Recommended Reading

Below is a list of recommended books on typography compiled by former TDC President Charles Nix. For more in depth reviews on a select number of publications, please see our Book Reviews section. We will be continually posting reviews of upcoming titles and if you’re an author and would like your book considered for review by the TDC, contact us to send a copy along for review.

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• “Fine Print” on Type Charles Bigelow
• 20th Century Type Designers Sebastian Carter
• A Short History of the Printed Word Warren Chappell, Robert Bringhurst
• A Tally of Types Stanley Morison, Brooke Crutchley
• ABC of Lettering and Printing Typefaces: A Complete Guide to the Letters and Typefaces Used for Typesetting and Printing Erik Lindgren
• American Wood Type, 1828–1900 Rob Roy Kelly
• An Approach to Type John R. Biggs
• An Essay on Typography Eric Gill
• Anatomy of a Typeface Alexander S. Lawson
• Arabic Typography Huda Smitshuijzen Abifares
• Art of the Printed Book, 1455–1955 Joseph Blumenthal
• Asymmetric Typography Jan Tschichold
• Better Type Betty Binns
• Book Typography: A Designer’s Manual Michael and Susan Wightman Mitchell
• Champ Rose, Wherein May Be Discovered the Roman Letters That Were Made by Geofroy Tory and Printed by Him at Paris in His Book Called “Champ Fleury” Geoffrey Tory
• Counterpunch Fred Smeijers
• Design of Books Adrian Wilson
• Design Writing Research Design Writing Research
• Designing Books Jost Hochuli, Robin Kinross
• Designing with Type: The Essential Guide to Typography James Craig, William Bevington, Irene Korol Scala
• Dimensional Typography J. Abbott Miller
• Emigre: Graphic Design into the Digital Realm Rudy Vanderlans, Zuzana Licko, Mary E. Gray, Jeffery Keedy
• Finer Points in the Spacing & Arrangement of Type Geoffrey Dowding
• First Principles of Typography Stanley Morison
• Five Hundred Years of Printing S. H. Steinberg, John Trevitt
• Glossary of Typesetting Terms Richard Eckersley, et al.
• Herb Lubalin Gertrude Snyder and Alan Peckolick
• Hermann Zapf and His Design Philosophy Herman Zapf
• In the Day’s Work Daniel Berkeley Updike
• Jan Tschichold Ruari McLean
• John Baskerville of Birmingham F. E Pardoe
• Language Culture Type John D. Berry
• Lay In, Lay Out; En Ander Oud Zeer Piet Schreuders
• Layout in Advertising W. A. Dwiggins
• Leben und Werk des Typographen Jan Tschichold Jan Tschichold
• Letter Forms, Typographic and Scriptorial, Two Essays Stanley Morison
• Letterletter Gerrit Noordzij
• Letters of Credit Walter Tracy
• Life with Letters–As They Turned Photogenic Edward Rondthaler
• Manuale Tipografico Giambattista Bodoni, David Pankow, David Darling
• Meggs’ History of Graphic Design Philip B. Meggs, Alston W. Purvis
• Mixing Messages Ellen Lupton
• Modern Typography, 2nd Edition Modern Typography, 2nd Edition
• Origin of the Serif Edward M. Catich, Mary W. Gilroy
• Paragraphs on Printing Bruce Rogers
• Period Styles: A History of Punctuation The Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography
• Practice of Typography Theodore Low De Vinne
• Printing Types: Their History, Form and Use D.B. Updike
• Rookledge’s Classic International Typefinder Christopher Perfect, Gordon Rookledge, Phil Baines
• Signs and Symbols Adrian Frutiger, Andrew Bluhm
• Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works Erik Spiekermann
• Stylepedia Steven Heller, Louise Fili
• Texts on Type Steven Heller, Philip B. Meggs
• The ABC’s of [triangle circle square], The Bauhaus and Design Theory Ellen Lupton and Abbott Miller
• The Art of Graphic Design Bradbury Thompson
• The Art of Typo(icon)graphy Martin Solomon
• The Education of a Typographer Steven Heller
• The Elements of Typographic Style Robert Bringhurst
• The Encyclopaedia of Typefaces W. Turner Berry, A. F. Johnson. W. Pincus Jaspart
• The Form of the Book Jan Tschichold
• The Metafont Book Donald E. Knuth
• The New Typography Jan Tschichold
• The Thames and Hudson Manual of Typography Ruari McLean
• The Typographic Book, 1450–1935 Stanley Morison and Kenneth Day
• The Visual Display of Quantitative Information The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
• The Work of Jan Van Krimpen John Dreyfus
• Thinking with Type Ellen Lupton
• Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering Jan Tschichold
• Type Rules! Ilene Strizver
• Typencyclopedia: A User’s Guide to Better Typography Frank Romano
• Typographers on Type Ruari McLean
• Typography Friedrich Friedl
• Typography Emil Ruder
• Typography Willi Kunz
• Typologia Frederic W. Goudy
• Typophile Chapbook: Designing a Book Abe Lerner
• Typophile Chapbook: Harsh words T. M. Cleland
• Typophile Chapbook: MSS by WAD W. A. Dwiggins
• Typophile Chapbook: The Kelmscott Press, 1891 to 1898 William Morris
• Typophile Chapbook: The Type Designs Made for Private and Commercial Use, 1896 to 1943 Frederic W. Goudy
• Typophile Chapbook: Theodore Low De Vinne Carl Purington Rollins
• Typophiles Chapbook: Ands & ampersands, from the first century B.C. to the twentieth A.D Frederic W Goudy
• Typophiles Chapbook: B. Franklin, 1706–1790 Benjamin Franklin
• Typophiles Chapbook: B.L.W. to the Typophiles Beatrice Warde
• Typophiles Chapbook: Books and printing Paul A. Bennett
• Typophiles Chapbook: Postscripts on Dwiggins Paul A. Bennet
• Typophiles Chapbook: William Caxton and His Quincentenary John Dreyfus
• U&lc John D. Berry
• While You’re Reading Gerard Unger
• Wolfgang Weingart: My Way to Typography Wolfgang Weingart, K. Wolff
• Writing & Illuminating & Lettering Edward Johnston