To preach and at the same time to practice lies unfortunately beyond the power of most human beings, and so Daniel Updike’s new volume has at least one distinction: it not only formulates the laws of good printing, but it embodies the standards which have made Updike one of the greatest modern printers and have placed his Merrymount Press among the most important printing-houses of the world. His three essays are entitled “On the Planning of Printing,” “Style in the Use of Type,” and “The Seven Champions of Typography.” The book will be a source of instruction and delight to everyone who occasionally needs the services of a printer, and especially to book-collectors as a compendium of typographical taste.

In his comprehensive study of types from the earliest times to the twentieth century, Daniel Berkeley Updike, founder of the famous Merrymount Press of Boston, traces the sequence of development in typography and discusses the relative importance of each period and the lesson that it holds for the modern printer. The 367 illustrations reproduce carefully selected pages from rare and beautiful books. The text constitutes a running commentary on the historical and artistic significance of these specimens, which exemplify the best work of printers and type founders from Gutenberg to Bruce Rogers. The closing chapters on choice of type and on the industrial conditions of the past and their relationship to the problem of printers today are particularly valuable.

Printing Types is the master work of a master printer, collecting in two volumes a wealth of material once scattered through widely diverse sources. Everyone interested in the graphic arts will welcome the reissue of this classic on the art of printing.

In his comprehensive study of types from the earliest times to the twentieth century, Updike, founder of the famous Merrymount Press of Boston, traces the sequence of development in typography and discusses the relative importance of each period and the lesson that it holds for the modern printer. The 367 illustrations reproduce carefully selected pages from rare and beautiful books. The text constitutes a running commentary on the historical and artistic significance of these specimens, which exemplify the best work of printers and type founders from Gutenberg to Bruce Rogers. The closing chapters on choice of type and on the industrial conditions of the past and their relationship to the problem of printers today are particularly valuable.

Printing Types is the master work of a master printer, collecting in two volumes a wealth of material once scattered through widely diverse sources. Everyone interested in the graphic arts will welcome the reissue of this classic on the art of printing.