Type: A Visual History
of Typefaces and Graphic Styles
(Alston W. Purvis, Cees W. de Jong,
Jan Tholenaar, 2009)
A journey through type’s evolution.
Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles is not a book you simply read — it’s one you explore.
Drawn from Jan Tholenaar’s legendary collection, it traces the evolution of letterforms across five centuries of design. Every page is an artifact, revealing how culture, technology, and craftsmanship have shaped the way we communicate.
The book feels like walking through a typographic time capsule. From engraved alphabets to early sans-serifs, from ornate Victorian scripts to geometric modernism, it celebrates the tension between art and utility. Purvis and his co-authors don’t just catalogue typefaces — they show how each carries the fingerprint of its era.
Type is the finger post pointing to the difference between the progressive and ambitious printer and the one who just plods along.
