- unitid
-
{"value"=>"3628", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b18934724", "type"=>"local_b"}
{"value"=>"MssCol 3628", "type"=>"local_call"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1908-2011", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1908/2011"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Typophiles, Inc. records"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"67.14 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"157 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"67.19 mb (9 computer files)"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"id"=>"MSS", "value"=>"Manuscripts and Archives Division"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Typophiles is a not-for-profit educational association that encourages the appreciation and production of fine typography and bookmaking through lectures, meetings, and the production of fine examples of the printing arts. The collection, dating from 1908 to 2011, consists of the papers of Dr. Robert L. Leslie and the records he generated as a member and officer of the Typophiles. Included are Dr. Leslie's personal and professional papers, as well as records from his businesses, The Composing Room, the Gallery 303, and the Heritage of the Graphic Arts lecture series. The records reflect the book arts during what may be considered the golden age of fine printing. Significant individuals represented in the collection include Frederick W. Goudy, Warren Chappell, Bruce Rogers, Paul A. Bennett, Beatrice Warde, David Godine, Raymond Gid, Fernand Baudin, Roderick Stinehour, W.A. Dwiggins, Giovanni Mardersteig, and Hermann Zapf."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Typophiles, Inc. records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Typophiles (New York, N.Y.)", "type"=>"corpname", "role"=>"creator"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Typophiles, Inc. is a not-for-profit educational association that encourages the appreciation and production of fine typography and bookmaking through lectures, meetings, and the production of fine examples of the printing arts. The group began in the early 1930s, when several men in the printing trades decided to meet over lunch on a regular basis to talk shop, share stories and amuse one another with small examples of their work. They met monthly in midtown restaurants and many of the most notable men in the field could be found among them on a fairly regular basis.</p> <p>In the early years, the men met informally with no elected officers or membership dues. Paul A. Bennett, of the Mergenthaler Linotype Company, held the unofficial position of organizer. Women, though a growing force in the printing trades, were forbidden entrance to the group until 1970 with the exception of Beatrice Warde, whose reputation, established under the name Paul Beaujon, gave her credentials beyond dispute and won her a place at the table.</p> <p>Besides their monthly luncheons the Typophiles developed a reputation for publishing original and interesting materials on subjects germane to the printing arts. This began in 1935 with the impromptu creation of a Festschrift, of sorts, to honor the 70th birthday of famed designer, Frederick W. Goudy. Any member who wished to could create and contribute an insert of a predetermined size to be bound and presented to Goudy as a gift at a party in his honor. A total of seven such projects were produced between 1935 and 1938.</p> <p>In 1940 Bennett formally announced plans for a yearly subscription series of chap books, as they were to be called, reviving an old printer's term. Each chap book would be developed and carried out by small groups of the members, each contributing his time or materials to the project. The books would be similar in size (4.5x7) and format, printed by one firm, on any topic of interest related to the printing arts. A subscription fee would be charged for each year; the first year's charge was $1. The series now extends to nearly 100 chap books with a regular subscription list which includes many colleges, universities, and public and private libraries across the U.S. and abroad.</p> <p>A second series of publications, called \"The Monographs, New Series,\" began more recently (1984) under the direction of the then newly appointed president Abe Lerner. Monographs are briefer in length and vary in size, unlike the chap books, but display the same quality of printing and subject interest. Prior to 1984, monographs were planned, executed and distributed haphazardly. At this time they became a benefit of membership, handed out at the Christmas luncheon each year.</p> <p>In 1966, Paul Bennett died suddenly of heart failure. After several months of discussion, the membership decided to formally incorporate as a non-profit, educational organization in the State of New York (July of 1967). The first group of officers included Martin Meyer of the Lindenmeyr Paper Corporation as president, Fridolf Johnson of American Artist and Henry Schniewind of Spring Mills as vice presidents, S. Wyman Rolph of the Bank of New York as treasurer, and Charles Antin of The Viking Press as secretary.