The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection
A History and Catalog
Published on 12. July 2022
Book
Hardback
408 pages
978-1-4773-2368-7 (ISBN)
Description
2023 50 Books 50 Covers Award, The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
2024 Honorable Mention, Design Awards, Graphis
2024 Finalist, Typography Competition, Communication Arts Magazine
A beautifully illustrated exploration of the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection.
The Rob Roy Kelly Wood Type Collection is a comprehensive collection of wood type manufactured and used for printing in nineteenth-century America. Comprising nearly 150 typefaces of various sizes and styles, it was amassed by noted design educator and historian Rob Roy Kelly starting in 1957 and is now held by the University of Texas. Although Kelly himself published a 1969 book on wood type and nineteenth-century typographic history, there has been little written about the creation of the wood type forms, the collection, or Kelly.
In this book, David Shields rigorously updates and expands upon Kelly's historical information about the types, clarifying the collection's exact composition and providing a better understanding of the stylistic development of wood type forms during the nineteenth century. Using rich materials from the period, Shields provides a stunning visual context that complements the textual history of each typeface. He also highlights the non-typographic material in the collection-such as borders, rules, ornaments, and image cuts-that have not been previously examined. Featuring over 300 color illustrations, this written history and catalog is bound to spark renewed interest in the collection and its broader typographic period.
2024 Honorable Mention, Design Awards, Graphis
2024 Finalist, Typography Competition, Communication Arts Magazine
A beautifully illustrated exploration of the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection.
The Rob Roy Kelly Wood Type Collection is a comprehensive collection of wood type manufactured and used for printing in nineteenth-century America. Comprising nearly 150 typefaces of various sizes and styles, it was amassed by noted design educator and historian Rob Roy Kelly starting in 1957 and is now held by the University of Texas. Although Kelly himself published a 1969 book on wood type and nineteenth-century typographic history, there has been little written about the creation of the wood type forms, the collection, or Kelly.
In this book, David Shields rigorously updates and expands upon Kelly's historical information about the types, clarifying the collection's exact composition and providing a better understanding of the stylistic development of wood type forms during the nineteenth century. Using rich materials from the period, Shields provides a stunning visual context that complements the textual history of each typeface. He also highlights the non-typographic material in the collection-such as borders, rules, ornaments, and image cuts-that have not been previously examined. Featuring over 300 color illustrations, this written history and catalog is bound to spark renewed interest in the collection and its broader typographic period.
Reviews / Votes
406 pages of the most comprehensive biography and scholarship on Kelly and his collection...[Shields'] exhaustive attention to detailing the types and their makers and the eloquent reverence he displays for Rob Roy Kelly is far more valuable than the curiously inexpensive cover price...An impeccable volume. (PRINT) Wood type is bold and beautiful, and a hefty book like this one...seems fitting. It offers a wealth of information about the specimens in the Rob Roy American Wood Type Collection at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin, Texas, their classifications and the manufacturers who created them while also telling a finely detailed history of Kelly's journey acquiring wood type, designing and printing specimens, and researching their histories...Beautifully printed, the book comes with a brilliant green-ribbon bookmark and vibrant red/orange endsheets in a pattern drawn from the collection's borders and rules. (Communication Arts) [The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection] is not just a must-have for any wood-type aficionados. The book sets a new typographic history bar. (Fontstand News) [The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection] is a sumptuous book, beautifully printed on heavy paper, fully illustrated with types from the collection. This is an important work and should be considered, along with Kelly's original book, an indispensable resource for anyone interested in graphic design and typography...Highly recommended. (CHOICE) The Rob Roy American Wood Type Collection is an extraordinary book that will be enjoyed by historians, design educators, and typophiles. The book is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in the collection but perhaps unable to make a trip to visit it. It is a beautiful book and not only is it a testament to the significance of Rob Roy Kelly's work and to the significance of this important yet almost forgotten element of American history. As Shields reminds us, 'The history of America...was printed in wood type.' (Technical Communication)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Illustrations
315 color photos
Dimensions
Height: 298 mm
Width: 235 mm
Thickness: 53 mm
Weight
2667 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4773-2368-7 (9781477323687)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
David Shields is an associate professor in and was the chair of the Department of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, former head of the design program at the University of Texas at Austin and, from 2004 to 2012, the custodian for the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection, which is housed at the Harry Ransom Center.
Content
Acknowledgments
I An Introduction
II
A. Rob Roy Kelly-"Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist"
B. Stephen Saxe, "Reflections on American Wood Type 1828-1900"
C. Tracy Honn, untitled essay
D. The Collection after Kelly
III
A. A Time Line of American Manufacturers
B. Production Methods
C. Planing Patterns
D. Manufacturer's Stamps in Collection
E. Hand-List of Known American Wood Type Specimen Catalogs to 1901
IV
A. Classification System
B. Style Descriptions
V
A. Type Specimens
-?001-123 specimen pages
B. Type Specimens from Other Collections and Three Unaccounted Faces
-?001-016 specimen pages
C. Borders, Ornaments, and Cuts
-?001-019 specimen pages
D. Adobe Wood Type, Adobe Originals, 1988-1994
Appendix A. Hand List of 1964 Folio
Appendix B. Bibliography of Kelly Texts and Collected Papers
Appendix C. Bibliography of Kelly's Donations, with Current Locations
Appendix D. Rob Roy Kelly's Teaching Appointments
Notes
Reference Bibliography
Index
I An Introduction
II
A. Rob Roy Kelly-"Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist"
B. Stephen Saxe, "Reflections on American Wood Type 1828-1900"
C. Tracy Honn, untitled essay
D. The Collection after Kelly
III
A. A Time Line of American Manufacturers
B. Production Methods
C. Planing Patterns
D. Manufacturer's Stamps in Collection
E. Hand-List of Known American Wood Type Specimen Catalogs to 1901
IV
A. Classification System
B. Style Descriptions
V
A. Type Specimens
-?001-123 specimen pages
B. Type Specimens from Other Collections and Three Unaccounted Faces
-?001-016 specimen pages
C. Borders, Ornaments, and Cuts
-?001-019 specimen pages
D. Adobe Wood Type, Adobe Originals, 1988-1994
Appendix A. Hand List of 1964 Folio
Appendix B. Bibliography of Kelly Texts and Collected Papers
Appendix C. Bibliography of Kelly's Donations, with Current Locations
Appendix D. Rob Roy Kelly's Teaching Appointments
Notes
Reference Bibliography
Index