 |
 |
THE
ANNUAL OF BOOK-MAKING
New
York: The Colophon, 1938
The
Colophon: A Book Collectors’ Quarterly, published from 1930
until about 1950, was an important journal about all aspects of
the book, including authorship, design, printing, calligraphy, book-binding,
and illustration. It was lauded as “scrupulously correct in its
typography, lavish in its illustrations and comely in its physical
appearance … It is … the most valuable and diverting magazine for
collectors and others interested in the bibliographical side of
books.”
This
compilation volume, the first in a series of annuals, consists of
typographic autobiographies, each designed and printed by a different
notable designer and private press or fine commercial printer. Elmer
Adler of the Pynson Printers of New York oversaw and coordinated
the project.
|
This
is the first page of an article about Borzoi Books, published between 1927
and 1937 by Alfred A. Knopf in New York. Thirty three of these books were
completely designed by W.A. Dwiggins, who can be said to have established
the elegant “house style” of these books. The ornaments printed in black
on this page are shown at the right in the Linotype type specimen book.
MERGANTHALER
LINOTYOE FACES
Brooklyn,
New York: Mergenthaler Linotype Company,
c.
1940
Linotype
is the trade name for metal type which is cast line by line, instead
of letter by letter. This type is printed by letterpress, a relief
process in which the surface of the types is inked and printed on
paper fed through a printing press. At one time, Mergenthaler Linotype
Company and Lanston Monotype Company were the two major rivals producing
metal types in this country.
Both
companies also cast metal ornaments for decorating printed pages.
The ornaments identified here as “diaper” or overall patterns, could
also be used individually or arranged in other patterns. The ornament
in the lower lefthand corner appears in The Annual of Bookmaking.
|
 |
|
|
MONOTYPE
MACHINE
COMPOSITION FACES
Philadephia:
Lanston Monotype Machine Company, circa 1940
There
are a number of type specimen books in the Skaggs Collection. These
are indispensable tools for a designer to aid in the selection of
typestyles and ornaments to use in printing. This book includes
hundreds of typefaces available in Monotype, the trade name for
metal type cast as individual letters, which are then arranged,
inked, and printed letterpress, a relief printing process. Shown
here are typefaces designed by Oswald Cooper, a well-known advertising
and type designer. A book about Oz Cooper is on display here.
|
|
|
 |
Return
to Skaggs Exhibition home | Next Case: The
Typophiles
Terms
of Use | Return
to Top
Home
| Research | Library Services
| General Information | Smith
Libraries & Collections | Need Help?
 |
Smith
College Libraries, Northampton, MA 01063 | [413] 585-2902
TheLibraries'Webmaster@smith.edu
Copyright © 2003 Smith College Libraries. All Rights Reserved.
Last
Updated:
November 20, 2006
|
|
|
