Featuring publications of relevance to our industry, including those cited in SDS e-newsletter lead articles and suggested additional reading, we’ve recently relaunched the SDS Reader’s Corner book of the month page. Each month we will showcase a suggested read that relates to our professional areas of interest, be it a seminal publication or something more tangential. We hope the books we select will offer you insights and inspiration.
If you any suggestions of books, particularly newly published ones, that you think would be of inte arest to our community, please email us: enquiries@signdesignsociety.co.uk.
For April ’26 we feature Type Archived: A visual journey through typographic history by Richard Ardagh (published by Volume in early 2026).
Synopsis
“Now, for the first time, a new book by long-serving Type Archive volunteer Richard Ardagh sheds light on the organisation’s extraordinary materials, celebrating their significance and importance to both the history of art and engineering.
Type Archived presents the typographic treasures that made this possible, from the engraved punches (master letters) and matrices (dies for casting), to the letterpress type and printing presses that put ink to paper. Inside the book, these items have been arranged into chapters by material: iron, steel, copper, brass, bronze, lead, wood, and paper.
Alongside specially commissioned photography, the book features a detailed summary of the trials and achievements of the Archive, an essay on the techniques of typefounding, a glossary of terms and detailed image captions describing the objects, their designers and uses.”
Reviews
“This book is the perfect antidote to the AI hype around us. It is about what we can achieve if we put our minds and hands to work … If this story of an invention that made mankind’s knowledge tangible by providing lead letters to print the world’s languages doesn’t make you a typomaniac, you need help.”
[Erik Spiekermann]
“‘Type Archived’, a must-have manual for hot metal enthusiasts and linotype lovers … provides a stunning visual tour of traditional typefounding and offers a definitive account of London’s legendary Type Archive.”
[Anne Soward for Wallpaper, 4 December 2024]
Buy a copy now
As of 18.03.2026, the hardcover edition is available to buy @£50.00 (RRP) via Volume.