The Curwen Press was found in 1863 by Rev, John Curwen, originally to print music. His grandson Harold Curwen took control of the business in 1916 and was soon joined by Oliver Simon in 1920, transforming what was essentially a family job-printing business into a notable fine-press publishing enterprise. The two made a great impact on the typographic world of the 1920s, with their well-designed types and borders, fine illustration work, and their attention to design and color. The Press maintained its reputation for quality until it closed its doors in 1984, with its considerable collection passing to Cambridge University Library, including much of its distinguished stock of type. Much of the credit for rescuing the types from the melting pot goes to Ian Mortimer, artist, designer, printer, and proprietor of I. M. Imprimit in London.
The selection displayed here of borders and typefaces from the Curwen Press were compiled and proofed from the original types by Ian Mortimer, printed offset by Adrian Lack at the Senecio Press, and were inserted as part of John Dreyfus’s article “The Curwen Press Collection in Cambridge University Library” in Matrix 5, Winter 1985, pp. 23-33. All the borders shown here were commissioned by Curwen for its exclusive use. The typefaces also include some exclusive designs, such as Curwen Sans designed by Harold Curwen, initials by Jan Van Krimpen and Percy Smith, and some typefaces particularly associated with the Press, such as Walbaum.
Borders and typeface names, along with their designers are printed beneath each specimen. Besides Curwen, Van Krimpen, and Smith, other designers of note whose designs are displayed here include Albert Auspurg, Henry Ball, Edward Bawden, Harry Carter, Rudolf Koch, and Paul Nash.
Matrix 5 was printed in October 1985 by John and Rosalind Randle at the Whittington Press in Andoversford, Gloucestershire, in an edition of 715 copies, and is another fine donation from our friend Jerry Buff.
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