Printing History is a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Printing History Association (APHA) since 1979. APHA is a membership organization that encourages the study of the history of printing and related arts and crafts, including calligraphy, typefounding, typography, papermaking, bookbinding, illustration, and publishing. The main objective of Printing History is to promote interdisciplinary studies in these fields, drawing together those concerned with the production of printed materials: scholars, librarians, printers, publishers, papermakers, bookbinders, booksellers, and others.  [Read more]

British stamp, ca. 1860, bio-imagery detail showing the numerals 77, x-ray revealing an addition numeral 1.

Via the contact form:

I have a British 1d Penny Red stamp from the 1860s in my collection with the numerals 77 in the left and right margins. Only nine stamps bearing the numerals 77 have been authenticated to date.  I am trying to determine how, or if, the original steel engraving plate was altered. I would like to know what would one be looking in terms of impression, chemical composition etc.

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Three issues of Swiftset Rotary Printers Journal from 1939, its inaugural year.

In the mid-twentieth century, manufacturers of tabletop printing presses for hobbyists, such as Kelsey in America and Adana in Great Britain, published substantive newsletters to educate and upsell their fledging printer/customers. Kelsey’s The Printer’s Helper ran for a remarkable 55 years from 1929 to 1984 while Adana’s Printcraft ran for a respectable eight years from 1948 to 1956. On par with these titles is the lesser-known Swiftset Rotary Printers’ Journal, the official publication for Swiftset Rotary Presses, which ran from 1939 through 1950.  [Read more]

Paul Shaw at the entrance to 956 Post St. (Deanna Alcorn)

For anyone interested in the history of printing and lettering and San Francisco, noted lettering artist and educator Paul Shaw’s August 14 tour of the Tenderloin District’s architecture and signage was a wonderful excursion to some of  the city’s graphic delights. [Read more]

I am pleased to announce that the board of the American Printing History Association has appointed both a new editor and a new designer for Printing History, the organization’s flagship publication. Brooke Palmieri is the new editor and Michael Russem of Kat Ran Press is the new designer. Brooke and Michael are hard at work on Printing History 21, which will be published in January 2017.  [Read more]

Via the contact form:

I am working on a history of San Luis Obispo editors and am looking for resources for photographs. Many spent time as printers in San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento circa 1860-1890. Any suggestions for NOCAL institutions that may have photo archives?

Best wishes,
David Middlecamp

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Via the contact form:

Hello! Can you recommend any particularly good books on the history of printing, the printing press, printing techniques, and the like? I’m specifically interested in printing in the 19th and 20th centuries. Levi Sweeney

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(Nina Schneider)

The Book Club of California celebrated its 235th publication with a lecture tour, of sorts, for members and friends up and down the Golden State during the month of May. Robert Bringhurst’s Palatino: The Natural History of a Typeface is an important and elegantly produced book that is as much about the typographer as it is about the typeface. Hosted at the new Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography at Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design, Bringhurst gave an illustrated talk about his book, Hermann Zapf and the typographer’s sixty-year devotion to the Palatino typeface. Spanning the major eras in printing history, Zapf’s compulsion, dictated by his uncompromising attention to detail, resulted in Palatino being designed for foundry type, redesigned for film, and redesigned again for digital typography. Bringhurst’s exploration of these modifications was the impetus for the book and he shared some of the highlights during his lecture. As he explained, he wrote a natural history of a typeface through the life of Hermann Zapf.  [Read more]

Does anyone have a good obituary of Morris Arthur Gelfand (1908-1998) that would give me a sketch of his career? 

Richard M. Candee  

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