Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• I An Introduction
• II
  • A. Rob Roy Kelly-“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”
  • B. Stephen Saxe, “Reflections on American Wood Type 1828–1900”
  • C. Tracy Honn, untitled essay
  • D. The Collection after Kelly
• III
  • A. A Time Line of American Manufacturers
  • B. Production Methods
  • C. Planing Patterns
  • D. Manufacturer’s Stamps in Collection
  • E. Hand-List of Known American Wood Type Specimen Catalogs to 1901
• IV
  • A. Classification System
  • B. Style Descriptions
• V
  • A. Type Specimens
  • - 001–123 specimen pages
  • B. Type Specimens from Other Collections and Three Unaccounted Faces
  • - 001–016 specimen pages
  • C. Borders, Ornaments, and Cuts
  • - 001–019 specimen pages
  • D. Adobe Wood Type, Adobe Originals, 1988–1994
• Appendix A. Hand List of 1964 Folio
• Appendix B. Bibliography of Kelly Texts and Collected Papers
• Appendix C. Bibliography of Kelly’s Donations, with Current Locations
• Appendix D. Rob Roy Kelly’s Teaching Appointments
• Notes
• Reference Bibliography
• Index

About the Author

David Shields is an associate professor in and was the chair of the Department of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, former head of the design program at the University of Texas at Austin and, from 2004 to 2012, the custodian for the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection, which is housed at the Harry Ransom Center.

Reviews

406 pages of the most comprehensive biography and scholarship on Kelly and his collection...[Shields'] exhaustive attention to detailing the types and their makers and the eloquent reverence he displays for Rob Roy Kelly is far more valuable than the curiously inexpensive cover price...An impeccable volume. (PRINT) Wood type is bold and beautiful, and a hefty book like this one...seems fitting. It offers a wealth of information about the specimens in the Rob Roy American Wood Type Collection at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin, Texas, their classifications and the manufacturers who created them while also telling a finely detailed history of Kelly’s journey acquiring wood type, designing and printing specimens, and researching their histories...Beautifully printed, the book comes with a brilliant green-ribbon bookmark and vibrant red/orange endsheets in a pattern drawn from the collection’s borders and rules. (Communication Arts) [The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection] is not just a must-have for any wood-type aficionados. The book sets a new typographic history bar. (Fontstand News) [The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection] is a sumptuous book, beautifully printed on heavy paper, fully illustrated with types from the collection. This is an important work and should be considered, along with Kelly's original book, an indispensable resource for anyone interested in graphic design and typography...Highly recommended. (CHOICE) The Rob Roy American Wood Type Collection is an extraordinary book that will be enjoyed by historians, design educators, and typophiles. The book is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in the collection but perhaps unable to make a trip to visit it. It is a beautiful book and not only is it a testament to the significance of Rob Roy Kelly’s work and to the significance of this important yet almost forgotten element of American history. As Shields reminds us, 'The history of America…was printed in wood type.' (Technical Communication)