Dennis Ichiyama: lumber type

Everything old is new again: current wood type projects and research

This is a synopsis of Dennis' paper

Don’t throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day.
Dreams can come true again,
Everything old is new again.

(Peter Allen / Carole Bayer Sager)

The Hamilton Museum in Wisconsin celebrated its fourth anniversary in May 2003. During that short period it has been a center for research and creative work by students, artists, designers, and educators from various parts of the US. As their collection grows interest is heightened providing opportunities for experimentation and historical research. For the past four years I have had the distinct pleasure of spending many weeks and months visiting the collection with colleagues and students. My presentation will center on our activities and the work we’ve done. I will also touch on work done by designers and artists who have come to the museum and shared their experiences with me through their work and conversation. Recent developments at the museum will definitely create more opportunities and expand its current focus.

My interest in the museum was primarily for personal development and creative research using type. Its immense collection is overwhelming and the projects I was planning made the 600-mile round trip more frequent. But to design and complete certain project would require assistance. My typography students became willing visitors and fast learners doubling the amount of work I was able to accomplish. They quickly became avid fans of the medium learning aspects of typography we were unable to teach in lectures and with the computer. The experience made me recall the ancient Chinese proverb:

What I hear I forget
What I see I remember
What I do I understand.

The beauty of wood and the design of type is a wonderful combination. Add to that the scale of the letters and you have a creative tool that has tremendous potential. My first projects dealt with the wonderful forms and shapes that emerge from a single 24-line (4 inches) letter. As you rotate the letter in your hand more shapes appear each one begging to be inked and printed. Using a transparent medium mixed with the inks and overlaying letter upon letter made the image more exciting and beautiful.

Another early project was more documentary in purpose; creating specimen sheets of historic alphabets in the collection. Thus far, two volumes have been created featuring type faces, numbers, and ornaments and borders.

Broadsides and posters present different challenges. Several are client-generated while others were done to commemorate events like the destruction of the World Trade Center. Two versions of that were created to honor the events on September 11th and New York City’s "Tribute in Light " project to commemorate the six-month anniversary of the event.

A recent limited edition project on the theme of Pandora’s dilemma was produced to inaugurate the newly formed press of Columbia College, Chicago, Center for Book and Paper Arts.

A poster was produced for last year’s gathering at the University of Reading’s conference on typography and printing history. Another has been created for this conference and distributed to those attending this presentation.

In the summer of 2002, one of my students discovered some interesting type in the museum’s storage. His puzzled and concerned look at what seemed like large (6 – 10 or more inches) pieces of wood type that had separated. Unable to find the parts we gathered as many of these letterforms as we could. The final count yielded about 27 pieces of varying sizes and styles. For me this was both a great discovery but a sad one as well. We began to print with them and produced a small edition and entitled it "SAVING FACE’. Later, I taught a Master Class at the Hartford Art School (in Connecticut, USA) where 12 students produced a limited edition of prints using this material. As design majors the opportunity to work without a computer but with their hands operating a letterpress was a welcome change. One student, unable to remove himself from a computer used both the letterpress and the laser printer which scanned work he had previously printed on the press. The scanned images were then printed again on the letterpress.

This summer, Matthew Carter, type designer was invited by the museum to create a new type design that will be produced by the Hamilton Museum. Another recent request came from Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tennessee who wanted to complete a William Page font in their collection. The volunteers at Hamilton are skilled craftsman able to skillfully work the pantograph and carefully finish each piece of type.. Plans are under consideration to promote new work as well as make available some of the historic typefaces in the Hamilton collection.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Hamilton Museum in Two Rivers in May, 2004, organizers are currently working with corporate sponsors and local design organizations to plan a gathering which would include tours, demonstrations, and presentations by educators, designers, printers, historians, and artists. The tentative dates will be close to the 28th of May which is the date of the museum’s opening.

Finally, a few comments on the future activities. The state of Indiana has within its northern borders several historical and unique attractions related to printing and typography. Paper, presses, a library, and printing surround a sixty-mile radius from West Lafayette, Indiana. The Twin Rocker Paper Mills, in Brookston continues to produce and create unique hand-made papers for printers, artists, and designers. North of Brookston, Indiana is a little-known collection of presses owned by Ed Regen. Purdue University Library maintain the Bruce Rogers Collection. And West of Lafayette, Indiana in the town of Earl Park is the Tribune ShowPrint which prints posters using primarily wood type on an early 20th century Babcock Optimus press. Recently Tribune celebrated it 125th anniversary in January 2003 which makes it the oldest print shop in the United States still printing.

In the spring of 2002 a small collection of woodcut posters were found in the attic of Tribune. These blocks were hand-cut in the early part of the last century and were used up to the 1950’s producing multi-colored posters featuring sports, social event, holidays, entertainment, etc. Approximately 17 x 26 inches the designs using simple shapes and primary colors bordered the posters allowing for text to be set later. Printed on heavy card stock they were either nailed to electrical poles or propped again a window in a store and must have been quite effective in advertising product or promoting events. A limited series will be printed to support efforts to restore, catalog, and display these blocks and posters.

We recently located a small collection of woodcut posters approximately 17 x 26 inches produced in the early part of the last century until the 1950’s. These multi-colored posters were illustrated with a variety of themes including sports, social events, holidays, entertainment, etc. A large portion of the poster was designed to leave space for text. These hand-carved, linoleum blocks were created using simple shapes and primary colors and were quite effective in advertising products or promoting events. Printed on heavy card stock they were either attached to electrical poles or propped again a window in a store. To restore, catalog, and display these blocks we are going to reprint a select number of posters in a limited edition to support these activities. The project will commence in January 2004.

Dennis Ichiyama is a faculty member at Purdue University and teaches Visual Communications Design focusing on typography. He currently does research on wood type at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, USA. In spring 2004, he has a university fellowship to research multi-color wood-cut posters.