The Foundation

My first love was calligraphy, and in my search for sources I found the Newberry Library in Chicago. Not only do they have a world class collection of calligraphy and writing manuals, but they gave me a reader’s card at age 17, which is impossible at most rare book libraries. Viewing, up close, the pen strokes of masters unlocked a new perspective on how to perceive letters.

Over the next 40 years I collected to inspire my teaching and design practice: renaissance writing manuals, avant-garde typography, original hand-lettering, mid-20th-century modernism, all the way back to the earliest form of writing in clay. Each item in this foundational selection represents letterform innovation, and all were in the Archive’s collection when we opened in 2015.. None are a copy of something that came before, and all have sparked followers.

The generosity and access I experienced at the Newberry is the model I had in mind when we transformed my home and collection into Letterform Archive. When we say we’re open to anyone who loves letters, we mean it—no matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from.
— Rob Saunders, Founder and Curator