The History of 19th- & 20th-Century Typography & Printing

Course Description

By the end of the eighteenth century, letterpress printing had been in existence for 350 years, and in that time, it had changed technologically hardly at all. Baskerville, Bodoni, and Didot were printing from essentially the same hand-cast type on the same handmade paper with the same wooden presses that Gutenberg, Jenson, and Aldus had used. By the end of the twentieth century, letterpress had been eclipsed by the printing technologies that continue to change the way we deal with, and even think about, the printed word. The 200-year interval considered in this course, which, in no coincidence, also saw the rise of the Enlightenment and industrialism, is characterized by a series of dynamic tensions between continuity and change. The scale and influence of printing changed profoundly, yet letterpress, dominant throughout the period, remained identifiably the same technology. Letterpress, in its capabilities and its limitations, shaped not only how typography developed but to a great degree what it is today.

T-60 will examine the inextricable bond between the technological and cultural contexts of typography and printing: the evolution of ideas about the graphic expression of thought and language; the revolution of ideas about printing as an art; and the very concept, as we now understand it, of graphic design. While acknowledging the monumental books of the period and the great personalities who created them, the course will attempt to see both the books and the people not in splendid isolation but as responses, and sometimes challenges, to prevailing conditions and expectations.

Students in this course will learn how to describe and identify typefaces and the periods they represent. Lectures, discussions, and demonstrations will give an overview of the evolution of typography and printing, and highlight case studies that are particularly illuminating. The course will emphasize the examination of original materials from the RBS collections and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. In addition, students will engage in hands-on typesetting and printing lab sessions using RBS’s type and Vandercook proofing press.

Faculty

John Kristensen

Though trained as an architectural historian, John Kristensen found his calling in printing and has for more than 30 years been the proprietor of Boston’s Firefly Press, a commercial letterpress printing …

Katherine M. Ruffin

Katherine M. Ruffin is the Director of the Book Studies Program and a Lecturer in Art at Wellesley College, where her teaching practice focuses on incorporating letterpress printing, bookbinding, and …

Amelia Hugill-Fontanel

Amelia Hugill-Fontanel is the Associate Curator in the Cary Graphic Arts Collection at Rochester Institute of Technology. She specializes in teaching with primary sources about 19th- through 21st-century graphic design, …

Advance Reading List

Preliminary Advices

These readings will introduce you to the technological, cultural, and aesthetic aspects of printed letterforms and will serve as important background for our course. They may also help you prepare to do a five-minute presentation on a typeface of your choice in the latter part of our RBS week. Many of these readings are available in multiple editions. We have intentionally not specified editions so that you will have maximum flexibility in locating these readings (don’t forget inter-library loan!). We will also share a list of videos for you in advance of our class. These videos will complement the readings below and help you prepare to engage with our class demonstrations and discussions.

Required Reading

• Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. Any edition. For historical synopsis and an introduction to the aesthetics of typography, please read Chapter 1 (“The Grand Design”), Chapter 2 (“Rhythm and Proportion”), Chapter 3 (“Harmony and Counterpoint”), and Chapter 7 (“Historical Interlude”).
• Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with Type. Any edition. Available as an e-book. Please read “Letter” and “Text.”
• Seddon, Tony. The Evolution of Type: A Graphic Guide to 100 Landmark Typefaces. 

Recommended Reading

• Howard, Nicole. The Book: The Life Story of a Technology. Any edition. Please read Chapter 5 (“Maturity: Books in the Age of Automation 1800-1900”) and Chapter 6 (“The Future of Books: Twentieth Century and Beyond”).
• Updike, Daniel Berkeley. Printing Types: Their History, Forms, and Use. Any edition. Please read Volume I, Chapters 1–3 (“The Invention of Printing: The Cutting and Casting of Types in Relation to Their Design,” “A Font of Type and Its Case: The Typographical Point: Point-Set and Lining Types,” and “The Latin Alphabet and Its Development Up to the Invention of Printing”) and Volume 2, Chapter 24, Part 7 (“Conclusion”).

Optional Browsing

• Griffin, Dori. Type Specimens: A Visual History of Typesetting and Printing.
• Lawson, Alexander. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: David R. Godine, 2010.
• Morison, Stanley. A Tally of Types. Any edition.
• Kelly, Rob Roy. American Wood Type: 1828–1900. Saratoga, CA: Liber Apertus Press, 2010.
• Shields, David. The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection: A History and Catalog.

Course Evaluations

Course History