The designing of a new printing type usually takes many months because the designer needs time for reflection and revision. That was not Frederic Goudy’s way. In 1927 alone he had six different typefaces in hand, and a few years later he produced the letter drawings, patterns, and matrices for an urgent commission in just one week.

That extraordinary rate of production, with its predictable effect on the quality of his designs, was one reason for the criticisms that were expressed about him in his lifetime. But the criticism did not prevail against his great popularity and reputation. Joseph Blumenthal wrote in The Printed Book in America that Goudy “was the only typographic designer whose fame reached beyond professional circles, sparked no doubt by his reputation as the ‘mostest.’” Goudy lectured widely and frequently, and he clearly enjoyed the lionizing and the honors that...

 

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