The introductory remarks from my last post kept Greer Allen on my mind all week long. For those not fortunate enough to recognize his name, Greer Allen (1922–2005) was a Senior Critic in the Yale School of Art, former Yale University Printer (1972–1983), and regular instructor at Rare Book School. He designed and supervised the production of exhibition catalogues for the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University; the Houghton Library, Harvard University; the Joseph Regenstein Library, University of Chicago; and the Newberry Library. Lengthier biographies & tributes to Greer can be found online, but let me just succinctly state what a grand and generous man he was.

I was lucky enough take his course twice at Rare Book School and sit with him at meals between classes. Engaging him in conversation was always as entertaining as it was educational. When planning lectures in my previous lifetime I was lucky enough to book both Greer and wife equally wonderful wife Sue. I not only wanted to share my enthusiasm for the Allens with my students & community, but I secretly wanted to act upon a deep desire I harbored to design posters for each of them.

My hand-colored, Sarah Wyman Whitman-inspired poster for Sue went off without a hitch. Years later, the poster I designed for Greer’s lecture on Berthold Wolpe wasn’t quite the pinnacle of production I’d hoped it might be. In a hurry I didn’t check the large display Albertus I’d asked a student to set for me from my specs. She’d mistakenly set a cap I where a lowercase l should have been. Eagle-eye Greer spotted the typo from across a gallery and walked right up to it pointing his finger right at the error. I was devastated but for only a moment. In typical Greer fashion, he turned to me with that mile-wide smile and said “My boy? That’s EXACTLY what Berthold would have done.” It seemed the man never tasted a sour lemon in his life. God bless him.

Much to the detriment of successive generations of typographic designers Greer’s writings on his process, in particular, and design, in general, are few and far between. Prompted by my time revisiting my lessons with Greer I thought I’d veer from my standard Typocurious protocol and select to re-present something I did not find in the Lawson-Provan teaching files. Here, from the pages of Rare Books & Manuscripts Librarianship (Volume 5, Number 2, 1990, pp. 77–84) begins a four-part presentation of “The Design and Printing of Library Exhibition Catalogues” by Greer Allen.

TypoCurious