

Kelly must mean “by the nineteenth century” or “in the eighteenth century” since Caslon did not begin his career until the 1720s and Baskerville did not print his first book until 1757. Certainly, in the 18th century British typefounders were easily rivaled by the French, among whom were Philippe Grandjean, Louis-René Luce (c.1695?–1774), Pierre Simon Fournier le jeune, Pierre-Louis Vafflard (or Wafflard) (fl.c.1760–c.1790), and Firmin Didot. (See Campionari di caratteri nella tipografia del settecento by Jeanne Veyrin-Forrer (Milano: Edizioni il Polifilo, 1963.) Stanley Morison, in his introduction to the Catalogue of Specimens of Printing Types by English and Scottish Printers and Founders remarks of Baskerville that “the extent of his innovations in letter-founding was insignificant compared with Grandjean, the younger Fournier, and the Didots.” (p. xli)

“…while Baskerville and Bell (in collaboration with their punchcutters Robert Martin and Richard Austin) were true innovators.” p. 172

Baskerville’s punchcutter was John Handy; his pressman was Robert Martin whose brother William cut punches for William Bulmer (see no. 31).

“The 1495 Aldine roman [cut by Griffo]… is referred to over thirty times in [Stanley] Morison’s introduction….” p. 172

Kelly could have added that Catalogue of Specimens of Printing Types by English and Scottish Printers and Founders, 1665–1830 is set in Bembo, Monotype’s 1929 revival of Griffo’s 1495 roman, whose production was overseen by Morison. Morison’s introduction constantly invokes Aldus’ name because he is making three concurrent arguments: 1. on a scholarly level he is claiming that the “Aldus-Garamond-Granjon-Van Dyck-Moxon-Caslon” letter is all one style of roman type (with only minor differences) that is distinct from both the roman of Jenson that preceded it and the modern types that began with the romain du roi and culminated in the designs of Firmin Didot on the Continent and Richard Austin (Scotch Roman) in Edinburgh; 2. on a polemical level he is deliberately downplaying the importance of Jenson as part of a broader argument against the importance of William Morris and the private press movement, and simultaneously rebutting those in the trade who—presumably out of nationalist pride—overly praised Caslon and Baskerville; and 3. on a commercial level he is promoting Bembo and, with a lesser degree of enthusiasm, Monotype Fournier, Perpetua, and Times New Roman.

Further Reading p. 320
Catalogue of I: Typefounders’ Specimens; II: Books Printed in Founts of Historic Importance; III: Works on Typefounding, Printing & Bibliography [by Graham Pollard] (London: Birrell & Garnett, Ltd., 1928).
• Suggested reading: English & Scottish Printing Types, II: 1501–35 · 1508–41; III: 1535–58 · 1552–58 collected and annotated by Frank Isaac (Oxford: Bibliographical Society at the Oxford University Press, 1930); and British type specimens before 1831: a hand-list by James Mosley (Oxford: Oxford Bibliographical Society, Bodleian Library in association with the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, University of Reading, 1984).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to this catalogue. Foundry Wilson by Freda Sack and David Quay (2009), based on the types of Alexander Wilson would have been a good choice, though.

Illustration
Title page with the lower left corner overlapped by the ex libris of The Merrymount Press overlapping. The title page has been doctored. The Oxford University Press device has been colored red. The original is entirely in black and white. (The exhibition showed pp. 34–35 with the title page of a type specimen by Thomas Cottrell.)
• The online exhibition has “unstuck” the ex libris from the title page which has its proper color. However, the title page image also has a “loading” notice!
• There are too many title pages in the catalogue. Many of them, like this one, fail to give a proper representation of the contents of the books being discussed. The Berry and Turner catalogue has some excellent plates (including fold-outs) that are far more informative than the title which reflects Morison’s essay rather than the English and Scottish types that are its raison d’être. Some suggestions are: Plate 4 “Title-page to Cottrell’s [c.1766] Specimen”; Plate 10 “Wilson’s Title-page to the 1772 Specimen”; Plate 12 “Bell & Stephenson’s Title-page to the 1789 Specimen” [especially valuable since the illustrations for no. 32 are incorrect]; Plate 13 “Figgins’s 2-line English Roman”; or Plate 19 “An Unidentified Specimen [c.1650]”. The latter is the oldest known type specimen from England or Scotland.

