The Proliferation of 19th (and 20th) Century Wood Type

The proliferation of 19th (and 20th) century wood type and its impact on typographic norms, with David Shields

Throughout the nineteenth (and early twentieth) century the proliferation of wood type played an integral role in the creation of American visual culture. With the introduction in 1827 of innovative production techniques, affording low cost and the proliferation of a wide range of styles and sizes, wood type gave tremendous impetus to job printing and mass advertising.

David Shields is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. 

David is currently focusing his research on 19th century typographic form and visual culture arising from investigations of Rob Roy Kelly’s American Wood Type Collection. He keeps a slow blog of his research at Wood Type Research.