Type In Action

Type In Action by Herbert Jones is the latest addition to The Small Letter blog.  First published in 1938, this revised edition is from 1950, and sits at a junction in the evolution of typographic theory. Early chapters highlight the importance, as Jones sees it, of the jobbing printer, (as opposed to the  book or newspaper printer). It also champions clean and economic layout and typography, while recognising the potential of decorative features. In doing so, it appears to send mixed messages and documents typographic modernism in development. This is hardly surprising considering the developments in typography and design that were taking place in the time period between the two editions. In my mind, it demonstrates Jones as someone from an old school of thinking accepting change that he is observing, rather than a scholar or proponent of hardline modernist theory, and therefore, represents an interesting document that is both in and out of sync with its time.