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Type Archived: A visual journey through typographic history

The definitive account of the legendary Type Archive provides a stunning visual tour of traditional typefounding, tracing the origins of typography and the printed word

276backers £29,553.60of £30,000 pledged
99% funded

Overview

Founded in London in 1992, the Type Archive brought together some eight million artefacts that tell the story of typography and printing. Highlights of the collection, which sadly closed in 2023, included the ancient materials of typefounders Stephenson Blake, the hot-metal technology of The Monotype Corporation and the innovative wood-letter produced by the factory of Robert DeLittle. Now, for the first time, a new book by long-serving Type Archive volunteer Richard Ardagh sheds light on these extraordinary materials, celebrating their significance and importance to both the history of art and engineering.

For over five hundred years the printed word was the primary conveyor of information and revolutionised the way we communicate. Type Archived presents the typographic treasures that made this possible, from the engraved punches (master letters) and matrices (dies for casting), to the letterpress type and printing presses that put ink to paper. Inside the book, these items have been arranged into chapters by material: iron, steel, copper, brass, bronze, lead, wood, and paper.

As Type Archive chairman Nicolas Barker OBE has written, these artefacts ‘are akin to industrial jewels, letterforms demonstrating the role that supreme mechanical engineering and type design have played, over six centuries, in the development of human communication throughout the Western World.’ Alongside specially commissioned photography, Type Archived features a detailed summary of the trials and achievements of the Archive, an essay on the techniques of typefounding, a glossary of terms and detailed image captions describing the objects, their designers and uses.

A range of esteemed practitioners affiliated with the Type Archive also contribute to the wider impact of the organisation’s mission, including Berthold Wolpe, Quentin Blake, Toshi Omagari and MinaLima, the designers who worked on the Harry Potter film franchise.

Specification

300 x 240mm
176 pages
Hardcover

3/4-height dust jacket

Welcome to the progress area for Type Archived. Check back soon for development updates.

Estimated delivery
Winter 2025
How it works

If our funding goal is met before GMT this project will commence development. All pledges will be immediately refunded in full if the funding goal is not met.

Estimated delivery

Winter 2025

Shipping

Tracked worldwide

The Book

Type Archived traces the origins of typography through the physical tools, objects and machinery that made the printed word possible. Full of rich photography, the book is a visual journey through the punches, matrices, presses, type and paper which tell the story of the UK’s preeminent typefounding industry. 
Following an introduction and essay on the techniques of typefounding, nine chapters are organised by material: cast iron (safes), steel (punches), copper (matrices, patterns), bronze (matrices), brass (matrices, letters for sandcast types), lead, tin and antimony (metal type), wood (wood letter, patterns, storage), miscellany (typefounding machinery, printing presses), paper (artwork, printed specimens, documents).

The Type Archive was an extraordinary collection of artefacts, vital to our understanding of communication technology.

John L. Walters, editor of Eye magazine

Special Edition

This special edition includes the book housed within a hand-numbered slipcase. These limited-run cases are wrapped in ‘running sheets’ – paper used to warm up the press. Often containing misprints these sheets make each slipcase different and unique.
Specially cast for this edition, the book is also accompanied by an authentic piece of letterpress printing type featuring the Type Archive’s iconic elephant logo.

A visually stunning book and an opportunity to grasp the enormity of the Type Archive’s accomplishment in saving much of England’s typographic heritage.

Paul Shaw, designer and design historian

Collector’s Set

The collector’s set includes the book with the special edition slipcase and elephant print type, as well as a companion book, Engineering the Word. Letterpress-printed on beautiful paper from specially cast metal type and casebound by hand, this companion book demonstrates what the tools and processes shown in Type Archived can achieve. The book contains essays on the history, achievements and wider impact of the Type Archive and the notable figures involved. Each text is set in a different typeface and act as a series of deluxe specimens of hot-metal printing types.
Engineering the Word comes with a special dust jacket printed by letterpress maestro Alan Kitching.
300 x 240mm
32 pages
Hardback
Limited edition

This book is a beautiful showcase of the Type Archive, shrine to the greatest era of British typography.

Toshi Omagari, type designer

Letterpress Experience

Join Type Archived author Richard Ardagh on an exclusive tour of London letterpress workshops with the chance to see historical typefounding materials first-hand at St Bride Library – a day full of the sounds, smells and rich sights of the technology that enabled every book, newspaper and poster to be printed for nearly 500 years.

The Type Archive was the most romantic treasure trove I have ever visited. Any writer or reader owes a huge debt to its unmatched inky wonders.

Simon Garfield, author of Just My Type
Meet the author

Designer Richard Ardagh founded his eponymous studio in 2006, having graduated from Central St Martins in 2003. He is a partner of artisan letterpress print studio New North Press. As a longterm member of the Type Archive team, at the time of its closure in 2023, Ardagh helped to ‘ensure the institution’s legacy was preserved for posterity, through oral history, video, texts and an enormous catalogue of its unique artefacts’ (Eye magazine issue 106). Ardagh originally began assisting engineer Parminder Kumar Rajput in the Type Archive’s Matrix Department, eventually specialising in punchcutting.

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