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

Course Description

“I feel much better equipped to analyze and date types. I also learned a lot about the physical labor and tools employed in letterpress printing.” — 2017 student Course Week: 10–14 July 2023 Format: online only Fee: $800 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-60v 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 them—books and people both—not in splendid isolation but as responses, and sometimes challenges, to prevailing conditions and expectations. Presented virtually, the course will include demonstrations, special collections items, and discussions which survey themes of the evolution of typography and printing and highlight case studies that are particularly illuminating. Students will be introduced to methods for describing and identifying typefaces and the periods they represent. At the end of the RBS week, each student will present a 5-minute lecture on a typeface of their choice to the class. In their personal statements, applicants should describe their interest in and experience with typography and printing. Applicants are asked to state their goals for the course and explain how this course might fit into their scholarly and/or creative practice.

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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 5-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 as part of our workbook for the 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, please read Chapter 1 (“The Grand Design”), Chapter 2 (“Rhythm and Proportion”), Chapter 3 (“Harmony and Counterpoint”), and Chapter 7 (“Historical Interlude”). Note: This reading is meant to introduce you to the aesthetics of typography.

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”).

Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with Type. Any edition. Available as an e-book. Please read “Letter” and “Text.”

 

Recommended Reading

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

Kelly, Rob Roy. American Wood Type: 1828–1900. Saratoga, CA: Liber Apertus Press, 2010.

Lawson, Alexander. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: David R. Godine, 2010.

McGrew, Mac. American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 1993.

Morison, Stanley. A Tally of Types. Any edition.

Pierpont Morgan Library. Art of the Printed Book, 1455–1955; Masterpieces of Typography Through Five Centuries from the Collections of the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York: Morgan Library, 1973. With an essay by Joseph Blumenthal.

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Course Evaluations

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Course History