When I began delving into the typographic past as part of my researches for a history of ATypI, and especially as I interviewed people whose memories stretched back into the association’s early days, I realized that I myself had been around long enough to have memories of my own that ought to be recorded. So I started writing, somewhat sporadically, my own typographic memoir. It’s still a work in progress. These chapters have been published on Medium, a useful platform for such endeavors, but I decided that they ought to be available on my website, too, where it’s easier to find them all and to see how they fit together. (They will remain on Medium as well.) None of this is necessarily final or finished. Memories seep to the surface when you least expect them. Corrections, additions, and other perspectives are always welcome.
-
1 | Franklin Press
How I became a phototypesetter
-
2 | 81 Yesler Way
Setting type on Skid Row
-
3 | Phototypesetting adventures
The world of alternative publishing in pre-digital Seattle
-
4 | At Microsoft Press
Chris Stern and the creation of the type department
-
5 | Pioneering computer-book publishing
Jumping from phototypesetting into the digital world at Microsoft Press
-
6 | Designing books in the early days of Microsoft Press
Why not start designing the books ourselves?
-
7 | The end of the beginning
A new publisher began undermining the craftsmanship we had been trying to bring to computer-book publishing
-
8 | From pixels to lead
Chris Stern found a job at a leading type shop in Seattle – a very different environment from Microsoft
-
9 | Aldus minutiae
Working as a technical editor at Aldus Corporation, which was essentially responsible for the desktop-publishing revolution
-
10 | Designing for Copper Canyon Press
“I’d like you to help me design a book,” said Sam Hamill, co-founder and editor of Copper Canyon Press
-
11 | Marquand Books
I take on a new job: as Design Director at Marquand Books in Seattle