Modern Pioneers in Typography and Design: Anna Simons, Edward Johnston, Rudolf von Larisch, F. H. Ehmcke
In the early 1900s, good typefaces were scarce, books poorly crafted and tasteless, type design a dead end, formal handwriting disconnected from origins of broad-edged pens and brushes, tools that shaped Roman letterforms for 2000 years. Then four modern pioneers of design and typography created new modern typefaces, fresh interest in letterforms, beginnings of modernism. This book traces the far-reaching influence of these artists in Europe and the United States. This book provides discoveries and insights to the historical achievements in graphic design and typography.
Reviews
- “This book celebrates the work of four great teachers of calligraphy and lettering in the first half of the twentieth century and their influence on generations of students. Their pioneering studies of historical manuscript hands and the tools used to write stimulated a revival of calligraphy, ornamental lettering, and design of printing types and books. The next best thing to having taken a class from Edward Johnston, Anna Simons, Rudolf von Larisch, F. H. Ehmcke would be to read this inspiring book and revel in its beautiful illustrations.”
- MATTHEW CARTER, CBE, MacArthur Fellow, type designer and ‘the most widely read person in the world’ considering the amount of text set in his fonts Verdana, Georgia, Tahoma, Bell Centennial, Galliard . . .
- “Inge Druckrey is the only person who could have written this important book. There are many places where I was so caught up in her comments and conclusions that I forgot I was supposed to be commenting! The illustrations are magnificent. This is a major contribution to the lettering arts.”
- KRIS HOLMES, calligrapher, type designer, teacher, and President of Bigelow & Holmes, a typeface design studio. With Charles Bigelow, Kris Holmes designed more than 100 digital typefaces – Lucida Grande (for Apple OS X), Wingdings, Monaco, Geneva, TeX User Group . . .
- “A really well researched and interesting publication. The examples you show in the book are extraordinarily beautiful and extremely well chosen. The book is also beautifully written. Congratulations on expressing so clearly the biographical data and the journey of these four masters, their connections and circumstances. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially students of typography, graphic design, and all visual communications, it was a total pleasure to read. Bravo!”
- STEFF GEISSBÜHLER, Geissbühler Design, geissbuhler.com, adjunct professor at the graphic design department at Savannah College of Art & Design
- “I have long loved the work of transitional figures like the ones you focus on. I look forward to your observations and thoughts on these important but under-acknowledged designers.”
- LORRAINE WILD, Green Dragon Office, Consulting Creative Director Los Angeles County Museum of Art and faculty member of the Graphic Design program at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
