From left: Edward Connery Lathem and Rudolph Ruzicka with a copy of Studies in Type Design. (Inland Printer/American Lithographer magazine, 1968.)

I first became aware of Rudolph Ruzicka’s work about ten years ago. I was a graphic design undergraduate at Rhode Island School of Design, aimlessly browsing the Z250-oversize section of the school library, when the imposing capitals on a tall spine caught my eye: STUDIES IN TYPE DESIGN.

Studies in Type Design was published in 1968, when Ruzicka was 85, more than a decade after Primer, his last completed typeface, was released. The book offers ten typeface concepts, drawn between 1960 and 1967. Ruzicka explains his intent in a brief introduction:

The temptation to clothe the twenty-six leaden soldiers in new array is irresistible. This is the only apology offered for suggesting still further additions to the seemingly infinite variety of existent typefaces.

A perceptive critic will see at once the eclectic character of some of these studies in the ancient forms & can readily point out their stylistic anomalies. More serious would be the technical problems involyed in translating the designs into type: the mechanical problems of fitting and of kerns, vital in metal though perhaps immaterial in the rapidly developing photoelectronic processes. For one concerned with legibility, there would remain the task of relating stem, hairline, counter and serif to each other and to the weight of the larger mass—it is a far cry from design to type face. But it is a pleasure to watch and hopefully march in the parade.

Perusing the Studies is a calm tactile experience. The cloth-bound slipcase houses a portfolio of 11×13¾-inch loose-leaf plates, each protected by a folded cover page. The presentation is at once sumptuous and spare. Each plate shows a simple composition of alphabet and text examples, meticulously drawn by hand. The portfolio makes restrained use of seven ink colors and two paper stocks.

No text is actually typeset—each letterform is rendered by hand. The meticulously drawn plates are the main attraction, but careful attention was paid to other elements. Display lettering for the front matter is drawn similarly to the alphabets within, and introductory text is written in a distinctive humanist calligraphic hand.

To me the book is the culmination of Ruzicka’s work as a book designer, lettering artist, and typeface designer. Working on this project late in his career, at last he answered to no one but himself and his publisher (and close friend) Edward Connery Lathem, a librarian at Dartmouth College. The design of both the book and the alphabets within express Ruzicka’s voice in purest form.

I will most certainly discuss more about Studies in Type Design in future posts, so for now I’ll let the images above speak for themselves.