Rob Roy Kelly’s published research — including American Wood Type 1828–1900 (1969) — helped fuel a revival of interest in nineteenth-century American printing types. His work continues to be an important starting point for current scholarly inquiry. The University of Texas Press published a monograph David Shields researched, wrote, and designed: The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection: A History and Catalog, which functions as a ‘close’ reading of the collection.
David Shields approached the collection as more than simply the 18,000+ pieces of wood type acquired by Kelly, and have defined it more broadly as a range of objects, publications, research papers, and attendant activities across several archives in the United States. Viewing the collection broadly has provided the opportunity to look past Kelly as the sole instigator and investigator and perceive him as a link in the broader network of relationships that led to the success of his research project. The physical presence of the published book has helped David reconsider his own research for the manuscript, not simply as a mode of historicization, but as development of a set of tools that could be useful to other (typographic) research projects.
A virtual presentation by David Shields, author, design educator, and Professor of Graphic Design at VCUarts, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia