Developing research with collections and archives in Typography

Dr Rob Banham’s HCIC Fellowship is aligned with Typography’s Collections Research Framework that is seeking to demonstrate and enhance Typography’s renowned reputation and success in obtaining funding for research using collections and archives, and for its publications that have shown how studying the material attributes of text is a lively, cross-disciplinary area of study.

Typography’s Research Framework is grounded in collaboration, within the University, and beyond. We are delighted to have appointed Dr Laura Carnelos and Dr Sallie Morris as Collections Research Assistants to help us deliver our ambitions.

Some upcoming events:

7 March 2018: ‘Dating ephemera’, a day-workshop organised by the Centre for Ephemera Studies, the John Johnson Collection and UMASCS. We are looking forward to welcoming colleagues from the British Museum, the British Library, the V&A and Wellcome, as well as interest from across the University.

23 March 2018: ‘Structures of the printing press 1450–1830’. A master-class for PhD students and ECRs as part of the Gutenberg celebrations in conjunction with the Institute of English Studies, University of London and Bodleian Libraries.

June 2018: ‘London Rare Book School (LRBS) at Reading’ course on ‘Colour Printing 1800-1950’ This will make use of the collections relating to printing processes, which are unique, and will include workshops using our collection of historic presses.

June 2018:  With SOAS, a two-day interdisciplinary symposium, ‘Multiple impressions: the coexistence of scribal practices and printing technologies in text’, for doctoral students and ecrs. One day will be held at SOAS, and one day at Reading which will feature of textual reproduction demonstrations; typographic printing from metal and wood type, and lithographic printing, with a display of artefacts and materials from the Non-Latin Type collections.

This work will supplement our themed ephemera workshops on ‘Entertainment’ and ‘Dialogue and interaction’, which have attracted interest from colleagues in English Literature, Construction Management and Henley Business School. By request, we are running future workshops on the themes of ‘Health’ and ‘Food’ in the summer term. Our posters workshop in September 2017, co-organised with the V&A on behalf of the Arts Council, was a great success.

Our new seminar series (with support from HCIC), ‘Collections, archives, research: the material text’, begins in the Summer Term, and will highlight work that shows the burgeoning cross-disciplinary interest in print, printing and its usage.

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