Letterform Archive
Letterform Archive is located in San Francisco County
Letterform Archive
Location within San Francisco County
Established2014
Location2325 Third St Floor 4R
San Francisco, CA 94107
Coordinates37°45′36″N 122°23′18″W / 37.7601°N 122.3883°W / 37.7601; -122.3883
FounderRob Saunders
Websitehttps://letterformarchive.org

Letterform Archive is a non-profit museum and special collections library in San Francisco, California dedicated to collecting materials on the history of lettering, typography, printing, and graphic design.[1][2][3] It is curated by graphic designer Rob Saunders, who founded the museum with his private collection of "books, periodicals, maquettes, posters, and other ephemera" in 2014.[2] The museum opened in February 2015 with 15,000 items.[3][4] It moved to a larger space in 2020.[5][6] Visits can be scheduled by appointment.[7]

The Archive presented the “Without Type: The Dynamism of Handmade Letters” exhibit with the San Francisco Center for the Book from January 22 to April 3, 2016.[8]

Collection

As of 2020, the Archive’s collection totals over 100,000 items.[3] The Archive acquired the private collection of Dutch collector Jan Tholenaar in 2015.[2] In 2016, the Archive acquired over 200 wood type prints from local printer and typographer Jack Stauffacher. Emigre Graphics also donated a large collection of their work, including interviews, printed sheets, posters, paste ups, ephemera, and the entire collection of Emigre magazine, that year.[9]

The Archive launched their digital archive of nearly 1,500 works and 9,000 images to the general public in 2019.[10][11]

Publishing

The Archive publishes books about the material in its collection, including: the work of W. A. Dwiggins, as a full-length biography by Bruce Kennett in 2017;[12] the work of Jennifer Morla, written and designed by Morla in 2019; and the prints of Jack Stauffacher, edited and designed by Chuck Byrne in 2020.[9][13]

Education

The Archive has an education program (previously in collaboration with Cooper Union)[14] which includes Type West, a full-year certificate program in typeface design, workshops on lettering and typography, and a lecture series.[15][16]

The Archive often hosts workshops and lectures. They have previously hosted type workshops by typeface designer Sumner Stone and sign painting workshops by Better Letter Co.[1][17][7]

References

  1. 1 2 Egan, Neil. "Design Desk: A Visit to the Letterform Archive in San Francisco". Chronicle Books Blog. Chronicle Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Merritt, Susan. "Inside the Letterform Archive, Mecca for San Francisco Design Geeks". AIGA. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "About Us". Letterform Archive. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  4. ↑ Stone, Terri. "Saving Design | Create". create.adobe.com. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  5. ↑ "A New Home for Letterform Archive". Letterform Archive. July 3, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  6. ↑ "We've Moved. Thank You!". Letterform Archive Newsletter. October 13, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Letterform Archive". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  8. ↑ Zack, Ruskin (2016-01-20). "By the Letter: The Letterform Archive Opens "Without Type"". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  9. 1 2 "Letterform Archive: For the Record". Juxtapoz Magazine. April 19, 2017. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  10. ↑ "The Online Archive Is Now Open to All". letterformarchive.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  11. ↑ Lee, Giacomo (December 10, 2018). "A trove of graphic design history is yours in the LFA's new online collection". Digital Arts. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  12. ↑ Kennett, Bruce. "W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design (prospectus)" (PDF). Letterform Archive. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  13. ↑ "Letterform Archive – Publishing". letterformarchive.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  14. ↑ "Type@Cooper West". Cooper Union. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "Education". Letterform Archive. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  16. ↑ "Events". Letterform Archive. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "Opening Digital Doors to Letterform Archive | Better Letters". betterletters.co. December 5, 2018. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
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