Detail of a sketch for an APHA logo by Hebert H. Johnson.

“In the course of every successful organization’s formation and progress, the building of it benefits from the hard work of many unseen, dedicated hands, and the able counsel of many quiet voices.”

—APHA citation for J. Ben and Elizabeth Lieberman, January 28, 1978

Anniversary celebrations are fitting occasions to contemplate an organization’s humble beginnings. Artifacts in the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection give a glimpse into the 1970s activities of some of APHA’s founders: J. Ben Leiberman (1914–1984), Elizabeth Lieberman (1914–2001), Herbert H. Johnson (1936–2021), and E.H. Pat Taylor.  

Some years ago, Professor Herb Johnson visited the Cary Collection with an oversized packet of papers. Herb was my former professor at RIT and he knew I was following his footsteps while serving on the APHA board. He was a founding APHA member in 1974 when he worked in New York City as a publishing production manager and typographer.

Inside the folder was a stack of letterpress-printed citations and corresponding process work that Herb had designed. At the 1978 annual meeting, APHA’s first chairman and president, Dr. J. Ben Lieberman was issued a commendation as his term was expiring on the board. His wife, Elizabeth, was also given a printed token of gratitude for her support of the Association.

Herb’s papers show the complete production process for a letterpress publication during the late 1970s. It includes typed copy and his copyfitting notes that he scribbled as he was thinking about the job. He chose Goudy types from a few type specimens, which were appropriate as the Liebermans ran the famous Kelmscott-Goudy Albion iron handpress. There are two sets of hand-drawn mockups, including plans for an early APHA logo. Pat Taylor’s Out of Sorts Letter Foundery supplied the type. Herb told me that he and Pat printed the heartfelt citations on Pat’s Vandercook in Larchmont, New York. Pat served as an APHA officer in various roles through 1990. Herb was treasurer through 1982.

As I look at this collection now, I profoundly miss Herb, my teacher who passed in 2021. I can only aspire to know the intricacies of typography as he did—especially anything about Bruce Rogers, his scholarly passion. But I am also truly grateful for the amazing talent of the people who contributed to APHA’s early vision. Now, as the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary, we can count hundreds of board members in our history and thousands of past and present members. What a collection of people—my people—for we are the ones who “encourage the study of printing history.” We do that in our events, lectures, libraries, teaching, writing, research, fairs, and meet-ups. Most importantly we encourage this study at the press and in print. Here’s to another 50 years!

The final letterpress-printed layouts