Bradley’s adaptation of the Colonial style as produced by him at the Wayside Press in 1896
De Vinne’s introduction to typography was as an apprentice in a country printshop. He went to New York in 1847 and worked at the case and press in several offices before accepting a position as job compositor with Francis Hart. Upon the death of Mr. Hart in 1877, Mr. De Vinne took charge of the business, which is now known as the De Vinne Press.
As a writer on printing subjects, perhaps his greatest work is “The Invention of Printing,” published in 1876. I have examined and read most of the books on the subject of the invention, and De Vinne’s book is the most reasonable, fair and understandable of all.
De Vinne had always been an exponent of the sane, conservative and dignified in typography. The work of his shop was precise, exact and thoro. While giving credit to Morris and Bradley for their accomplishments, he had little sympathy for the styles of either. De Vinne properly claimed that a writer’s words are of more importance than the decoration of a designer. Morris intended his books for the shelves of the book collector; De Vinne looked upon a book as something to be read. However, there need be no conflict between the styles of Morris, De Vinne and Bradley. The typographer should learn to discriminate, to choose wisely when selecting a style for a book or a piece of job work. For editions de luxe in limited numbers, and for booklets on art or literary subjects, the Morris style is appropriate. For books on scientific or legal subjects, and for booklets of conservative and dignified nature, there is nothing better than the De Vinne style. For booklets which are to attract attention and for job work that is to be distinctive, Bradley shows the way.
A JACOBI PAGE OF 1892
Arranged in squared groups in the form of a letter Z
With De Vinne beckoning to us from the point of conservatism and Bradley from the point of radicalism, the typographer anxious to do work properly must decide for himself how to treat it. I have seen a jeweler’s booklet cover so filled with ornamentation by Bradley that it was almost impossible to read the wording, and I have also seen a children’s Bible typographically treated by the De Vinne company in a style as severe as if it were a book of legislative acts.
A BRADLEY PAGE
As produced at the Wayside Press, 1896
De Vinne had always been a leader in the perfecting of modern methods. He was one of the pioneers in the use of dry paper and hard press-packing, and gave much thought to modern type-faces. The type-face known as Century was designed after his suggestions as a model roman letter.