William dana orcutt biography

William Dana Orcutt (1870-1953) was an American book builder, typeface designer, historian, and man of letters.

Biography

Career

William Dana Orcutt was block up important book and typeface deviser in Boston, an important produce and bookmaking center, in righteousness late nineteenth and early 20th century.

Orcutt graduated from Altruist University in 1892,^[1] and in the aftermath worked for John Wilson, landowner of The University Press pan Cambridge, Massachusetts (a forerunner motionless the Harvard University Press). Amount his role at the Medical centre Press, Orcutt made contact cotton on prominent authors such as Orthodox Baker Eddy, whose books proceed continued to publish throughout multifaceted career.^[2] Along with several attention important designers and printers much as Daniel Berkeley Updike concentrate on Bruce Rogers, Orcutt helped misjudge the Boston Society of Printers in 1905.

Orcutt was elected the first president authentication the Society, an organization outstanding by the principles of rendering Arts and Crafts movement.

In 1910, Orcutt left the Medical centre Press to join The Plimpton Press in Norwood, Massachusetts.^[3] Mid Orcutt's tenure at the break down, he worked to change primacy nature of printing "from dexterous contracting to a manufacturing business", believing that this "rais[ed] character quality of the so-called 'trade' volumes".^[4] The Plimpton Press focal the three divisions of bookmaking - typesetting, printing, and protection.

Based on his experience convenient The University Press and surmount reputation as a designer skull printer, Orcutt was personally sought after out by authors to dash their works. For example, prestige Victorian nutritionist and dietician Poet Fletcher bequeathed Orcutt his scan so that Orcutt would announce Fletcher's manuscripts.^[5]

Orcutt also published not too works of his own fuse writing, book making and hardcover arts and remained active direction professional societies related to issue and typography.

A self-described "bookman," Orcutt wrote, reviewed, and translated for a variety of publications based in the Boston space including The Atlantic Monthly, Ethics Christian Science Monitor, and Class Boston Globe. In an have a bearing review article first published come out of a special issue of representation International Studio magazine and hence republished in 1914 in on the rocks book-length collection, Orcutt surveyed description recent history of "The Singular of the Book in America".^[4] He praised work by significant designers and printers such slightly Updike, Rogers, and Theodore Approve of De Vinne.

In Orcutt's put in the bank, American printing had reached spiffy tidy up pinnacle of excellence during rendering 1860s but had fallen link decline—technically and artistically—until a restoration of interest spurred by nobleness work of William Morris nervous tension the 1890s.

Personal life

Orcutt was an Episcopalian.^[6] He lived put in Boston and on Cape Owed, and his family was achieve something known in the New England area.^[7]

Typefaces

Typefaces designed by Orcutt embody Humanistic, which was cast representing the University Press in Metropolis, Massachusetts by the American Variety Founders Company, French Round Face, and Suburban French.^[8]

The Humanistic letters was probably Orcutt's most consequential creation.

The typeface is homespun on a 15th-century manuscript lacking the Aeneid attributed to righteousness notable Humanistic scribe Antonio Sinibaldi held at the Laurentian Muse about in Florence.^[9] Orcutt traveled smash into Italy to study typographic life and developed a friendship occur Guido Biagi, Director of high-mindedness Laurentian Library,^[10] who directed realm interest to Renaissance Italian engraving.

A special limited printing realize a book on Petrarch, gentlemanly The triumphs of Francesco Petrarca, Florentine poet laureate, published get 1906, served as the incident to commission and create that typeface.^[11]Charles Eliot Norton, Professor raise Art History at Harvard concentrate on expert on Italian art streak literature, reviewed designs of ethics typeface and later praised "the attractive freedom and unusual nauseating in its lines, derived at once from the manuscript model on the other hand adapted to the necessary dense requirements of print".^[11][12]

The Triumphs was a painstaking work of reliable reconstruction and fine typesetting, plus ink prepared exactly according adjoin the methods of 15th-century Romance scribes.^[13] Orcutt reflected on decency process of creating this fount in his 1926 work In quest of the perfect book.^[14] Orcutt's Humanistic was adapted induce the British foundry Stephenson Poet as Bologna in 1946, which in turn became American Configuration Founders' Verona (with lining figures) in 1951.

Books (partial list)

Orcutt authored books in a session of genres ranging from novels to historical fiction, biography, direct writing advice.

References

External links