“61 W. Turner Berry, A.F. Johnson (1884–1972)” from One Hundred Books Famous in Typography (2021), p. 173. The Merrymount Press ex libris at the lower left is evidence of the book’s provenance.

Title page of Catalogue of Specimens of Printing Types by English and Scottish Printers and Founders 165–1830 compiled by W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson (London: Oxford University Press, Humphrey Milford, 1935). Note the publisher’s mark in black.


pp. 174–175
62*. Paul Renner (1878–1956)
Futura: The Type of Today …and Tomorrow
Frankfurt am Main: Bauer Typefoundry, n.d. c.1930. Octavo.
[There is no provenance given. The online exhibition says the lender is Jerry Kelly.]

• Set in Futura.

• Text is c.336 words
• There is a link to no. 59. There could also be a link to no. 77.
•The proper bibliographical information for this specimen is: Futura: The Type of Today and Tomorrow (New York: The Bauer Type Foundry, Inc, [1930]). There is no ellipsis in the title. The specimen is a portfolio of items. It was printed in Germany.
• “Futura: The Type of Today and Tomorrow” is the English equivalent of “Futura: Die Schrift unserer Zeit”, the phrase used to market the typeface in Germany.
• “the master school for printers in Munich” was the Meisterschule für Deutschlands Buchdrucker.

“At the suggestion of the publishers Siegfried Buchenau and Jakob Hegner he [Paul Renner] drew a sans serif typeface. Renner’s design was different from other sans serifs in existence at the time, such as Akzidenz Grotesk and News Gothic….” p. 174

Kelly has ignored Erbar-Grotesk by Jakob Erbar (1878–1935) which was the first sans serif to break away from the grotesque model. It was released in 1926 by Ludwig & Mayer, though there are claims that it was begun as early as 1922.

“Renner’s original drawings were made in 1924, but there followed an intensive period of experimentation and refinement at the typefoundry…. Special credit should be given to Georg Hartmann, the owner of the Bauer typefoundry at the time, who accepted Renner’s design for production after Buchenau and Hegner let the projected typeface lapse, and Heinrich Jost, a student of Renner’s, who was art director at Bauer, diligently modifying Renner’s design of the font to make it what we see today.” p. 174

This rough summary of Futura’s lengthy and awkward gestation ignores the widespread claim that the capitals were initially copied from fascia lettering done by architect Ferdinand Kramer. This claim was recently debunked by Joep Pohlen.( See “The Myth of Kramer-Grotesk” by Joep Pohlen online at Typography.Guru 23 May 2017.)

In order to sell Futura in the United States the Bauersche Giesserei opened a New York office in 1927. Three years later it issued the English-language Futura: The Type of Today and Tomorrow (New York: The Bauer Type Foundry Inc., [1930]) “with a Preface by the type’s designer, Paul Renner”. This is the specimen apparently described and illustrated here—except that there is no ellipsis in the title. What is strange is that the specimen in the exhibition itself was a completely different one. The latter was Futura Die Grossen Grade: Nach Grösser in Holz and was published by the Bauersche Gießerei in Frankfurt am Main [c.1930]. The title roughly translates as “Futura: The Large Sizes: with the Biggest in Wood”. Furthermore, neither of the two pages ostensibly from the specimen shown in the online version of the exhibition matches the single page on p. 175 in the catalogue unless they are merged.

The page reproduced by Kelly with the beginning of Renner’s essay is from an apparently rare specimen. I have located two other copies that match it, the second one owned by Cooper Hewitt (Smithsonian Design Museum) and one at McGill University. It is a portfolio with eight items in it: an eight-page sewn specimen of three weights of Futura, Renner’s essay as a single folded sheet, and six single-sheet samples of members of the Futura family in use. It is unclear whether Kelly owns the complete portfoio or only the insert with the Renner essay.

The text block of the Renner essay in the Kelly, Cooper Hewitt no. 2, and McGill University copies is 39 lines long while the same text (with one word changed and several adjustments to its punctuation) is 49 lines long in all of the other copies I have examined (Cooper Hewitt copy no. 1, Newberry Library, Princeton University, Southern Methodist University, Houghton Library, Catholic University, and the University of Southern California). (The Grolier Club’s copy is missing the Renner essay and thus its purported date of c.1930 is presumably wrong.) There are other small discrepancies between the two versions. I plan to write about them as part of a post on these early American specimens of Futura  in which I will include a transcription of Renner’s essay.

