Product Description

The magazine Typographica--brainchild of founder, editor, designer, and renowned typographer Herbert Spencer--had a brief life, a total of 32 issues published over nineteen years. But its influence stretched--and stretches--far beyond its modest distribution and print runs of the time. Indeed, for many graphic designers, Typographica is something of an obsession, to be collected if and when found, savored, and poured over for designs and techniques not seen since. Remarkably, Spencer never intended to turn a profit, so no expenses were spared in the making of the magazine. Different papers, letterpress, tip-ins, and more were all employed in the presentation of an eclectic range of subject matter: Braille, locomotive lettering, sex and typography, typewriter faces, street lettering, matches, and avant-garde poetry all found their way into the magazine.

Rick Poynor, founding editor of Eye, recreates the excitement of Typographica in this carefully researched, accessibly written, and beautifully illustrated book that pays tribute to the man and the magazine that changed the course of graphic design.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1355851 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

About the Author
Rick Poynor is founding editor of Eye, and writes frequently on design. He lives in London.

Customer Reviews

An important book
This important volume works both as a rich and detailed history and as a visual feast. Though the subject may seem esoteric (a British typography magazine that ceased publication in 1967), Rick Poynor makes a convincing case for Herbert Spencer's crucial role in the history of British graphic design as a champion of the modernist aesthetic. The book is cleanly designed by Stephen Coates, with superb reproductions from the magazine.

an archieve of old Typographica Magazine
The name "Typographica" sounds great but may be misleading! It's not an index book or source about nowadays modern typographic design but a memory of Typographica Magazine which has been published over between 1949-1967. Includes collected sample pages and scripts from the old magazine. It's just history...