Why you should join the Letterforms Study Group at the Tipoteca 2025—Reason no. 12: Richard Ardagh
For health reasons Lucio Passerini had to withdraw from serving as the printer for the Letterforms Study Group workshop at the Tipoteca. In his stead I have recruited Richard Ardagh, a partner in New North Press based in London. He was recommended to me by Sandro Berra, the manager of the Tipoteca, and after Richard and I had a very enjoyable Zoom chat I signed him up.
Richard Ardagh setting type at New North Press. Photograph by Jasper Fry.
Richard is part of a line of letterpress printers with a deep knowledge of working with a handpress that begins with Ian Mortimer of I.M. Imprimit. Mortimer is best known as the printer of the celebrated Ornamented Types: Twenty-three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée (1993) by James Mosley. The portfolio and its accompanying essay are landmarks in the history of type and Mortimer’s printing of the Pouchée blocks is among the outstanding printing accomplishments of the 20th century.
Oranges & Lemons broadside produced by Richard Ardagh and Graham Bignell at New North Press (2008).
Mortimer’s apprentice was Graham Bignell, who established New North Press in 1986. Richard, after studying graphic design at Central St. Martins, joined Bignell as an apprentice in 2008. Most of the collaborations he did with Bignell involved printing wood type on an Albion hand press. In 2012 Richard became Bignell’s partner in New North Press.
Reverting to Type broadside (2010) designed and printed by Richard Ardagh and Graham Bignell at New North Press. The broadside was printed to promote an exhibition of contemporary letterpress posters. Twenty printers from seven countries were represented.
Richard Ardagh preparing to print the A23D typeface. Photograph by Adrian Harrison.
In 2014 Richard commissioned A23D a prototype 3D-printed letterpress font which won an award for Typographic Excellence from the Type Directors Club of New York. Following that success, he became involved with the Type Archive in 2017. There he studied Monotype punchcutting and matrix-making. His timing was fortuitous as the Type Archive, established by Sue Shaw, shut down in 2022 following her death two years earlier*. Before its shutdown Richard was able to document much of its holdings including metal type from Stephenson Blake (and its many precursors) and—most importantly for Tipoteca 2025—the type collection of DeLittle of York, the leading wood type manufacturer in England. His documentation is now enshrined in Type Archived, a book chock-full of photographs due for release at the end of this year.
Richard Ardagh cutting a punch for a Monotype matrix. Photograph by Phil Sayer.
Richard also runs a graphic design practice known for its beautifully produced art publications of works by Albrecht Dürer, David Hockney and Robert Rauschenberg.
Given Richard’s wide range of experiences that go beyond his nearly two decades of work with wood type he promises to bring some fresh perspectives and insights to the script wood type project. I look forward to working with him.
*Richard Ardagh points out that the Type Archive has been disbanded completely. All of its contents have been removed from the site in London. The Monotype and Stephenson Blake Collections are being stored by the Science Museum at the National Collections Centre in Swindon, though they are not yet accessible to researchers. Much of the DeLittle Collection is now with York University and the hope is that it will all end up there eventually.
Letterforms Study Group at the Tipoteca 2025
The workshop will take place from June 8 to June 15, 2025. Participation in the workshop is limited to eight people. To secure a place a non-refundable deposit of $300 is required. Please make payment to paulshaw@nyc.rr.com via PayPal. If this is not possible, please contact Paul Shaw at paulshaw@nyc.rr.com for alternative methods of payment. A downloadable registration form is available below.
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