Graphic Design

Know your type. This is a visual history of fonts and graphic styles: 1628-1938. This book offers a connoisseur's overview of typeface design, exploring the most elegant fonts from the history of publishing. Taken from a distinguished Dutch collection, this exuberant two-volume edition traces the evolution of the printed letter via exquisitely designed catalogs, showing type specimens in roman, italic, bold, semi-bold, narrow, and broad fonts. Borders, ornaments, initial letters and decorations are also included, along with lithographic examples, letters by signwriters, inscription carvers, and calligraphers. Featuring works by type designers including: William Caslon, Fritz Helmuth Ehmcke, Peter Behrens, Rudolf Koch, Eric Gill, Jan van Krimpen, Paul Renner, Jan Tschichold, A. M. Cassandre, Aldo Novarese, and Adrian Frutiger. In order to accommodate a vast amount of material, we have divided this text into two volumes. The first volume covers pre-20th century typeface specimens, with texts by editor Cees de Jong and collector Jan Tholenaar. The second volume covers the period from 1900 to the mid-20th century, and contains a historical outline by Alston W. Purvis.