Tipoteca 2025—Two spaces available until May 15, 2025

Detail of showing of Great Primer Script from Specimen of Modern Printing Types, Cast at the Boston Type and Stereotype Foundry (1845). Photograph by Paul Shaw 2024. Image courtesy of Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

The Letterforms Study Group at the Tipoteca 2025: Script Wood Type Letterpress Workshop takes place from June 8 to 15. Paul Shaw and master printer Richard Ardagh of New North Press in London will be leading an investigation of an unusual wood type in the collection at the Tipoteca.

The Workshop Project
From the middle of the 18th century through the 19th century, typefounders constantly tried to create metal type that could faithfully emulate the Roundhand script created by English master penmen such as John Bland, Joseph Champion, and George Shelley—and be easy for compositors to set. This was not an easy task since a formal script not only has joins, but is also sloped as much as 30°. One solution was to cast type on an angled body. But that required special spaces. Another solution involved casting type with kerns (overhanging parts such as ascenders and descenders). But they were often subject to breaking. (See the Boston Type and Stereotype Foundry text above.)

Yet another approach was to make the slope of the letters more vertical and thus easier to cast on a square body. This is the path taken by Day & Collins for their Script No. 1 (see below). The drawback to this method is that the resulting script tends to be less elegant than a true Roundhand.

Scripts of any kind are relatively rare in wood type. Those following formal script models such as Roundhand are even rarer. The Tipoteca has one such script and it is cut on an angled body with matching spaces. This is the type that Paul, Richard and the workshop participants will be annotating, measuring, photographing, proofing, and printing for five days. The goal is to produce a type specimen booklet devoted to this unusual fount.

Participants
The workshop is limited eight people. Six places have been filled. The participants so far are three Americans, one Canadian, one Englishman, and one Italian living in England. Their experiences are diverse: a user experience designer, a type designer, two graphic designers, a recent graduate of the type design program at the University of Reading, and a letterpress printer. Two more people are needed to complete this group.

Cost
The regular fee is $3500 and the student fee is $3200. There is $2000 in scholarship money for anyone under the age of 40. That means that for someone who meets the age requirement the actual cost would be either $1500 or $900. (This excludes the cost of traveling to and from Italy.) If you are interested or want more information about the workshop email paulshaw@nyc.rr.com. Grazie.

Deadline
The deadline for joining this unique workshop at the Tipoteca is May 15, 2025.

Update
As of May 16, 2025 all eight spots in the Letterforms Study Group at the Tipoteca Script Wood type Workshop have been filled.

Detail of Script No. 1 from Specimens of Wood Letter (London: Day & Collins Limited, 1890s). Photograph by Paul Shaw 2023. Image courtesy of the Newberry Library. Note the pencil lines added by a user that indicate the breaks between the letters.