2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the completion of the King James Bible, the preeminent English language translation.
In this talk, typefounder Stan Nelson describes the work he has done to re-create two pages of the 1611 Bible in actual type, specially cast for the project. Matrices were made specifically for this project, both with ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ technologies.
The talk will draw attention to the contributions of a small group of individuals participating in the American Typecasting Fellowship.
Typefounding, the process of making individual metal types and creating the components required to cast them, was the process brought into being by Gutenberg in fifteenth-century Europe. It was the key contributor to the revolution in communication brought about by the printed word. Now it is an extremely rare skill.
Stan Nelson is Museum Specialist Emeritus in the Graphic Arts Collection, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History. In three decades of employment he worked with the history of printing technology, mainly from the first four centuries of printing, and focused on typefounding, including punchcutting and casting type from hand moulds. He has given numerous lectures and conducted workshops and seminars on typefounding and printing. Since retiring, he has taught the History of Typography at the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School. His honours and awards include the Typophiles Award and the American Printing History Association’s 25th annual Laureate Award.
Stan has authored many publications and is currently working on The Typefounders’ Handmould, about the history and use of type moulds, which will be published by The Legacy Press. He participated in The machine that made us, a BBC production hosted by Stephen Fry which explored the origins of printing from moveable type.
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