Further Reading p. 320
Futura: The Typeface edited by Petra Eisele, Annette Ludwig and Isabel Naegele (London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd., 2017).
• Suggested reading: Futura: Une Gloire Typographique by Alexandre Dumas de Rauly and Michel Wlassikoff (Paris: Norma, 2011)

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
p. 299—Futura / Paul Renner 1927 / Bauer / See no. 62

Illustration
Page headed “Futura: The Type Today and Tomorrow” with text in English. (The exhibition displayed the cover of Futura Die Grossen Grade: Nach Grösser in Holz, which was labeled “Futura (Type Specimen)”.) The text here is part of the preface attributed to Paul Renner, the designer of Futura. A tonal flat been added to the background.
• As indicated above, the online exhibition has two images, neither of which match the specimen displayed in the exhibition or the illustration in the catalogue.

“62 Paul Renner (1878–1956)” from One Hundred Books Famous in Typography (2021), p. 175.

First page of essay “Futura: The Type of Today and Tomorrow” by Paul Renner. From Futura: The Type of Today and Tomorrow (New York: The Bauer Type Foundry Inc., c.1930), p. [2]. Image courtesy of Newberry Library.


pp. 176–177
63. W.A. Dwiggins (1880–1956)
Layout in Advertising
New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928 (revised edition 1948). Octavo.
[There is no provenance given. The online exhibition says the lender is Jerry Kelly.]

• The 1928 edition of Layout in Advertising was set in Monotype Caslon 337. The  1948 edition appears to have been electrotyped from it.

• Text is c.420 words
• Despite being billed as a revised edition, the 1948 version of Layout in Advertising is virtually the same as the 1928 original. The jacket, binding, and title page are all new. Additional text was added to p. x; and pp. 22–24 and 76–77 were revised. The revision to pp. 22–24 included new typeface comparison charts—and the deletion of a key part of the text, Dwiggins’ comments on gothic [sans serif] typefaces that led to the design of Metro: “Gothic—the newspaper standby—in its various manifestations has little to commend it except simplicity; it is not overly legible, it has no grace,. Gothic capitals are indispensable, but there are no good Gothic capitals. The typefounders will do a service to advertising if they will provide a Gothic of good design.”
• There is a link to no. 58. There should also be links to nos. 59 and 67.
• “the Frank Holme School” should either be “the Frank Holme School of Illustration” or “The School of Illustration”.
• “Linotype Corporation of Brooklyn, New York” should be “Mergenthaler Linotype Company of Brooklyn, New York”

“The title of this manual, Layout in Advertising, clearly states what it’s about. It includes a section specifically concerned with type, yet how much one might learn about the subject is debatable….” p. 176

Kelly is absolutely right in that there is not very much one can learn about typography from Layout in Advertising—though he then proceeds to quote from it at great length. Dwiggins devotes only eight pages to typefaces (and none to typography) which are part of a section titled “Apparatus” that also includes paper, lettering, ornament, and pictures. This is a book that has no place in an exhibition entitled “One Hundred Books Famous in Typography”. If Kelly’s goal was to include Dwiggins in the exhibition, he would have been better served by the type specimens for Electra and Caledonia, both of which have texts discussing their gestation, or by WAD to RR: A Letter about Designing Type (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard College Library, Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, 1940), in which Dwiggins explains his approach to designing type for Mergenthaler Linotype to his friend Rudolph Ruzicka.

“Ironically, Dwiggins himself would later move away from advertising in favor of book design work, notably, beginning in 1926, for Alfred A. Knopf, and starting in 1935 for the Limited Editions Club.* He was also an important type designer (creating Electra, Caledonia, Metro and other typefaces for the Linotype Corporation of Brooklyn, New York), as well as being a puppeteer, and an articulate polemicist.” p. 176

Dwiggins’ move away from advertising to book design was not ironic. He had begun the shift in 1923, but did not fully succeed in focusing on book design until the early 1930s. He wrote Layout in Advertising as a farewell to the profession. The book—”*Bruce Kennett, W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design. San Francisco: Letterform Archive, 2017, p. 183.”—that Kelly cites explains this gradual transition. Dwiggins designed Tartarin of Tarascon by Alphonse Daudet, his first book for the Limited Editions Club, in 1929, though it was not published until the following year. Finally, Dwiggins was a marionette designer not a puppeteer, a distinction that both he and his acolyte Dorothy Abbe fiercely emphasized.

