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Bertham typeface

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: CARTYPE-0006

Scope and Contents

Bertham is Frederic W. Goudy’s 100th type design, which he completed in 1936. Its design is based on the letterforms found in German types from the 15th century. The typeface is named after Goudy’s wife, Bertha M. Goudy. The Bertham types are comprised of 10 drawers of metal type that were cast at Goudy’s own Village Letter Foundery in Marlborough, New York.

Dates

  • Creation: 1936 (release date)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to researchers, but must be handled and used with the supervision of a curator.

Biographical / Historical

Frederic W. Goudy (1865-1947) was an American printer and type designer of more than 120 typefaces. Frederic's wife Bertha M. Goudy (1869-1935) worked closely with him and was a graphic designer in her own right. Both Frederic and Bertha were self-taught.

The Goudys established their Village Press in 1903 in Park Ridge, Illinois and later moved operations to Hingham, Massachusetts, and then New York City. In 1923, they moved their residence and Press to Marlborough, New York, to a property which included an old flourmill. Frederic’s goal was to expand his workshop’s footprint, so he could not only design type and print books, but also cast his own type at what he called the Village Press Letter Foundery. He and Bertha named the compound “Deepdene” after their former street in Forest Hills, Queens, New York.

Since 1911, Goudy employed Robert Weibking (1870–1927) to engrave his designs into matrices for casting metal type. However, Goudy decided to learn the craft himself. Ever the tinkerer, at Deepdene Goudy put together his own matrix-engraving machine and assembled all the tools to begin production of his own typefaces from design to finished product. The Deepdene working conditions enhanced his productivity and from 1925 to 1938 he created some fifty typefaces himself.

On January 26, 1939 the mill at Deepdene burned down. All of his equipment—patterns, matrices, engravers, casting machines, and presses—was lost. The fire was hugely publicized, as Goudy was the most famous type designer in America. However, the terrible loss did not deter Goudy and he continued to work for another ten good years.

Howard Wheeler Coggeshall (1878-1949) began his printing career at a newspaper in Otego, New York. After working as a reporter in Oneonta, New York, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, he moved in 1905 to Whitesboro, New York and opened a print shop there. He later settled in Utica, New York, and operated his printing company in the Savage Arms Building. Coggeshall was a close friend of Frederic W. Goudy and often printed projects for Goudy with type cast at Goudy’s Village Letter Foundery. As a result Coggeshall was in possession of eleven different Goudy fonts in January 1939 when Goudy's foundry burned. The fonts, dating between 1921 and 1937, became known as the "lost" Goudy types, some of the last of Village Letter Foundery-cast types in large quantities.

Extent

26.7 Linear Feet (10 California cases)

Language

English

Overview

Frederic W. Goudy completed Bertham in 1936. Its design is based on the letterforms found in German types from the 15th century. It was celebrated as his 100th typeface.

Arrangement

Type is arranged by letter within point size.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Cary Type Collections consist of relief printing types suitable for use with letterpress printing presses.

Physical Location

Lowenthal Room, California case 3-5 through 3-14

Custodial History

The "Lost Goudy Types" were the property of Howard W. Coggeshall (1878-1949) of Utica, New York, who was a friend and printer for the designer, Frederic W. Goudy. Coggeshall was in possession of several different Goudy-cast typefaces in January 1939 when Goudy's foundry burned, destroying his drawings, patterns, and matrices; the fonts, dating between 1921 and 1937, became known as the "lost" Goudy types. The “Lost Goudy Types” collection was a gift of Marie Coggeshall to RIT School of Printing in 1960. The types were transferred to the Cary Graphic Arts Collection in 2000.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The “Lost Goudy Types” including the Bertham typeface was a gift of Marie Coggeshall to RIT School of Printing in 1960. The types were transferred to the Cary Graphic Arts Collection in 2000.

Cary Special Collections

Goudy-Coggeshall Memorial Workshop Collection (CSC 008), Melbert B. Cary Jr. Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology Libraries.

Continental Typefounders Association, Inc. Scrapbooks 1925-1936 (CSC 024), Melbert B. Cary Jr. Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology Libraries.

Earl H. Emmons papers (CSC 065), Melbert B. Cary Jr. Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology Libraries.

Howard Coggeshall Papers (CSC 071), Melbert B. Cary Jr. Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology Libraries.

Bertham specimen

  • Bertham specimen, Cary Graphic Arts Image Database
  • Bennett, Paul, ed., Goudy's Type Designs: His Story and Specimens, Being a Virtual Facsimile of The Typophiles Chap Books XIII and XIV, A Half-Century of Type Design and Typography, New Rochelle, N.Y.: Myriade Press, 1978, p. 210.

Material

cast metal

Font Size

12 pt. 14 pt. 16 pt.

Glyph

Upper case, lower case, figures, punctuation

Processing Information

Collection processed by Amelia Hugill-Fontanel, April 2016.

Finding aid encoded by Amelia Hugill-Fontanel, April 2016.

Subject

Title
Finding Aid for Bertham typeface collection
Status
In Progress
Subtitle
Cary Type Collections
Author
Amelia Hugill-Fontanel
Date
28 April 2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Cary Graphic Arts Collection Repository

Contact:
Rochester NY 14623 US
(585) 475-2408