This lettering walk will take in several neighborhoods in the northern part of the Bronx, between the New York Botanical Garden and Westchester: Norwood, Williamsbridge, Wakefield and Woodlawn Heights. We may even stray into Mt. Vernon or Yonkers, if the weather is good and we are not too tired. These neighborhoods are rich in ethnic stores and restaurants, churches and schools, and small businesses. Much of the lettering will be more humble and vernacular than that found in midtown Manhattan. This is a chance to see a lot of sign painting, a few examples of neon, some of the sources of Gotham typeface, 1950s/1960s style plastic lettering, and a few oddities. As with all of the lettering walks that have been done since 2006, this one is unique and will not be repeated.

Paul Shaw is a designer and a design historian. He has been leading lettering tours of New York City neighborhoods for 10 years and of other cities, both here and in Italy, since 1997. As a designer he specializes in letterforms from calligraphy to type design. Paul has designed or co-designed 18 fonts, including Kolo, Donatello and Old Claude. As a historian he has written or lectured about Bartolomeo Sanvito, W.A. Dwiggins, Oswald Cooper, Frederic W. Goudy, George Salter, Phil Gruskin, Hermann Zapf and others.

Register online.

Meeting place and itinerary will be emailed a few days in advance of the tour.