Letterform Archive’s Rare Book Sale 2023

Our friends at Letterform Archive will hold their next Rare Book Sale on December 9, 2023. Typophiles eager to get their hands on some delightful duplicates can drop by on-site in San Francisco or online at the website. Hint, hint: members get early access to the sale.

We’re clearing out a treasure trove of rare duplicates from the collection, from 19th–20th-century type specimens and hard-to-find design books and periodicals, to ephemera and other design collectibles. This is the perfect place to discover something special for your own collection or to snag a few unique holiday gifts, whether you attend the local sale or browse our special online selection from wherever you are.

Elise Carlton’s design for the announcement indulges in a 19th-century aesthetic, and specifically references chromatic wood type like that shown by William H. Page in 1874. The star of the show is HWT Etta. Designed by Lynne Yun and Maxime Gau, it consists of two styles, East and West, and was released in 2021 with the Hamilton Wood Type Foundry. Established in 2012, that’s a joint venture between P22 Type Foundry and the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.

The word “AND” on the right is a so-called catchword. Such decorative whole-word sorts were common in American wood type and are also known as logotypes, or logograms. This specific glyph is included in Miranda Roth’s HWT Catchwords. Other digital fonts with similar vintage catchwords include Brothers, Adobe Wood Type Ornaments, and Catch Words JNL.

The festive setting is crowned by Crayonette DJR, David Jonathan Ross’s digital revival of an italic design with horizontal contrast that was originally dreamt up by Henry Brehmer in 1889.