The Society of Printers, Boston

03/25/2025

50th Annual Dwiggins Lecture: Stephen Coles
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at Rabb Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library

Nearly a century ago, as W. A. Dwiggins was nearing 50 years of age, he partnered with the Mergenthaler Linotype company to do something he’d never done in his long career: create new typefaces. The resulting designs—such as Metro, Electra, and Caledonia—were instant hits and are still in use today. They have generated revivals, reinterpretations, and reprises. And the principles of humanism and liveliness that compelled Dwiggins to alter the course of his career continue to guide new type designers. We’ll look at fresh faces steeped in Dwiggins’s legacy (intentional or not) and consider recent trends in a newly burgeoning craft.

Stephen Coles is Editorial Director & Associate Curator at Letterform Archive, a nonprofit library and educational center in San Francisco, where he co-curated the exhibition Strikethrough: Typographic Messages of Protest. As an editor and community builder who seeks to connect font makers with font users, Stephen co-founded the websites Fonts In Use and Typographica, and wrote the book The Anatomy of Type. Previously, he was a creative director at FontShop, and a member of the FontFont TypeBoard.

The lecture begins at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at the Rabb Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library. Registration is appreciated, but not required. The link to the Library’s events page is: https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/65f27b0802859793719c6ae1

Also, please join Special Collections at the Boston Public Library for a special open house on April 1 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Commonwealth Salon, where items from Special Collections will be featured that provide an overview of the life and work of W. A. Dwiggins. This open house will be curated by Bruce Kennett, author of W. A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design. Registration is not required for the open house.

04/03/2024

TONIGHT! Wednesday, April 3 at 6pm, the Society of Printers and the Boston Public Library will be hosting the 49th Annual Dwiggins Lecture.

“Typography and Transforming The New York Times 1851-2024”

Typography has been key to the identity of The New York Times from its earliest days, providing cohesion as well as opportunity as the company expands. This talk will include the early evolution of the front page, the impact of the digital era, and the challenges of designing for new properties, products and platforms.

Kelly Doe is the Director of Brand Identity and Standards at The New York Times. Her team focuses on creating foundational identities and supporting typographic and visual systems in close collaboration with creative groups across news, opinion, product, marketing, events, advertising, communications, and commerce. Kelly also maintains a studio practice that has served national and international clients, including museums and news organizations, along with a wide range of publishers, artists, and non­profits.

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Registrations via EventBrite is appreciated but not required. Link in bio.

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Boston Public Library Central Branch, Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

04/02/2024

This Wednesday: The Society of Printers and the Boston Public Library will be hosting the 49th Annual Dwiggins Lecture.

“Typography and Transforming The New York Times 1851-2024”

Typography has been key to the identity of The New York Times from its earliest days, providing cohesion as well as opportunity as the company expands. This talk will include the early evolution of the front page, the impact of the digital era, and the challenges of designing for new properties, products and platforms.

Kelly Doe is the Director of Brand Identity and Standards at The New York Times. Her team focuses on creating foundational identities and supporting typographic and visual systems in close collaboration with creative groups across news, opinion, product, marketing, events, advertising, communications, and commerce. Kelly also maintains a studio practice that has served national and international clients, including museums and news organizations, along with a wide range of publishers, artists, and non­profits.

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Registrations via EventBrite is appreciated but not required. Link in bio.

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Wednesday, April 3 at 6pm

Boston Public Library Central Branch, Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

03/29/2024

Join us next week for the Annual Dwiggins Lecture at the Boston Public Library .

03/25/2024

Join the Society of Printers to hear about the history of the typography and design of with Kelly Doe. April 3 at 6 pm at the Boston Public Library.

with .repost
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Wednesday, April 3 at 6pm, the Society of Printers and the Boston Public Library will be hosting the 49th Annual Dwiggins Lecture.

“Typography and Transforming The New York Times 1851-2024”

Typography has been key to the identity of The New York Times from its earliest days, providing cohesion as well as opportunity as the company expands. This talk will include the early evolution of the front page, the impact of the digital era, and the challenges of designing for new properties, products and platforms.

Kelly Doe is the Director of Brand Identity and Standards at The New York Times. Her team focuses on creating foundational identities and supporting typographic and visual systems in close collaboration with creative groups across news, opinion, product, marketing, events, advertising, communications, and commerce. Kelly also maintains a studio practice that has served national and international clients, including museums and news organizations, along with a wide range of publishers, artists, and non­profits.

—

Boston Public Library Central Branch, Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

03/25/2024

Wednesday, April 3 at 6pm, the Society of Printers and the Boston Public Library will be hosting the 49th Annual Dwiggins Lecture.

“Typography and Transforming The New York Times 1851-2024”

Typography has been key to the identity of The New York Times from its earliest days, providing cohesion as well as opportunity as the company expands. This talk will include the early evolution of the front page, the impact of the digital era, and the challenges of designing for new properties, products and platforms.

Kelly Doe is the Director of Brand Identity and Standards at The New York Times. Her team focuses on creating foundational identities and supporting typographic and visual systems in close collaboration with creative groups across news, opinion, product, marketing, events, advertising, communications, and commerce. Kelly also maintains a studio practice that has served national and international clients, including museums and news organizations, along with a wide range of publishers, artists, and non­profits.

—

Registrations via EventBrite is appreciated but not required. Link in bio.

—

Boston Public Library Central Branch, Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

Typography has been key to the identity of The New York Times from its earliest days, providing cohesion as well as opportunity as the company expanded. This talk will include the early evolution of the front page, the impact of the digital era, and the challenges of designing for new properties, pr...

