Order Nr. 104562 IRISH TYPE DESIGN: A HISTORY OF PRINTING TYPES IN THE IRISH CHARACTER. Dermot McGuinne.

IRISH TYPE DESIGN: A HISTORY OF PRINTING TYPES IN THE IRISH CHARACTER.

with a foreword by Hendrik D.L. Vervliet

  • Dublin: National Print Museum, 2010.
  • 7.5 x 9.5 inches
  • hardcover, dust jacket
  • 236 pages
  • ISBN: 0954379950
  • ISBN: 9780954379957

Price: $55.00  other currencies

Order Nr. 104562

Second edition. The designing of special type for printing Irish language texts began in the late sixteenth century and lasted into our own day, attracting the attention of many leading political and religious figures -Elizabeth I; Irish Franciscans in exile on the Continent; and at one point even Napoleon I - as well as scholars such as John O'Donovan, Eugene Curry, George Petri and John Henry Newman. More recently, internationally renowned designers Stanley Morison, Victor Hammer, and Eric Gill have made significant contributions to Irish type design.

Irish typography came after the demise of the late Graceo-Roman uncials and semi-uncials, preceded by late Gothic, Roman, Italic, and Greek types. It was considered a 'sacred' script for the purpose of studying Scripture.

Dermot McGuinne's book is the most comprehensive published on this subject and has become a standard work of reference. It contains more than 150 illustrations of Irish types spanning over four centuries. McGuinne covers Irish types including Queen Elizabeth's Irish type, the Rome Irish type, the Paris and Parker types, and others. Throughout eleven chapters, McGuinne provides a comprehensive account of every Irish font in its cultural, religious, and political context. This expanded second edition also includes a new foreword by Hendrik D.L. Vervliet and a new chapter on Louvain Irish type.

Dermot McGuinne gained his primary degree and early experience as a graphic designer in the United States where he later held the position of Art Director at the University of Iowa Press before returning to Ireland. He was awarded his doctorate from Trinity College Dublin for work completed on the subject of the "Irish Character in Print" and is the author of various articles on the topic. He has been the head of the departments of Visual Communication and of Fine Arts at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Available outside North and South America from the National Print Museum, Dublin.