Further Reading p. 320
W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design by Bruce Kennett (San Francisco: Letterform Archive, 2017).
• Suggested reading: WAD to RR: A Letter about Designing Type (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard College Library, Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, 1940).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to Layout in Advertising, even though a comment in the book led directly to the design of Metro (1929) and the start of Dwiggins’ career as a type designer. Kelly could have shown Metro Nova by Toshi Omagari (2013) or a digital version of Electra (1935).

Illustration
Book jacket of the 1948 edition.
• This illustration is useless. Not only is it from the second edition, but the design is handlettered. An interior page showing Dwiggins’ sense of typography is what is needed—or his charts of typefaces (pp. 22–23).

Typeface chart (Normal Weight Book Faces) from Layout in Advertising by W.A. Dwiggins (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928), p. 22.

Typeface charts (Strong Display, Innovations, and Very Black) from Layout in Advertising by W.A. Dwiggins (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928), p. 23.


pp. 178–179
64. A.M. Cassandre (1901–1968)
Bifur
Paris: Deberny & Peignot, 1928 [sic]. Octavo.
Provenance: Aaron Burns; the curator [Jerry Kelly].

• Set in Bifur and Caractères Maigres.

• Text is c.156 words
• The online exhibition: “Provenance: From the library of Aaron Burns, typographer and founder of ITC; later Jerry Kelly”.
• There are two versions of the Bifur specimen designed by Cassandre, one in French and one in English. The French version is dated 30 March 1929. That is the version illustrated on p. 179 and linked above. The English version at Letterform Archive is also online at the Internet Archive.
• There are no links. There should be ones to nos. 42 and 62.
• “Rich Kleger” should be “Rich Kegler”
• “P22 typefoundry” should be “P22 Type Foundry”

“Without a doubt a display letter, it [Bifur] was cast as capitals only.” p. 178

The specimen made this clear with its most famous page headed in French “Mais / ! / Danger” followed by “ne le rends pas illisible”; and in English “But / ! / Use only for headings, not text: else, / Danger”.

Bifur is often cited as the quintessential Art Deco typeface, yet Kelly’s brief text makes no mention of its Art Deco context nor the possible influence on it of the modernist stencil lettering experiments by Josef Albers and others in the 1920s.

Here is what André Jammes has to say of Bifur: “C’est un caractère décoratif, mais aussi très dépouillé, crée avec la même volonté de rigueur et de logique que celle qui inspirait les théoriciens de Dessau, dont Cassandre n’ignorant rien.” He credits the engraving of the punches to Parmentier. (See Collection de Spécimens de Caractères 1517–2004 by edited by André and Isabelle Jammes [Paris: Librairie Paul Jammes and Éditions des Cendres, 2006], p. 304.)

Astonishingly, Kelly completely ignores the Bifur specimen itself. The specimen is one of the most innovative ever designed. The cover is a silvery metallic paper with an off-centered die-cut hole on the front through which the word “WORDS” (in the English version) is visible in black against a bright orange background. Upon opening the specimen the text is revealed as “WORDS only, are important. Alone, a letter is nothing.” The text is sparse throughout the specimen with only a few words sprinkled across each spread (e.g. “EMPLOY words / which SPARKLE”). Two spreads have colored transparent glassine-like sheets—a bright yellow one and a deep blue one—inserted in them which partially disguise the telegraphic messages. Cassandre’s specimen design, more than his typeface design, makes this booklet worthy of being on Kelly’s list.

Further Reading p. 320
A.M. Cassandre: affiches, arts graphiques, théâter by Henri Mouron (Geneva: Skira, 1985).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to Bifur even though Kelly mentions the version made by P22. But none is needed since the illustration on p. 179 shows the basic design.

Illustration
Single page [p. 4] from the French language version. (The exhibition showed the full spread.)


pp. 180–181
65*. A[lfred] F[orbes] Johnson (1884–1972)
Type Designs: Their History and Development
London: Grafton & Co., 1934. Octavo.
[There is no provenance given. The online exhibition lists the lender as Jerry Kelly.]