03/19/2024

Wednesday, April 3 at 6pm, the Society of Printers and the Boston Public Library will be hosting the 49th Annual Dwiggins Lecture.

“Typography and Transforming The New York Times 1851-2024”

Typography has been key to the identity of The New York Times from its earliest days, providing cohesion as well as opportunity as the company expands. This talk will include the early evolution of the front page, the impact of the digital era, and the challenges of designing for new properties, products and platforms.

Kelly Doe is the Director of Brand Identity and Standards at The New York Times. Her team focuses on creating foundational identities and supporting typographic and visual systems in close collaboration with creative groups across news, opinion, product, marketing, events, advertising, communications, and commerce. Kelly also maintains a studio practice that has served national and international clients, including museums and news organizations, along with a wide range of publishers, artists, and non­profits.

—

Registrations via EventBrite is appreciated but not required. Link in bio.

—

Boston Public Library Central Branch, Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

Typography has been key to the identity of The New York Times from its earliest days, providing cohesion as well as opportunity as the company expanded. This talk will include the early evolution of the front page, the impact of the digital era, and the challenges of designing for new properties, pr...

04/04/2023

In one week: April 11 at the Boston Public Library. The 48th Annual Dwiggins Lecture: John Kristensen on “What Letterpress Printing Has Taught Me About Life.”

Join us at 6pm, Rabb Hall, Boston Public Library Central Branch, 700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116

Registration via Eventbrite is appreciated but not required. Link in bio.

Free and open to the public

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The Society of Printers is pleased to present John Kristensen as the 2023 Dwiggins lecturer. As the long-time proprietor of Firefly Press in Boston, John is one of the most distinguished heirs of the long, classical tradition of fine typography and design in New England. For over forty years, the goal of Firefly Press has been to apply the craft of true letterpress printing and the virtues of traditional typography to the needs and circumstances of the present day. John’s subtlety and mastery of the craft of printing are evident in everything from exceptional book design to the “celebratory printing” that has been the hallmark of his work. His distinctive and elegant designs have graced publications of colleges, universities, libraries, and foundations from across the US, as well as artists and noted bibliophiles.

Though trained as an architectural historian at Cornell and Oxford, John Kristensen found his calling in printing and has for over forty years been the proprietor of Firefly Press in Boston. He is a frequent lecturer and instructor of printing history and technique and was the American Printing History Association's 2009 Lieberman Scholar. Kristensen is the Cruft Reader at the Boston Athenaeum and on the faculty of Rare Book School in Charlottesville, Virginia.

04/03/2023

One week from tomorrow! The 48th Annual Dwiggins Lecture. April 11 at the BPL.

6pm, Rabb Hall, Boston Public Library Central Branch, 700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116

Free and open to the public

Registration via Eventbrite is appreciated but not required. Link in bio.

04/01/2023

Tuesday, April 11: John Kristensen on “What Letterpress Printing Has Taught Me About Life.”

Join The Society of Printers on Tuesday, April 11, 6 pm at the Boston Public Library for the 48th Annual Dwiggins Lecture.

Rabb Hall, Boston Public Library Central Branch, 700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116

Registration via Eventbrite is appreciated but not required. Link in bio.

…

The Society of Printers is pleased to present John Kristensen as the 2023 Dwiggins lecturer. As the long-time proprietor of Firefly Press in Boston, John is one of the most distinguished heirs of the long, classical tradition of fine typography and design in New England. For over forty years, the goal of Firefly Press has been to apply the craft of true letterpress printing and the virtues of traditional typography to the needs and circumstances of the present day. John’s subtlety and mastery of the craft of printing are evident in everything from exceptional book design to the “celebratory printing” that has been the hallmark of his work. His distinctive and elegant designs have graced publications of colleges, universities, libraries, and foundations from across the US, as well as artists and noted bibliophiles.

Though trained as an architectural historian at Cornell and Oxford, John Kristensen found his calling in printing and has for over forty years been the proprietor of Firefly Press in Boston. He is a frequent lecturer and instructor of printing history and technique and was the American Printing History Association's 2009 Lieberman Scholar. Kristensen is the Cruft Reader at the Boston Athenaeum and on the faculty of Rare Book School in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Photo credit: Jarrod McCabe

03/28/2023

Join us on Tuesday, April 11 at the Boston Public Public Library for the 48th Annual Dwiggins Lecture: John Kristensen on “What Letterpress Printing Has Taught Me About Life.”

6pm, Rabb Hall, Boston Public Library Central Branch, 700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116

Registration via EventBrite is appreciated but not required. Link in bio.

…

The Society of Printers is pleased to present John Kristensen as the 2023 Dwiggins lecturer. As the long-time proprietor of Firefly Press in Boston, John is one of the most distinguished heirs of the long, classical tradition of fine typography and design in New England. For over thirty years, the goal of Firefly Press has been to apply the craft of true letterpress printing and the virtues of traditional typography to the needs and circumstances of the present day. John’s subtlety and mastery of the craft of printing are evident in everything from exceptional book design to the “celebratory printing” that has been the hallmark of his work. His distinctive and elegant designs have graced publications of colleges, universities, libraries, and foundations from across the US, as well as artists and noted bibliophiles.

Though trained as an architectural historian at Cornell and Oxford, John Kristensen found his calling in printing and has for over forty years been the proprietor of Firefly Press in Boston. He is a frequent lecturer and instructor of printing history and technique and was the American Printing History Association's 2009 Lieberman Scholar. Kristensen is the Cruft Reader at the Boston Athenaeum and on the faculty of Rare Book School in Charlottesville, Virginia.