> Should we have travel section?

Brilliant idea, Kenn!

:-)

Hey fellow

Kenn, a resource of typographic hotspots by city is a brilliant idea - requests like yours come up all the time.

hhp

BEfore that, we should just get this forum so it is half way usable. Like being able to post without super crazy errors, and maybe moving the start new thread link to somwhere where you can actually see it. and not have to scroll through EVERY thread to get to it.

I know the guys are busy, but cant we get someone -- I know there are some willing to help them fix these database problems.

a perfect example. ^^^^^

Go to design museum if you catch the time (butlers dwarf sp?) but do negotiate about price of ticket 'cause it's unjustifiable high.
To bad I missed type museum while I was there ( in what area is it?)
that bookstore in soho, are you referring to magmabooks?

Anyway, have a good time while there.
cheers

Luka: I'm not sure, but I think the bookstore is called 'Soho Original Books' They have loads of photo/design books, A friend showed me the place, so I didn't memorise its name. I'll see if they'll let me dump a few copies of my brand new printed font catalogue.

Does Magmabooks have a store in Soho?

The Type Museum http://www.typemuseum.org/index.htm is in SW9. 100 Hackford Road to be exact.

Anywhere particular for street-typography?

St Bride Printing Library...
http://www.stbride.org/
...is one of the specialist public reference libraries of the Corporation of London. Its world-famous collections cover printing and related subjects: paper and binding, graphic design and typography, typefaces and calligraphy, illustration and printmaking, publishing and book-selling, the social and economic aspects of the printing, book, newspaper and magazine trades

Missed this from the last post:

talk, exhibition: Fred Smeijers: Type now
Tuesday 16 March 2004.

Will you be there then? I'll be in London, the day before, but back at work by the 16th :-(


Also, later in the year:
talk Bruno Maag: Type is a design tool
Tuesday 13 July.

I'll be going back home the 16th....

Fredrik: Yeah banksy's a good laugh + it 's always nice to spot an original banksy. Saw one in Brighton last summer, didn't see any in Bristol, though...

Thanks for the link, Tiff.

Be aware that you have to make an appointment to visit the Type Museum in Hackford Street, the actual museum is not fully functioning, as most of the exhibits are still in boxes and archiving is still going on. There is a treasure trove of Bertold Wolpe's books and machinery some of it from the old Monotype Foundry and some donated from other now defunct foundries. Check out the street signs in that area. A book shop in Soho that you should visit is on Broadwick Street (I think, I normally walk straight there without noting the street names), definitely off Wardour Street. It is not Magma books but does have a selection of graphic books at lower prices (probably subsidised by the adult section in the basement). Also check out the bookshop in Tate Modern while you are visiting the Design Museum (which can be a disappointing visit for the expense, depending on what is showing there).
Have a good visit.
Tim

Tim, thanks for the Type Museum tip, I wasn't aware of that. Is it worth going do you think?
I wasn't overwhelmed by the Design Museum last time I visited a couple of years ago. The bookstore you describe sounds a lot like the one I shopped at this summer, thanks for the address.

The staff at the Type Museum are, I believe, all ex-workers from Monotype and are enthusiastic and friendly with an in-depth knowledge of technical production of type. I think it is well worth a visit. The level of engineering is humbling. The Design Museum can be a fruitless experience - I don't know why, you would have thought the opposite. I do recommend Tate Modern though, brilliant use of an old power station. The bookshop is also close to Charing Cross Road North which has a large selection of secondhand book shops - good for browsing if you enjoy that.
Tim

> The Design Museum can be a fruitless experience

When I was there they had a Bauhaus exhibit - that made it worthwhile - not because I like Bauhaus (I don't), but because it was a well-rounded exhibit that showed various pro and con (mostly the former, of course) facets of the movement.

hhp

Magma books isn't in Soho, its in Covent Garden, which is just a brief walk away (about 5 mins). They also have a store in Clerkenwell - details and map can be found here:

http://www.magmabooks.com/content/service/shops.asp

Literally around the corner from Magma is Zwemmers, which has two stores, one specialising in design books on Charing Cross Road. Here's a photo-map-thingy to show you what to look out for:

http://www.explore-london.co.uk/char5A.html

Hope that helps. By the way, if you are in Soho, look UP! There are lots of examples of fascinating stone carved type on many of the older buildings, high high up on the frontage, beyond the shopfront signs, that most people miss...

Thanks all. Looking up is good trick in any city, but I'll keep it in mind.

...and while in Covent Garden, stop in the <a href="http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/">London Transport Museum</a> shop and pick up a copy of <a href="http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/cgi-bin/shop.cgi?cmd=product&product_id=328&page=1&customer_ID=2JnO6wAA563858678369">Johnston Underground font set</a> and of course many other London Transport poster reproductions.
:^)

Richard, I am in fact a big fan of Johnston, I think he designed the Smell of the Tube to go with that font, but there's something wrong....
It seems awfully cheap + It says "Edward Johnston's original typeface design creaated for London Transport in 1961 is a milestone in graphic design and typography"
that's the wrong year + a typo...

Unfortunately I don't eat muffins. I used to be fat.
But thanks for the tip anyway.

18 pounds is in fact very close to our price for the set at P22 (the smell is free). I can't justify the typos on that page at LT, but they do have lots of nice artwork repros in the shop as well as the museum itself.

Sorry, I just checked the p22 site and saw the price, I probably edited my post when you were posting this answer, I edited it back...

::wink, wink::

If you only hit the "preview/post" button once you wouldn't have that kind of problem.

::wink,wink::

It took a second to find it, but this would be a great start for a typographic tour of London.

http://www.publiclettering.org.uk/

Keep in mind that St. Bride's will only be open on Wednesdays during March.

Just down from Zwemmer's on Charing Cross (walking toward Leicester Square) there are a couple decent antiquarian booksellers too.

For a good muffin, savory or sweet, go to Muffinski's. Right around the corner from the Doc Marten store in Covent Garden.

http://www.coventgarden.org.uk/features/muffinskis.html