Printing People

The inter-war years saw a revival of interest in print, not merely as a technical means of reproduction but aesthetically as a medium for communicating meaning. The private press movement burgeoned, intent on moving printing towards being an art form. But at a more earthy level came the Monotype Corporation from America with its technical sophistication, and, after WWI, its publicist Beatrice Warde, a missionary nationwide for printers to become proud creative professionals. And along side all this came a flurry of ‘little’ journals, specifically setting out to better the aesthetic standards of printing, whilst the main printing journal – the Penrose Annual – was shifting its focus from technical matters to graphic design.

Although a few such names as Stanley Morrison, are well-recorded, as key players in all this activity, there were many enthusiasts who devoted their working lives to raising printing standards, now long forgotten; in Printing People now to be given their time in the limelight.