</p> <p>In December 1968, Eugene M. Ettenberg, advertising typographer and teacher, was elected president. He was succeeded a year later by Dr. Robert L. Leslie, the recently retired partner of The Composing Room Inc. who would prove to be a significant figure in Typophile history. Though 80 at the time of his election, \"Doc,\" as he was fondly referred to (Leslie was a licensed physician as well as avid printer), was a man of energy and enthusiasm. Through his contacts with outstanding graphic artists and designers worldwide (due to his work in promoting and exhibiting graphic arts and artists) Doc Leslie would open the New York-focused group to the typographic world internationally.</p> <p>One of Doc Leslie's favorite activities was to organize day trips, dubbed \"junkets,\" to printing houses, galleries, or libraries in and around New York City and along the Atlantic coast. Leslie's \"Junketeers\" traveled as far as Puerto Rico, across Europe and to the Middle East.</p> <p>While Doc Leslie nurtured chap book publications and arranged junkets, from the mid-1970s, vice-president Abe Lerner handled more of the routine responsibilities, such as creating the luncheon schedules, which featured short lectures on appropriate subjects by those in the trade, and overseeing publishing projects (see above). In June of 1985, Leslie formally handed the reins of presidency to Lerner and became the first president emeritus of the group.</p> <p>Michael Hentges and George Laws served as vice presidents for Abe Lerner. When he stepped down at the beginning of 1990, Morris A. Gelfand, former librarian and proprietor of the Stone House Press, succeeded him as president. Theo Rehak served as president from 1995 to 2005. As of 2017 Misha Beletsky was the president of the Typophiles.</p> <p>Biographical Note</p> <p>Dr. Robert L. Leslie</p> <p>Born into poverty on New York's Lower East Side on December 18, 1885, Robert Lincoln Leslie was the oldest of seven children. To help support the family, he worked as a gas lamp lighter at age 10 and then became a messenger for a Russian printer. He eventually became apprenticed to one of America's outstanding 19th century printers, Theodore Low de Vinne, and developed a love of printing.</p> <p>Leslie attended Townsend Harris High School and City College, completing his Bachelor of Science in 1904. Unable to afford medical school he continued to work in the graphic arts to save money. In 1906 Leslie joined International Typographic Union #6 and accepted a scholarship from the Jewish Charities organization (Kahilla) to attend Johns Hopkins University. Even then he worked as proofreader at the Baltimore Sun on the midnight to 8am shift to support himself and his mother. Leslie graduated in 1912.</p> <p>After graduation he was hired by the United States Public Health Service. He redesigned all the government publications for the Surgeon General's Office and volunteered for service at Ellis Island, eventually becoming an expert on bubonic plague. In 1920 Leslie became the first industrial physician at McGraw-Hill's printing plant in Manhattan, where he met Sol Canter, a linotype technician and future partner.</p> <p>While at the McGraw-Hill plant Leslie was among the victims of a chemical explosion, suffering the loss of his left eye. He decided to return to the graphic arts and in 1928 he and Sol Canter opened a linotype company named The Composing Room. Their goal was to produce quality printing for a fair price. In his free time, Leslie promoted the graphic arts in as many ways as possible. His first venture was publishing a short-lived but well received trade magazine entitled PM (in 1939 this name was sold and the title A-D replaced it). The publication was suspended in 1946 due to World War II and never resumed.</p> <p>In 1936 Leslie, working with Hortense Mendel, turned a spare room of his business into a gallery and began to show the work of up and coming American artists and emigres from Europe who were fleeing the threat of Nazi Germany. This gallery was the first in New York City dedicated to exhibiting the graphic and typographic arts. The exhibits were suspended in 1950, but returned in 1958 in the renamed Gallery 303. In 1965 Gallery 303 became host to the long-running Heritage of the Graphic Arts lecture series, which was so successful over the years that the Bowker publishing house approached Leslie to publish a selection of the lectures. <span class=\"title\">Heritage of the Graphic Arts; A Selection of Lectures Delivered at Gallery 303, New York City Under the Direction of Dr. Robert L. Leslie</span> was issued in May, 1972.</p> <p>Always interested in engaging and encouraging young people, in the 1950s Dr. Leslie was instrumental in the creation of the High School of Industrial Arts (later renamed the High School of Art and Design) and remained active on the advisory board for many years. Many of the students from this school displayed work in his gallery and credited Leslie's mentoring for their success in the graphic arts.