No art without craft

the long version

"This biography of Theodore Low De Vinne(1828-1914) explores the life a seminal figure in the history of American printing. De Vinne was born in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of an itinerant Methodist preacher. It is unclear what propelled him into the world of printing, but once he discovered it, he never let it go. His masterly printing of wood engraving, together with his obsession with presswork, tight composition, and typefaces, gained him and his firm an international reputation and made De Vinne a rich man." "But it is his skill as a historian as well as a printer that endears his name to the student of typography. His four volumes on the practice of typography are considered classics. In an age when few American scholars were examining early printed books, he made significant scholarly contributions to the study of incunables. When the Grolier Club was founded in 1884, it was not surprising that, as New York's most illustrious printer, he was asked to be one of the founding members and to provide much the Club's early printing."--BOOK JACKET.