Is this design?: Poetry and prose in the broadsides of the John Lewis Collection

Is this design?: Poetry and prose in the broadsides of the John Lewis Collection

WALDECK, Mila

Article:

19th century broadsides have been discussed in the history of design as examples of a typographic shift, brought about by the emergence of display styles such as "fat faces", and associated with new technologies such as the iron press. These characteristics can be seen mainly on broadsides that functioned as advertisement. Other kinds of 19th century broadsides were intended for popular reading, telling news and tales. These commonly combined poetry and prose, unlike earlier broadsides, typically written in either one of these text genres. This essay asks whether this combination was specific to broadsides and if it was limited to a specific country. Broadsides of John Lewis Printing Collection of the University of Reading Special Collections were analysed and compared to those of the Library of Congress, and similar examples were found in different countries. This indicates that the combination of poetry and prose in those broadsides goes beyond the framework of national borders.

19th century broadsides have been discussed in the history of design as examples of a typographic shift, brought about by the emergence of display styles such as "fat faces", and associated with new technologies such as the iron press. These characteristics can be seen mainly on broadsides that functioned as advertisement. Other kinds of 19th century broadsides were intended for popular reading, telling news and tales. These commonly combined poetry and prose, unlike earlier broadsides, typically written in either one of these text genres. This essay asks whether this combination was specific to broadsides and if it was limited to a specific country. Broadsides of John Lewis Printing Collection of the University of Reading Special Collections were analysed and compared to those of the Library of Congress, and similar examples were found in different countries. This indicates that the combination of poetry and prose in those broadsides goes beyond the framework of national borders.

Palavras-chave:

DOI: 10.5151/despro-icdhs2016-03_012

Referências bibliográficas

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Como citar:

WALDECK, Mila; "Is this design?: Poetry and prose in the broadsides of the John Lewis Collection", p-244-250. In: Wong, Wendy Siuyi; Kikuchi, Yuko & Lin, Tingyi (Eds.). <strong>Making Trans/National Contemporary Design History [=ICDHS 2016 – 10th Conference of the International Committee for Design History & Design Studies]</strong>. São Paulo: Blucher, 2016.
ISSN 23186968, DOI 10.5151/despro-icdhs2016-03_012