• Set in Monotype Garamond roman and italic

• Text is c.156 words
• There are no links. There should be ones to nos. 40, 41, 48, 48A, 49, 53, 61, 78, 79, and 97.
• “The Encyclopedia of Typefaces” should be “The Encyclopedia of Type Faces”. The first edition, edited by W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson, was published in 1953. A second edition (revised and enlarged) was published in 1958 with W. Pincus Jaspert (b. 1926) as a third editor. A third edition (“further restyled & enlarged”) was published in 1962, and a fourth edition (“entirely restyled & greatly enlarged”) in 1970. There has been no change in content in subsequent editions.

Further Reading p. 320
Selected Essays on Books and Printing by A.F. Johnson (Amsterdam: Van Gendt & Co., 1970).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to Type Designs and no special reason for there to be one.

Illustration
Single page (p. 93 with Fig. 29 showing sample letters comparing Caslon, Baskerville, and “Modern-face”). (The exhibition showed pp. 82–83 which included Fig. 26 Fleischman’s roman and italic [actually Text Romyn and Text Cursyf from the 1768 Enschedé specimen—see no. 28].)


pp. 182–183
66. Stanley Morison (introduction), John Dreyfus (editor)
Type Specimen Facsimiles 1–15
London: Bowes & Bowes and Putnams, 1963. Folio.
Provenance: Inscribed by the editor John Dreyfus to the curator [Jerry Kelly].

• The label on the cover is set in Perpetua.

• Text is c.308 words
• Not part of the Grolier Club exhibition
• There is a link to no. 4, but there should also be links to nos. 66A, 78, 79, and 97.

“It was the discovery of a unique broadside specimen in Germany (Konrad Bauer, Frankfurt, 1592; reproduced in Type Specimen Facsimiles 1–15) that led to the unraveling of the authentic Garamond types, after decades of misattributing Jannon’s typefaces to Garamond.” p. 182

A facsimile of the 1592 Egenolff-Berner specimen (as a fold-out sheet) was included in Catalogue of Specimens of Printing Types by English and Scottish Printers and Founders (between pp. xxxii and xxxiii.) (See no. 61.)

Kelly mentions Morison’s introductory essay “On the Classification of Typographical Variations”, but none of the specimens, other than the 1592 Egenolff-Berner specimen (no. 2), in his text. The fifteen specimens are: 1 Anonymous Netherlands Sheet c. 1565; 2 Konrad Berner, Frankfurt 1592; 3 Johann Berner, Frankfurt 1622; 4 Johann Philipp Fievet, Frankfurt 1664; 5 Johann Daniel Fievet, Frankfurt 1682; 6 Bartholomeus Voskens, Hamburg c.1660; 7 Reinhard Voskens, Frankfurt c. 1670; 8 & 9 Two Sheets Issued by the Widow of Dirck Voskens, Amsterdam 1695; 10 & 11 Two Sheets Issued by the Widow of J. Adamsz and Abraham Ente, Amsterdam c. 1700; 12 Widow of Daniel Elsevier, Amsterdam 1681; 13 Jan Roman, Amsterdam c. 1762; 14 Fragments of Type-Specimens associated with Johann Adolf Schmidt c. 1695; and 15 Johannes Rolu, Amsterdam c. 1700.

Further Reading p. 320
Catalogue of I: Typefounders’ Specimens; II: Books Printed in Founts of Historic Importance; III: Works on Typefounding, Printing & Bibliography [by Graham Pollard] (London: Birrell & Garnett, Ltd., 1928).
• Suggested reading: Collection de Spécimens de Caractères 1517–2004 edited by Isabelle Jammes and André Jammes (Paris: Librairie Paul Jammes / Éditions des Cendres, 2006); and Type Studies: The Norstedt Collection of Matrices in the Typefoundry of the Royal Printing Office: A History and Catalogue by Christian Axel-Nilsson (Stockholm: Norstedts tryckeri, 1983).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to Type Specimen Facsimiles, though a showing of a digital version of one of Christoffel van Dijck’s types such as DTL Elzevir by Gerard Daniëls (1993) would have been appropriate since the roman is modeled after the Augustijn Romeyn shown in the 1681 specimen published by Daniël Elsevier’s widow (specimen no. 12).

