The Art & Practice of Typography / A Manual of American Printing, Including a Brief History up to the Twentieth Century, with Reproductions of the Work of Early Masters of the Craft, and a Practical Discussion and an Extensive Demonstration of the Modern Use of Type-faces and Methods of Arrangement

by Edmund G. Gress

Will Bradley would not today be as famous as he is in printing circles if he had labored under the false idea that it was useless to know history. Bradley knows printing history and loves old books, and this knowledge and affection are expressed in his work. The printer who succeeds is the one who looks upon all knowledge as valuable and has a good reason for everything he does.

PART TWO

EXAMPLE 16
Layout sketched with colored crayons for a catalog cover

EXAMPLE 17
The cover printed as indicated by layout sketch

THE “LAYOUT” MAN

How does the work of the typographer of the twentieth century compare with productions of the past? In the belief of some the good typographer, like the good Indian, is dead. The truth is that much of the printing done during the first four hundred years was not well done. While the same proportionate result still prevails, the ancient did not have the excuse of the modern—lack of time; nor has the modern the excuse of the ancient—lack of facilities. However, while poor work in any century or any industry is explainable, it is not excusable.