Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Title:	Frederic W. Goudy Collection
Inclusive Dates:	1905-1966
Quantity:	3 linear ft.
Abstract:	Correspondence, printed material, writings, bibliographies relating to the American type designer and printer.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Frederic W. Goudy (1865-1947) was an American printer and type designer of more than 120 fonts, among them Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. Frederic's wife Bertha M. Goudy worked closely with him and was a noted graphic designer in her own right. Both Frederic and Bertha were self-taught.

With Will H. Ransom, Goudy founded the Village Press in 1903, an Arts and Crafts venture similar to those of William Morris in England. In addition to his independent work Goudy was the art director for Lanston Monotype for more than twenty-five years (1920-1947). In 1940 Goudy was appointed a lecturer at Syracuse University's School of Journalism; today Fine Arts students at SU have access to the Frederic W. Goudy Typographic Laboratory and its three letterpresses. Goudy's studio at Marlborough-on-Hudson, a converted mill he christened Deepdene, was the site of an annual "pilgrimage" by typographers as well as the namesake for Goudy's Deepdene typeface.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Frederic W. Goudy Collection consists of original artwork, bibliographies, correspondence, memorabilia, printed material, writings, and a few miscellaneous items.

Artwork contains original sketches of decorative borders, letters, titles, and assorted other items.

Two typescript Bibliographies, one from the Chiswick Book Shop, the other evidently produced by a student for a class at Syracuse University, list various Goudy items.

The bulk of Correspondence is outgoing from Goudy. There are several from Goudy to Leslie Marchand, Professor of English at Rutgers University, and an assortment of other letters. One, from Goudy to Sherman, concerns the development of his Sherman font (1912).

Notable in Memorabilia are the birthday tributes to Goudy and the folder of items commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Village Press. Many of these are from fellow artists and craftspeople, and are elegant and beautifully-designed letterpress pieces. This series also contains clippings about Goudy and others, programs from dinners held for Goudy, photographs (most of Goudy himself, but also a framed photo of his studio, Deepdene), and miscellaneous letterpress and commercially published pieces about Goudy.

Printed material contains Goudy type proofs and type specimens, items printed by the Village Press and Marchbanks Press, and pieces from other printers either designed by Goudy or using Goudy typefaces. The Village Press items are, where possible, identified with the numbers given by Melbert B. Cary in his A bibliography of the Village Press.

Type contains a complete set of the Sherman typeface and a few pieces of Village type.

Writings contains articles, essays, forewords, and other pieces written by Goudy. Formats include handwritten manuscript, printed (some by the Village Press, some by other presses), and published.

Miscellaneous items include handmade paper possibly made from one of Goudy's shirts and an assortment of miscellaneous publications.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Except for the clippings about Goudy and Goudy's published writings, which are arranged chronologically, all material is arranged alphabetically.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

In our manuscript holdings, see also the David Norton Collection relating to Frederic Goudy and the Charles Pont Collection relating to Frederic Goudy for additional bibliographies and research material about Goudy. The library has many Goudy-related books and monographs cataloged in our Rare Books holdings and in the general collection; please refer to Libraries Search for a complete listing. There is also a complete case of Goudy type, presently (2009) located on the sixth floor of Bird Library in the Lemke Seminar Room.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Frederic W. Goudy Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Some items gifts of Lyle Spencer, Elizabeth Sherman Engelhart, and Ersel L. Janis. Additional items purchased, 1943-present.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MRC
Date: 25 Feb 2010
Revision history: 9 Sep 2014 - addition P-14-200 (MRC); 17 Feb 2017 - additions, moved/rehoused Type as separate series (MRC); 5 Feb 2019 - unidentified type in Box 3 identified, oversize additions processed (MRC)

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Inventory

	Artwork
Box 1		Borders, decorative
Box 1		Letters
Box 1		Titles
Box 1		Miscellaneous

	Bibliographies
Box 1		Chiswick Book Shop undated - typescript, titled "List 55"
Box 1		Fraser, Robert S. 1966 - typescript; evidently created for a class at Syracuse University

	Correspondence
Box 1		Cody, Sherwin 1935 - discusses his work practices at this point in his career
Box 1		Marchand, Leslie / Rutgers University 1939-1941, 1946
Box 1		Miscellaneous 1905-1913, 1935, 1938, 1946, undated