Illustration
Cover. (This book was not included in the exhibition.)
• The cover is of no value. One of the specimens (e.g. no. 2 Konrad Berner 1592 broadside) should have been illustrated instead.


pp. 184–185
66A. Hendrik D.L. Vervliet (1923–2020), Harry Carter (1901–1982)
Type Specimen Facsimiles II (16–18)
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972. Folio.
[There is no provenance given. The book is not included in the online exhibition, but the label in the actual exhibition indicated the lender was Jerry Kelly.]

• The jacket is set in Fry’s Baskerville, a 20th century cut of a typeface by Isaac Moore (fl.1765–1775).

• Text is c.91 words
• Full title: Type Specimen Facsimiles II (16–18): Reproductions of Christopher Plantin’s ‘Index Sive Specimen Characterum’ 1567 & Folio Specimen of ca.1585; Together with the Le Be-Moretus Specimen, c.1599
• Not part of the online exhibition
• There is a link to no. 17. There should also be links to nos. 15, 16, and 97.
• “Van den Keere” is Hendrik van den Keere (c. 1540/1542–1580), a Flemish punchcutter.

Kelly does not itemize the specimens in the portfolio. They are: Christopher Plantin’s Index Sive Specimen Characterum 1567 & Folio Specimen of c. 1585; and the Le Be-Moretus Specimen, c. 1599.

Further Reading p. 320
Christopher Plantin by Colin Clair (London: Cassell & Company Ltd., 1960).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
• There is no digital typeface linked to Type Specimen Facsimiles II, though a good option would be Quarto by Sara Soskolne (2014), based on Van den Keere’s Two-Line Double Pica roman.

Illustration
Cover. (The exhibition showed a page from Plantin’s Index Sive Specimen Characterum—see no. 17.)


pp. 186–187
67. Eric Gill (1882–1940)
An Essay on Typography
London: Sheed & Ward, 1931 (printed by Hague & Gill). Octavo.
Provenance: Inscribed by Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt to Joseph Blumenthal; the curator [Jerry Kelly].

• Set in foundry Joanna designed by Eric Gill.

• Text is c.252 words
• The link above is to the second edition of 1936 which is not identical.
• The online exhibition: “Provenance: Inscribed by bibliographer Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt to the printer Joseph Blumenthal of Spiral Press fame, later Jerry Kelly”.
• There is a link to nos. 19 and 26, but there should be links also to nos. 21, 59, 75, 92, 93, and 100.
• René Hague (1905–1981).

“His [Eric Gill’s] Essay on Typography is a manual of the art, in the vein of earlier books like Moxon (no. 19) and Fournier (no. 26). p. 186

Although An Essay on Typography deserves to be linked with Moxon and Fournier, it is significantly different. It is more polemical than instructive and in that respect it is closer to Tschichold’s Die neue Typographie and to Geoffrey Dowding’s Finer Points in the Spacing & Arrangement of Type. In fact, Dowding took several of his ideas from Gill, such as the use of ampersands to replace “and” in text.

Further Reading p. 320
Eric Gill: A Lover’s Quest for Art and God by Fiona MacCarthy (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1989).
• Suggested reading: The Letter Forms and Type Designs of Eric Gill by Robert Harling (Kent [England]; Westerham Press, 1976).

Fifty Typefaces Famous in Typography
p. 298—Gill Sans / Eric Gill 1927 / Monotype / See no. 67
• Joanna (1931) or its revised digital incarnation Joanna Nova by Ben Jones (2015) would have been a more apposite choice to accompany An Essay on Typography.

Illustration
A double-page spread (pp. 64–65). (The exhibition showed pp. 62–63.) Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt’s signature is reproduced on p. 186.
• The pages chosen by Kelly show inscriptional alphabets by Gill. There are other pages that are more relevant to Gill’s ideas: e.g. pp. 42–43, 49–50; 52–53; or 114 (which has his use of ampersands, pilcrows, and smaller sizes of type as various means of achieving close wordspacing; as well as his pioneering flush left/rag right setting).

An Essay on Typography by Eric Gill (London: Sheed & Ward, 1931), p. 114. Note the use of pilcrows, smaller type, ampersands, and contractions to save space.