@providencepubliclibrary / providencepubliclibrary.tumblr.com
You’re invited to a panel discussion on November 12th with four of the most exciting letterpress printers in Providence. The Pied Type Panel starts at 5:30 PM in the library’s 3rd floor Seminar Room. We’ll have a chance to hear from, and ask questions of: Andre Lee Bassuet, Jacques Bidon, Lois Harada, and Dan Wood. The panel accompanies the “Pied Type: Letterpress Printing in Providence,…
Local artist and printer Lois Harada has been working on an exhibition on the history of printing in Providence, and you’re invited to the opening reception tomorrow, October 2, from 5-6:30pm. Lois has curated a fascinating batch of materials drawn from our Updike Collection on the History of Printing, as well as materials generously loaned by the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, Tomaquag…
Today we present our most recent acquisition, Printing for Business: A Manual of Printing Practice in Non-Technical Idiom, by Joseph Thorp and published in London by John Hogg in 1919. We show Thorp’s graphic description of the use of type in fine production works, from creating type faces from punch and matrix to hand composition, proofing the galley, locking the proofed type in a chase, and proofing the lockup on a flat bed proofing press..
Joseph Thorp was one of those distinctive individuals of the early 20th century who deftly bridged the divide between fine-press work and the commercial press. He was a major consultant for both the British retailer WH Smith and the fine printer/publisher Curwen Press, run at the time by Harold Curwen. Thorp was largely responsible for Curwen’s interwar commercial success, bringing efficient production values to Curwen’s Arts & Crafts sensibilities, and helping to develop the notable stable of fine artists that the press became known for.
The publisher of this book John Hogg was himself a commercial printer, a member of the publishing family founded by his father James Hogg, with offices on Paternoster Row, the traditional heart of the London publishing trade. The book is appropriately dedicated to the designer and typographer Emory Walker, the guiding spirit of contemporary typography and book design, who in 1888 lit the flame that sparked William Morris to initiate the contemporary fine-press movement. We end our post with the an untitled image that Thorp used to demonstrate the correct method for reducing images. The portrait is of course that of the father of fine-printing and the contemporary book-arts movement, William Morris himself.
Our fine colleagues at the Rhode Island School of Design/ RISD Library are hard at work planning this year’s (un)bound art book fair, which will take place on Saturday, April 7th, 2018. Save the date! This year’s book fair will take place in the RISD Library at 15 Westminster Street in Providence, RI. They’re currently accepting applications for exhibitors; registration is free, but tables fill…
Illustration of an illustrator. One of the plates by Charles Martin included in the folio "Soignez la gloire de votre firme...." with text by Jean Cocteau, circa 1920s. The work demonstrates the printing processes of Draeger. The folio using our Special Collections. #illustration #illustrator #artdeco #printing #rarebooks #rarebookslibrary (at Providence Public Library)
The opening reception of our new exhibition "Iterations: From Paris to Providence" is tonight from 5:30-7:30. Come learn more about pochoir printing and meet local artists inspired by samples in our PPL collections who contributed original work. This colorful sample is from "Inspirations" by Andre Durenceau, published in 1928. So gorgeously modern! #providence #rarebooks #pochoir #printing #stencils #exhibitions #design #repeatpattern (at Providence Public Library)
Here's an example of the layers of the pochoir printing process from Jean Saude's "Minure d'art au pochoir" in 1925. Similar to the process used by screenprinters, pochoir is done by hand with many stencils and layers of pigments to build a vivid image with crisp lines. #pochoir #printing #screenprinting #stencil #libraries (at Providence Public Library)
Do you know about pochoir? This illustration depicts one step of the stenciling process used to create stunning, complicated prints. The image is from "Minure d'art au pochoir" by Jean Saude, printed in Paris in 1925 - an instruction manual & sample book by the pochoir master. Our upcoming exhibition will showcase pochoir-printed plates from our special collections with artistic pieces inspired by the prints created by local artists. #pochoir #stencil #printing #screenprinting #exhibitions #libraries #rhodeisland #providence (at Providence Public Library)
An absolutely gorgeous typeface for #typetuesday. This is from a recent acquisition for our Updike Collection on the History of Printing - a 1935 type specimen book of the Madras Type Foundry in Madras, India. The majority of the specimens are English but several of these Tamil typeface specimens are included and are gorgeous. #providence #rarebooks #type #typography #fonts #printing #tamil #madras (at Providence Public Library)
It's #TypeTuesday! A fantastic Art Deco type design from a plate published in "Vignettes, lettres, chiffres, monogrammes, et rehauts modernes" by R. Pan zany in Paris, 1931. (Vignettes, letters, ciphers, monograms and modern shades). Part of our "Inhabited Alphabets" exhibition currently on display. #providence #type #typography #typespecimen #printing #artdeco #libraries (at Providence Public Library)
A type sample from Wilhelm Woellmer's Schriftgiesserei (font foundry), 1894. Pulled with a number of other amazing type specimens for a couple of RISD classes this morning. All from our Updike Collection on the History of Printing. #providence #rhodeisland #printing #typography #typespecimen #rarebooks #fonts (at Providence Public Library)
Winter morning light in the Updike Room in Special Collections at the Providence Public Library. The home of our amazing Updike Collection on the History of Print and our Isaac Adams Acorn Press. #providence #rhodeisland #libraries #shelfie #printing #printingpress #rarebooks #typography (at Providence Public Library)
Just a quick post with updates on some of the latest additions to Special Collections.
Thanks to donor David Nudelman, we’re now home to 356 Russian books on checkers. They join our already rich Haynes collection on checkers, and they should be of interest to anyone with an interest in Soviet book design. Here are two examples:
Another donor has given us a collection of toy printing/sign-making…
Several shots of an incredible book in our Nickerson Art & Architecture Collection. This elephant folio was etched and produced by Giovanni Battista Piranesi in 1775 and features this amazing 9 foot fold out of Trajan's Column. The close ups don't even do the level of detail justice. #libraries #rarebooks #providence #rhodeisland #etchings #illustrations #folios #18thcentury #printing #printinghistory (at Providence Public Library)
