Beatrice Warde (1900-1969)

The American, Beatrice Warde, stands out as one of the few women in the world of typography before the advent of the computer. And yet, she did not design any typeface. She was more like the Keeper of the Flame for the Noble Art of Letter Writing. She is credited with having "the common touch" and so was able to give popular lectures on the art and history of typography and act as its chief propagandist. At one lecture to the horror of librarians, she recommended that readers "feel" the page.

She entered the world of typography through her job as a librarian at the American Typefounders Company and through her marriage to Frederic Warde. They decided to devote themselves to typographic studies. She went on to write on typography for The Fleuron as Paul Beaujon and demonstrated a flair for typographic detective work on the origins of typefaces. She was generally known as the 'First Lady of Typography'.

"People who love ideas must have a love of words, and that means, given a chance, they will take a vivid interest in the clothes which words wear."

[NOM]