Type Specimens introduces readers to the history of typography and printing through a chronological visual tour of the books, posters, and ephemera designed to sell fonts to printers, publishers, and eventually graphic designers. This richly illustrated book guides design educators, advanced design students, design practitioners, and type aficionados through four centuries of visual and trade history, equipping them to contextualize the aesthetics and production of type in a way that is practical, engaging, and relevant to their practice. Fully illustrated throughout with 200 color images of type specimens and related ephemera, the book illuminates the broader history of typography and printing, showing how letterforms and their technologies have evolved over time, inspiring and guiding designers of today.
Published in 1981: Authors of early English and American printers's manuals casually appropriated text from their predecessors. The practice, common enough not to require explanation or acknowledgement ( much less apology), was documented by Lawrence C. Wroth in 1935. Citing borrowed passages and devising a literary family tree, Wroth measured the original work of typographical writers from Moxon to De Vinne, with much more praise for them but with less for those in between. The author who, whose Typographia is reprinted here, was found to be the worst and boldest of offenders.
Originally published in 1938, Arnett's Bibliopegia was one of the first manuals of bookbinding to be published in Britain, and is both more significant than the Cowie manual before it, and illustrated. Bibliopegia appeared at a time of immense changes in the structure of the trade which were brought about by the introduction of new techniques and equipment, and this in turn was precipitated by the rapid evolution of industry and society in general. This book provides an interesting insight into early nineteenth-century English binding practices.
Graphic design is broadly interpreted in this annotated topical bibliography, covering both scholarly and applied literature focusing on graphics printed commercially for mass consumption in the United States from colonial times to the present. Materials extend from historical studies of design to textbooks and manuals of professional practice to theoretical works relating to design drawn from disciplines such as psychology and communication theory. The 1100 entries include reference sources, books, periodical articles, catalogs, films, and electronic data. Among the topics covered are general reference, design theory and history, education and career guides, professional practice, production and layout, typography, calligraphy, color reproduction, caricature, and photo illustrations as well as applications in advertising, publication design, corporate identity programs, information graphics, package design, posters and signs. Literature on computer technology as used in desktop publishing and computer graphics is also included. Appendixes provide annotated listings of almost 200 relevant annuals and serials as well as a directory of associations and organizations in the field. Access to titles, authors, and a finer breakdown of subjects is facilitated by thorough indexing. This work should be a valuable resource for professional designers, scholars and students of design, and librarians interested in collection development.