A good profile of typefounder Michael Bixler. Love that foundry and composing room!
Michael and Winifred Bixler Press and Letterfoundry from Mary M Jones on Vimeo.
Thanks to Michael Russem for the link.
— Paul Razzell
“While Western letterpress printing has made a recent revival, what was once considered one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China is no longer a sustainable practice in its country of origin.” An interesting article about the end of moveable metal type from idsgn: A Design Blog.
— Paul Razzell
Ooooooo. This is going to be neat.
Paul Dijstelberge, a bibliographer and an Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam, and his colleague John, Editor of the I Love Typography blog, are producing a unique history of typography: they are taking high-resolution images of 50,000 printed works from the 15th to the 19th centuries, tagging them, and posting them online with commentary. Their project is called Grand Gargantua and will occupy them over the next few years. All images will show samples of printing from the University of Amsterdam library. Click here to see a sample of the images they’ve taken so far.
It will be interesting to see the extent to which Paul and John annotate each specimen. For now, it’s fun to run your fingers through the flashing jewels of this collection.
— Paul Razzell
Andrew Johnston, grandson of famed typographer,
designer, and calligrapher Edward Johnston (most famous for designing the type used to sign the London Underground), has rediscovered some of his grandfather’s accounts of a journey he made by train across North America in 1898.
The public is welcome to attend Andrew’s talk about this journey, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 7:00 pm, Columbia College, 916 S.Wabash (Room 150), Chicago. There is no charge. Following the presentation, a reception and tour of the Center for Book and Paper Arts will be held at 1104 S. Wabash. Contact specialevents@chicagocallig.com with any questions.
–Bob McCamant
For anyone who has admired stencilled lettering in public spaces in France or who admires James Mosley’s erudite examinations of such things, read his latest post at Typefoundry.
“As books make the leap from cellulose and ink to electronic pages, some editors worry that too much is being lost in translation. Typography, layout, illustrations and carefully thought-out covers are all being reduced to a uniform, black-on-gray template that looks the same whether you’re reading Pride and Prejudice, Twilight or the Federalist Papers.”
E-books may not be ugly forever, but for now the dull-grey template is going to have to do. Read the full Wired article here. Interesting to see book design and typography make the news.
—Paul Razzell