Ephemera

A theater poster of 1872. Note the
thick serif from French
Clarendon.

The term broadside seems to have been used interchangeably with the word poster, being defined by DesignHistory.org as printed documents printed on one side to issue public decrees and government notifications as well as other usages. They were distributed in town squares intended for short term consumption and referred to as ephemera.

With the production of newspapers taking over the lengthy bodies of explanatory text, the broadsides were intended to "have immediate impact" and were also made available for purchase to the general public. As the largest type available for printing was a mere 12 point, the wooden slug was developed for large type posters for economic and storage reasons. Large slugs were also heavy to handle.

However, wooden and metal type were mixed on the same sheet. Wooden drills and lateral routers were developed to manufacture type; eventually, type cutters developed a method of adhering veneer to holly blocks by 1880.

A new project, a new blog.

DEMOCRACY SPOKEN HERE is a typographic art piece currently under research and development. Its final form will be a series of typeset phrases of American historical impact rendered in a variety of formats: metal and woodcut letterpress printing, silkscreen printing, inkjet printing, and culminating in the hand-lettering of the title phrase with brush and ink.

It all begins with the font. A message is only as compelling as the font expressing it: Strong yet accessible, steady yet inviting, fun yet serious. The answer: Clarendon.

Published in England in 1845 by a foundry employee, Clarendon is considered the first registered typeface. Its slab serif was well suited for rendering in wooden type slabs, and was therefore associated with wanted posters of the American Old West.

What makes Clarendon different from the slab serif fonts up until then is its serif. Note, it's rounded, not square, which made the font ideal for the high-speed newspaper presses that were rapidly expanding their reach in Great Britain in the 1830's and 1840s. 

The rounded bracket would take the pressure of high speed presses 
and not rip thin newsprint paper.

In coming posts, I'll share with you my journey in searching for meaningful phrases to commit to design, setting and printing; in the process, explore the typeface Clarendon; and finally, the print methods to bring this project to life.