Typographers on Type (Hardcover)

by Ruari McLean (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This anthology of key writing about the typographic arts has been assembled by Ruari McLean, himself a designer and a leading writer on graphic design subjects. Brought together for the first time in a single volume, the writing is drawn from an international array of books and periodicals, and have been selected for their expression of something "important, interesting and/or amusing about typography."

These essays provide a view of the development of modern typography and cover a diverse range of subjects, reflecting concerns of the time and timeless considerations: from William Morris's "Aims in Founding the Kelmscott Press" (1895) to Roderick Stinehour's "Computers and Printing" (1984). Arranged in chronological order, the essays chart the course of the profound technological advances that have taken place in the printing industry this century from a unique perspective: that of the typographer witnessing and experiencing these changes.

Each piece is prefaced by a short introduction to the typographer's life and work, and many are illustrated with examples of the typography.

A fascinating and often amusing collection, Typographers on Type will prove invaluable to those with an interest in the principles and development of typography in this century.
30 illustrations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (May 17, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393702014
• ISBN-13: 978-0393702019
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,730,354 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book on type should be designed better than this., July 14, 2001

By	G. Stanton - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The four stars are for the content, which is generally excellent and has not been published in other books. Everyone will have their favorite chapters, but the interview with Dwiggins is particularly illuminating and amusing.

My problem with this book is its astonishingly poor design. The layout of the pages works well, even though there are few illustrations. The paper is a shiny, bright white that positively hurts my eyes. If the book featured photography, I could understand. But it's all black type on snow -- nasty. Not to mention that the stock itself stinks. It has a heavy chemical odor, and consequently is difficult to hold at a comfortable reading distance.

If Rauri McLean did not want to use ligatures, he should have choosen a type that did not require their use. The crashing fs disturb me. Also, the beginnings of chapters are not flagged well. They begin with a drop cap followed by a short introduction in italics. This would probably work if the drop caps were larger, or in a different color. As it is, it's difficult to pick out a subject by simply thumbing through the book.

I understand that McLean was trained by the great typographer Jan Tschichold, whom I admire enormously. However, I don't see much of his influence in this glaring white, smelly book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughts of Great Typographers, January 17, 1997

By A Customer

This is a great compilation of the thoughts of numerous renowned typographers and type designers. It is not light reading, but consequently provides great insight. McLean has done a great job with all aspects of the book, including its layout

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I didn't know type could be so dull., March 31, 2002

By	Raymond Larabie "font jerk" (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I honestly had trouble staying awake reading this one. I'm very interested in type design and typography but the pace of this book made me feel like a kid with attention deficit disorder watching C-Span. There's a lot of interviews so definitely get your money's worth. Illustrations are bit sparse for a book on type and the whole book comes across as überconservative.