The Printing Historical Society or 'PHS' is a learned society devoted to the study of the history of printing

Printing

Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....

, in all its forms.

History

The Society was founded in London in 1964 by a group of teachers, scholars, students of design and bibliography, librarians, professional printers and amateur enthusiasts, notably James Mosley, James Moran, John Dreyfus, Michael Turner, Berthold Wolpe

Berthold Wolpe

Berthold Ludwig Wolpe OBE was a German typeface designer and teacher.Wolpe was born in Offenbach, Germany. Trained as a calligrapher with Rudolf Koch at the Offenbach Workshops, as well as a silversmith. The dual knowledge of these crafts informed his thinking about letter design...

, David Chambers

David John Chambers

David John Chambers is an English bibliographer, printing historian, printer and book-collector. Throughout a career in insurance, latterly as a non-marine underwriter for AS Harrison Syndicate 56 at Lloyd's of London, and more recently in retirement, Chambers has studied books and ephemera...

 and Michael Twyman

Michael Twyman

Michael Twyman is a Professor Emeritus of the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading. He joined the university staff in 1959. He established a BA course in Typography & Graphic Communication which eventually grew into its own department in 1974...

. At the time, and to some degree ever since, the PHS had close connections with the St Bride Library

St Bride Library

St Bride Library is a library in London primarily devoted to printing, book arts, typography and graphic design...

 (then called the St Bride Printing Library) and the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading

University of Reading

The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...

. The PHS was the first society to be instituted specifically for the study of printing history, and has been followed by several others, notably the American Printing History Association.

Aims

The aims of the PHS are stated to be 'to foster an interest in the history of printing and encourage both the study and the preservation of printing machinery, records, and equipment of historical value'.

Publications

Since its inception, the PHS has produced a series of scholarly publications which are available to members, and often also to the general public. An occasional monograph series has included reprints of works and specimens of historical significance, as well as original books on printing type

Typeface

In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....

, printing presses, lithographic printers

Lithography

Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

 and other aspects of the discipline. The Society's Journal, originally issued annually and latterly published twice a year, has a good reputation for learning, originality, accuracy and detail, and for the reproduction of specimens of historical printing processes and documents. The Society has also published a Bulletin and, more recently, has joined with the Friends of St Bride and the National Printing Heritage Trust in issuing the quarterly Printing history news (now edited by Paul W. Nash). The Journal has had a series of distinguished editors and guest-editors, including Mosley, Twyman, Margaret M. Smith and John Trevitt.