	Memorabilia
Box 1		Birthday tributes to Goudy 1932, 1935, 1937, 1940-1942
Box 1		Clippings about 1924, 1933-1936, 1939-1943, 1945, 1947, undated
Box 1		Clippings about others 1957
Box 1		Dinner programs 1929, 1941, undated
Box 1		Photographs undated - photos of Goudy, Syracuse University medal; also includes reproduction of photo of Deepdene (3 folders)
Box 1		Village Press 35th anniversary 1938
			See also Printed material : Miscellaneous, various printers.
		Miscellaneous
Box 1			Printed - various items privately printed, for or about Goudy
Box 1			Published - booklets with material about Goudy, list of items from a 1966 exhibition at Syracuse University, prospectuses for two of Goudy's books, more

	Printed material
Box 1		Goudy type proofs
Box 1		Goudy type specimens
Box 1		Marchbanks Press
			See also Miscellaneous, various printers below.
		Village Press
Box 2			Cary numbers, C-56 to C-231 - not inclusive, there are numerous gaps in the sequence
				See also Miscellaneous, various printers below.
Box 2			M numbers, M-13 to M-25 - not inclusive, there are numerous gaps in the sequence
Box 2			Miscellaneous
Box 2		Various printers, items designed by Goudy
Box 2		Various printers, using Goudy typefaces
Oversize 1		Miscellaneous, various printers 1907-1929
			These items were possibly purchased as a group; the folder includes an inventory by an unknown person with Cary numbers, where known. Most were printed at the Village Press but there are some from Marchbanks Press and others.
			Extracts from "The Book Beautiful" by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson, Jul 1907 [Cary 48] "Jean Grolier: an excerpt..." [Cary 104] "Exhibition of American Printing" 1916 [Cary 118] "A Proclamation" 4 Jul 1916 Trial pages for facsimile edition of Froissart's Chronicles, Jun 1920 [Cary 145] "To the Residents of Forest Hills Gardens" / "An American's Creed" 4 Jul 1920 [Cary 146] Broadside showing types designed by Goudy, Sep 1921 [Cary 153] "Elements of Lettering" proof of page 16 "Frederic W. Goudy Honorary President of the American Institute of Graphic Arts" with portrait of Goudy by Marchbanks Press [Cary 165] "Announcing the publication of a portrait gallery of American editors" prospectus, 1925 "Deepdene: a new type..." [Cary 179] "Gutenberg's Invention" Christmas 1929 [Cary 188] "The Type Speaks" [Cary 232]
Oversize 1		Miscellaneous, various printers 1924-2015 - Goudy portrait, specimen sheets, commemorative items on the occasion of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of The Village Press at Deepdene, etc.
			"Ancient customs used in a printing house" limited edition print by Arthur W. Rushmore, 23 Jul 1938 Anderson Galleries keepsake, printed by Goudy on hand-press that once belonged to William Morris, March 1924 "F W G" excerpt of broadcast by Lowell Thomas about Goudy, 17 Sep 1934 "Frederic W. Goudy: 150 Years of Typographic Influence" exhibit invitation, Cary Graphic Arts, 12 Mar 2015 "Frederic W. Goudy: A Memorial Sunday, May 11, 1947" reproduction from original in Printing Arts Goudy cartoon by Fred Cooper, printed by Marchbanks Press, 23 Jul 1938 Goudy portrait, engraving by Clarence P. Hornung, 1926 (3 copies) "Great Goudy, O enricher of the age", 8 Mar 1935 "Here's to you, Fred" by Wilber Macey Stone, 23 Jul 1938 "I Bring You Gifts" M. Lyle Spencer tribute to Goudy, 24 Mar 1939 "Kelmscott-Goudy Press," Cary Graphic Arts (RIT) keepsake, 29 Oct 2014 "The Record of Goudy Types" David Gildea, 23 Jul 1938 "A Specimen Sheet Showing Almost All of the 'Lost' Goudy Types," Eastern Corporation, Bangor, Maine Syracuse University Library Associates commemorative print, 20 Mar 1986
Box 2		Miscellaneous unidentified

	Type
Box 3		Sherman type, complete set (2 folders)
Box 3		Village type, partial set (7 pieces)

	Writings
Box 2		Manuscript undated - "The Author's Apologia" and the foreword to "Fashions in American Typography" by Edmund Gress
Box 2		Printed 1939, 1944, undated
Box 2		Published 1924, 1926, 1936, 1940, undated

	Miscellaneous
Box 2		Paper, handmade - twelve sheets of a handmade laid paper with a watermark of "FWG 1947," possibly from Charles Pont estate; originally in a large mailing envelope labeled "FWG 1947 paper from shirt"
Box 2		Publications - reprints of articles, an auction catalog, a newsletter from the Syracuse Club of Printing House Craftsmen, etc.

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