Paul Shaw Letter Design

13 October 2013

Ten Simple Rules for Researching Letterforms

Last fall James Edgar of Camberwell College of Arts in London asked me to contribute something to Whatever Next: a discourse on typography, a small book the college was publishing. The request was last minute so I recycled an essay, “Ten Simple Rules for Researching Letterforms,” I had written originally for Gunnlaugur SE Briem.
I am reprinting my essay yet again for all of those unaware of The Briem Report 2012 or Whatever Next. This is also an opportunity to rectify a …
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4 October 2013

Legacy of Letters T-Shirt

Legacy of Letters T-shirt with logo in Spencerian script. Handlettered by Tony Di Spigna; digitized by C.J. Dunn; screenprinted by Ink Brigade (Portland, Oregon) who miraculously held the hairlines. White ink on asphalt gray. 100% cotton. American Apparel. Sizes XL, L, M and S. Contact Paul Shaw with your size request after your purchase. This shirt is out-of-print.

3 July 2013

A Chronology of the Lettering Arts from 1850 to 2000: A Work in Progress

by Paul Shaw. Alphabet vol. 25, no. 3 (Spring 2000) and Scripsit vol. 24, nos. 1 and 2 (Summer 2000). 64 pages; 8.25 × 11 inches; 13 images (B&W); paperback; designed by Paul Shaw. Out of Print.
A dense guide to the history of lettering since the middle of the 19th century. Includes lists of books, magazines, articles, exhibitions, conferences, films, and events. There is also a separate list of key figures. An essential source for anyone wishing to research modern lettering, calligraphy and stonecarving.

3 July 2013

A Chronology of the Lettering Arts from 1850 to 2000: A Work in Progress: The Pictorial Sequel

by Paul Shaw. Alphabet vol. 26, no. 2 (2001) and Calligraph vol. 23, no. 2 (2001). 64 pages; 8.25 × 11 inches; 230 images. (B&W); paperback with full color cover; designed by Paul Shaw.
A visual companion to A Chronology of the Lettering Arts from 1850 to 2000 with corrections and additional information.

3 July 2013

Blackletter: Type and National Identity

New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1998. Edited by Peter Bain and Paul Shaw with essays by Lawrence Mirsky, Philipp Th. Bertheau, Christopher Burke, Philipp Luidl, Yvonne Schwemer-Scheddin and Hans Peter Willberg. 72 pages; 107 images (B&W); set in Stempel Garamond; paperback; designed by Stephanie Reyer and Mindy Lang.
The monograph accompanying the ground-breaking 1998 exhibition of the same name at Cooper Union has been a must-have item for anyone interested in blackletter type.

3 July 2013

Blackletter: Type and National Identity – Special double issue of Printing History

Special double issue of Printing History 38/39 vol. XIX, no. 2 and vol. XX, no. 1 (1999). Edited by Peter Bain and Paul Shaw. 80 pages; 172 images (B&W); set in Schneidler Medieval; paperback; designed by Peter Bain and Paul Shaw.
This scarce catalogue of the 1998 Cooper Union exhibition is as essential, if not more so, than the monograph. OUT OF PRINT November 2020.

3 July 2013

The Calligraphic Tradition in Blackletter Type

by Paul Shaw. Scripsit vol. 22, nos. 1 & 2 (Summer 1999). 48 pages; 156 images (B&W); set in Trajanus; paperback; designed by Paul Shaw and Alessandro Colizzi.
This is the final part of the blackletter trilogy. Out-of-print; a PDF is available.

3 July 2013

Sans Serif and Other Experimental Inscribed Lettering of the Early Renaissance

by Nicolete Gray. Motif 5 (1960) expanded reprint edited by Paul Shaw. Seattle and New York: Legacy of Letters, 1997. 14 pp. plus a center gatefold and cover gatefold; 11 images (B&W); paperback 6 × 9 inches; set in Sabon; designed by Paul Shaw.
An updated reprint of Nicolete Gray’s seminal article on 15th c. sans serif lettering published as a promotional vehicle for The Florentine Set of typefaces.

3 July 2013

Alphabet vol. 26, no. 1 (Fall 2000) [F.H.E. Schneidler Der Wassermann issue]

Essay by Georgiana Greenwood. Edited by Paul Shaw. 32 pages; 32 illustrations (B&W); set in Schneidler Medieval; designed by Paul Shaw.
This issue of Alphabet is a sampler of work from F.H.E. Schneidler’s rare four-volume portfolio Der Wassermann.

3 July 2012

Alphabet vol. 26, no. 3 (Spring 2001) [the Gerrit Noordzij issue]

by Gerrit Noordzij, edited by Paul Shaw. 32 pages; 51 illustrations (B&W). Also contains an interview with Hermann Zapf by Katharina Pieper; set in Sudum and Tret; designed by Gerrit Noordzij.
This issue of Alphabet is a collection of essays by famed Dutch typography teacher Gerrit Noordzij that are unavailable elsewhere.

3 July 2013

Werner Schneider Schriftkunstler

by Paul Shaw. 32 pages; 8.5 × 7 inches; 35 images (6 in color); set in Schneider Antiqua; paperback; designed by Michael Clark.
The only monograph on German calligrapher and type designer Werner Schneider. Out-of-print; a PDF edition with additional images in color is available.

3 July 2013

Roman Capitals: Five Itineraries in Rome

by Silvano Fassina, trans. Judyth Smith and Paul Shaw. Seattle and New York Legacy of Letters, 1997 containing “Scritturea e comunicazione visiva” by Giovanni Lussu, “Memoria delle lettere romane” by James Mosley, and “Maiuscole romane. Cinque itinerari per le strade di Roma” by Silvano Fassina. First edition of a special double issue of Calligrafia (1995) edited by Kathy Frate, Giovanni Lussu, Anna Ronchi, Daniele Turchi and Mauro Zennaro. Edition of 1000 copies, 72 pages; 2 maps; 65 photographs (B&W) 9.5 × 6.25 …
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3 July 2013

Letters from New York 2 (2006)

“Looking for Letters in New York: A Tale of Surprise and Dismay” by Paul Shaw. 80 pages; 5.25 × 8.5 inches; 83 images (B&W); paperback; designed by Christopher Calderhead.
This single essay issue of Letters from New York is the only available publication on the environmental lettering of the metropolis. A number of the signs are no longer extant.

4 July 2013

Helvetica and the New York City Subway System: The MIT Press

by Paul Shaw. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The MIT Press, 2011.
This is the acclaimed account of the tortuous path that led to Helvetica becoming the typeface of the New York City subway system.

4 July 2013

Helvetica and the New York City Subway System Poster

Poster for 2011 talk to Tulsa Art Directors Club on Helvetica and the New York City Subway System; 2 colors; heavy paper; designed by Paul Shaw.

10 July 2013

Helvetica Subway T-Shirt

Fans of Helvetica and the New York City Subway System can now proclaim their allegiance with a specially-designed t-shirt. The black t-shirt, designed by Abby Goldstein and Paul Shaw, mimics the binding of the Blue Pencil edition of the book with the word Subway in white on both sides. On one side it is set in AG Oldface (standing in for Standard) and on the other in Helvetica. The incredibly soft 100% cotton shirts are manufactured by …
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