</p> <p>Though Leslie retired from the Composing Room in 1969, he did not retire from advancing the graphic arts. Later that year he became the third president of the Typophiles. Leslie encouraged colleagues to give talks during the monthly luncheons and to develop exhibits for Gallery 303 or lectures for Heritage of the Graphic Arts. He enjoyed arranging junkets, taking his Typophiles on many day and weekend trips to printing establishments, libraries, and other places of interest to graphic artists, going as far afield as Puerto Rico, Europe, and Israel.</p> <p>In 1977 Leslie fulfilled a long-term dream with the assistance of Israeli-based graphic artist, Joyce Schmidt. For years Leslie had been trying to establish a paper making business in Israel through government channels, but to no avail. Schmidt was interested and in 1977 the Uncle Bob Paper Mill was established at the Visual Arts Center in Beer Sheva (in the Negev desert). A unique aspect of this business is the use of a native desert plant, mitan, for the paper pulp, making this a homegrown, exportable product business.</p> <p>Leslie's generous spirit and creative, productive, lifestyle won him the affection and admiration of many who met him, and earned him a list of awards including: Man of the Year award by the Printing Teachers Guild of NY (1965); the Navigators' Service Industry Award (1967); the AIGA gold medal (1969); William H. and Harry J. Friedman Memorial Award and the National Coalition of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award (1972); the Frederick W. Goudy Award from Rochester Institute of Technology (1973); the 1st Annual American Printing History Association Award, the New York Printers Wall of Fame and Type Directors Club Medal (1976); the Friend of Jerusalem Award (1985) and the Jerusalem Book Fair Award (1985).</p> <p>Leslie was married in 1918 to Dr. Sarah K. Greenberg, the first woman in New York City to be licensed by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Known for her compassion and dedication, Dr. Sarah, called \"the Angel of Williamsburg,\" delivered over 6,000 babies in her fifty-year career (1908-1958). She died on December 5, 1971 of heart failure. Though they did not have any children of their own, the Leslie's kept close ties with their large extended family through several generations. They helped to support many of their nieces and nephews and considered their great nieces and nephews as grandchildren. Robert Leslie died on April 1, 1987 at 101 years of age.</p> <p>Sources: Grannis, Chandler B. The Typophiles, A Historical Note.</p> <p>Malone, Erin. Doctor Leslie and the Composing Room 1934-1942. An Important Time In The Development of American Graphic Design, 1994 MFA thesis, Rochester Institute of Technology. http://www.drleslie.com/index.shtml</p> <p>The Typophiles web page, Date Accessed: December 2002. http://www.typophiles.com/index.html</p> <p>Bruce Rogers Collection. Special Collections, Purdue University Library. Date accessed: 4/16/03. http://www.lib.purdue.edu/</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Typophiles, Inc. records consist of the papers of Dr. Robert L. Leslie and the records he generated as a member and officer of the organization. The collection includes correspondence, cards, books, original art work, manuscripts, chap books, book orders, photographs, posters, meeting minutes, event schedules, financial records, printed matter and examples of calligraphy and hand-printed matter, flyers, posters, catalogs, and memorabilia, documenting the book arts and specifically Leslie's and the Typophiles' role within it.</p> <p>The Typophiles, Inc. records document the main activities of the group which were social events, publication projects, membership and travel. The earliest records start in the 1940s with some general correspondence discussing chap book projects, meetings, orders for chap books and other regular activities of the group. Records dating after 1986 were gathered from officers and donated with the collection materials.</p> <p>The Robert L. Leslie papers include a substantial amount of Leslie's personal correspondence, the records from his business, The Composing Room, Inc. and its related enterprises, Gallery 303 and The Heritage of the Graphic Arts lecture series. It also includes papers of his wife, Dr. Sarah K. Greenberg, who was a noted specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. Of particular interest is her correspondence with Dr. Catherine Lealtad of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, regarding her medical relief work and the conditions in postwar France and Germany and in China during the Civil War.</p> <p>Examples of printing, calligraphy and printers' marks can be found in the printed materials subseries of The Typophiles, Inc. records and among the Composing Room, Inc. records, as well as throughout the collection, in cards and on correspondence. The Composing Room, Inc. records also include a section of reference materials on typefaces which may have been reference materials for the business itself, or a part of the Typographic Reference Library Leslie developed as a graphic arts consulting library.