This collection assembles all of the known correspondence of Canadian typographer and type designer Carl Dair (1912–67) concerning the conception, development and reception of his Cartier typeface. The letters span two decades, from Dair’s 1956–57 studies under the punchcutter P.H. Rädisch at the Enschedé typefoundry in Holland, to the voluminous response to the release of the First Proof of Cartier in 1966 until his sudden death in 1967, including candid criticisms and detailed critiques from some of the twentieth century’s foremost typographic minds–Sem Hartz, John Dreyfus, Paul Standard, Beatrice Warde, Hermann Zapf and others.

Together with annotated transcriptions of all of Dair’s surviving “Epistles to the Torontonians,” this collection gathers lively, thoughtful and timely communications to and from typographers, designers, tradesmen and scholars across Canada and the world. An informative and entertaining resource for enthusiasts of typography and history alike.

Kristine Tortora studied Book History and Print Culture at the University of Toronto, where her research into the Canadian private press movement brought her into contact with the collection at the Robertson Davies Library at Massey College, where Dair’s archive resides. She works at Trip Print Press, a letterpress printshop, and is a member of the design team AmpersandAmpersand. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario.

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