In the late Nineteenth century, American and British printers developed a design aesthetic that came to be know as artistic printing. This was, without a doubt, an era marked by heavy ornamentation, prone to excessive decoration, and with a clear preference for effusive, hand-drawn letters. At the core of this aesthetic lay the actual typography itself: it was not uncommon to observe examples of printed matter graced by a sheer multitude of fonts. This was especially true in handbills, announcements and broadsides, where each individual line of type might be set in a completely different typeface.
Practitioners of artistic printing subscribed to the belief that letterpress printers could and should develop their own sophisticated styles; that they should avail themselves of artfully arranged type; and that less could not possibly be more. The introduction of chromolithography — or color printing — during this time offered another opportunity to explore and elaborate by producing compositions graced by layered elements — cast shadows, overlapping type and no shortage of ribbons — embellishments intended to simulate and amplify the illusion of pictorial richness.
To contemporary viewers, much of this work appears chaotic and overblown, out of step with modern opinion. Yet the best of this work endures, reminding us that a century ago, designers privileged excess, developing a body of work that relied upon a lively orchestration of mismatched form: from brass rules to floral ornaments to a myriad of deeply ornamental typefaces, the printed examples that follow were composed by a host of artists whose collective (if anonymous) legacy lives on — a material reminder of all that was so madly, gloriously Victorian.
We are pleased to share highlights here from the remarkable ephemera collection of Scottsdale, Arizona designer and collector Richard Sheaff, and invite your comments.
Eric Baker Design Associates is a Manhattan-based design firm established in 1986. Eric teaches the history of graphic design and corporate identity at the School of Visual Arts, and has twice received National Endowment for the Arts Grants for independent design history projects. He is inveterate collector of books and ephemera. Editor's Note: All images link to their original source and are copyright of their original owners.
Comments [20]
06.06.09
01:20
06.06.09
01:30
Would love to check out a copy of Reeve's Pocket Companion, the cover is crazy.
06.06.09
01:34
06.06.09
01:45
06.06.09
04:09
06.06.09
04:48
06.06.09
05:37
06.06.09
07:44
For a fine example of contemporary (albeit with much historical perspective), I heartily recommend Jim Rimmer....
06.07.09
12:55
http://www.artisticprintingbook.com/
http://artisticprinting.blogspot.com/
06.07.09
01:22
Of course! That's where my "version 1.0" joke came in, as in this is the original version of the Chris Ware style.
06.07.09
12:49
06.08.09
10:30
I've always loved this style of design, I even attempted it once in my college years...obviously this work is much better and very influential. Thanks a ton for showing this awesome work.
06.08.09
12:12
06.08.09
01:36
I realize I'm always shouting into the wind, but it would be great if the next generation of online archives and archivists could include options to sort by location and/or era. It's great to see inspirational images, but I personally would love to know if there were regional (or individual) tendencies (i.e. despite the overly excessive, some of these are downright minimalist) or if there were changes from decade to decade. I'm sure there were, just like there are now, but its so difficult to make heads from tails with the way many of these sites are set up nowadays.
06.08.09
07:28
06.09.09
11:55
06.09.09
04:11
06.11.09
03:23
A good reason to get to work each day.
06.11.09
08:23
08.05.09
05:28