Printing Types: Their History, Forms, and Use; A Study in Survivals

In his comprehensive study of types from the earliest times to the twentieth century, Updike, founder of the famous Merrymount Press of Boston, traces the sequence of development in typography and discusses the relative importance of each period and the lesson that it holds for the modern printer. The 367 illustrations reproduce carefully selected pages from rare and beautiful books. The text constitutes a running commentary on the historical and artistic significance of these specimens, which exemplify the best work of printers and type founders from Gutenberg to Bruce Rogers. The closing chapters on choice of type and on the industrial conditions of the past and their relationship to the problem of printers today are particularly valuable. Printing Types is the master work of a master printer, collecting in two volumes a wealth of material once scattered through widely diverse sources. Everyone interested in the graphic arts will welcome the reissue of this classic on the art of printing.