</p> <p>The Leslie materials contain many awards and special gifts that were presented to him, such as the necktie that was hand-lettered by Lili Wronker, and the book of birthday wishes written on handmade paper by Leslie's many friends and kept in a specially made and decorated box.</p> <p>There are many photographs in the collection, both formal and candid images, which are divided into several subseries. The Typophiles, Inc. records includes images of the social events they held, many individual members, and Junketeers trips. Robert Leslie's personal photographs include photographs of Leslie, his wife, family members, and friends. The Composing Room photographs includes images of the work areas, employees, linotype machines and other equipment, social events of the company, and of Sol Cantor and Dr. Leslie. There are many images documenting the Gallery 303 exhibits, as well as The Heritage of the Arts lectures, including photographs taken by member and photographer, A. Burton Carnes. Many of Carnes' negatives remain in the collection. Prints with corresponding negatives are noted on the box list.</p> <p>There is one file representing Leslie's relationship with the American-Soviet Medical Society (Dr. Leslie was the business manager). The official records are located in the History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Typophiles, Inc. records are arranged in four series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/3628#c1406096'>Series I: Typophiles, Inc. records</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1938-2011</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/3628#c1406370'>Series II: Dr. Robert L. Leslie papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1908-2004</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/3628#c1407431'>Series III: Photographs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1930s-2002</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Photographs are divided in six subseries that follow the general outline of the collection: the Typophiles, Inc. photos; Dr. Leslie's personal photos; The Composing Room, Inc.; Gallery 303; and the Heritage of Graphic Arts Lectures. In many cases, photographs were removed from folders in the other two series and placed with in the Photographs series and given the same title; a separation sheet was left in its place to alert the reader. In the case of personal snapshots that came with correspondence from family or friends, the photographs were left in the folder. Photographs that were not in labeled folders were arranged by content.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/3628#c1407587'>Series IV: Oversized Photographs and Ephemera</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1927-1983</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series includes two large flat boxes of black and white prints and contact sheets from various lectures, exhibits, or social events. Most are not identified; several prints are matted (see box 132 ); one is dated 12/3/1953. Box 131 contains an unusual and striking 11x17 black and white portrait of Dr. Leslie.</p> <p>Please note that boxes 60, 98, 124, 133 contain oversized materials removed from a particular series. A separation sheet is included in the original folder directing readers to the new box, and a note was made in the container list entry. This series, in addition to oversized photographs, contains oversized paper items removed from other series as well as miscellaneous posters, advertisements, drawings, and birthday cards.</p> <p>The collection also contains many plaques and framed awards and certificates. Photocopies have been made of the text on most of the plaques in boxes 61a and 61b. These copies are in the \"Awards…\" folder (box 60, folder 6). Three items did not copy well and unfortunately are not included. These are the National Conference of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award, and two items commemorating Leslie's 90th birthday: a cooper plaque from the Goudy Society and a slice (approximately 9 inches round) of a tree trunk with birthday greetings carved into it.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of the Typophiles, Inc., 1998 and 2012.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"type"=>"processing", "value"=>"<p>Compiled by <span class=\"name\">Susan M. Kline</span>, <span class=\"date\">2017</span>.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>This collection was originally processed by the Manuscript and Archives Division staff in 2003. Small additions were integrated into the collection in 2011 by Leslie Reyman and 2017 using the existing arrangement. The front matter of the finding aid was edited to reflect the additional material as well as to standardize the finding aid in accordance with currently produced guides.</p>"}
- dsc_type
-
combined
- date_start
-
1908
- keydate
-
1908
- date_end
-
2011
- date_inclusive_start
-
1908
- date_inclusive_end
-
2011
- extent_statement
-
67.14 linear feet (157 boxes); 67.19 mb (9 computer files)