Watching wood type

Woodtype and linocut prints at the Bodleian Bibliographical Press

The Bodleian Bibliographical Press holds a collection of wood type in many sizes and styles. These include a few made by the famous firms of DeLittle of York and Stephenson, Blake of Sheffield.

The wood letters have been used at the Bodleian Bibliographical Press to make posters. Some of these prints can be seen at the Oxfordshire ArtWeeks open studio event on Saturday and Sunday 11 and 12 May 2024, 12-4 pm.

The donation was from Stephen Austin Printers in 2013. The catalogue was made and scanned by Paul Nash. The film begins slowly with explanatory slides, but viewers seeking purely visual thrills may skip to minute 4:27 on, with an especially exciting 26-line modified sans serif at 5:20.

More information on the work of DeLittle can be seen in Clare Bolton, DeLittle: an English Wood-Letter Manufacturer (Alembic Press, 1981)

Elements of the DeLittle wood type collection previously at the Type Archive have been moved to the York Centre for Print  which hosts the Thin Ice Press.