Rudolph Ruzicka
Encyclopedia
Rudolph Ruzicka prominent Czech-born American wood engraver
, etcher
, illustrator
, typeface designer, and book designer. Ruzicka designed typefaces and wood engraving illustrations for Daniel Berkeley Updike's
Merrymount Press
, and was a designer for, and consultant to, the Mergenthaler Linotype Company for fifty years. He designed a number of seals and medals, including the American Institute of Graphic Arts
(AIGA) and the Dartmouth Medal
of the American Library Association.
Ruzicka emigrated to the United States from Bohemia
at age ten, living first in Chicago
where he took drawing lessons at the Hull House
School before becoming an apprentice wood engraver. From 1900 to 1902 he attended further classes at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1903, he moved to New York
to work as an engraver at the American Bank Note Company
. In subsequent years he attended classes at both the Art Students League of New York
and the New York School of Art.
In 1910, Ruzicka received his first major art commission from System magazine. Many exhibitions followed, including such venues as the Societe de la Gravure, Paris, the Grolier Club, and the Century Association, New York. In 1935 Ruzicka was awarded the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Graphic Arts
, and in that same year began work with the Typographic Development staff at Mergenthaler Linotype Company, for which he was to produce typeface families. He moved to Massachusetts
in 1948 and eventually settled in Vermont
.
Over the years, D. B. Updike and Ruzicka collaborated on a number of well-respected book designs, including Newark and the Grolier Club
's Irving, as well as a fine series of Merrymount Press annual keepsakes. Ruzicka also provided substantial consulting for Updike's book Printing Types. Today Ruzicka's art is collected in the Art Institute of Chicago
, the Carnegie Institute
, Library of Congress
, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, New York.
Wood engraving
Wood engraving is a technique in printmaking where the "matrix" worked by the artist is a block of wood. It is a variety of woodcut and so a relief printing technique, where ink is applied to the face of the block and printed by using relatively low pressure. A normal engraving, like an etching,...
, etcher
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
, illustrator
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
, typeface designer, and book designer. Ruzicka designed typefaces and wood engraving illustrations for Daniel Berkeley Updike's
Daniel Berkeley Updike
Daniel Berkeley Updike was an American printer and historian of typography.Updike was born at Providence, Rhode Island. In 1880 he joined the publishers Houghton, Mifflin & Company, of Boston as an errand boy. He worked for the firm's Riverside Press and trained as a printer but soon moved to...
Merrymount Press
Merrymount Press
The Merrymount Press was a printing company, both scholarly and craftsmanlike, founded and run by Daniel Berkeley Updike in Boston, Massachusetts, and extant during the years 1893–1941...
, and was a designer for, and consultant to, the Mergenthaler Linotype Company for fifty years. He designed a number of seals and medals, including the American Institute of Graphic Arts
American Institute of Graphic Arts
AIGA is an American professional organization for design. Organized in 1914, AIGA currently has more than 22,000 members throughout 66 chapters and more than 200 student groups nationwide...
(AIGA) and the Dartmouth Medal
Dartmouth Medal
The Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association is awarded annually to a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, published during the previous calendar year.-History:...
of the American Library Association.
Ruzicka emigrated to the United States from Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
at age ten, living first in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where he took drawing lessons at the Hull House
Hull House
Hull House is a settlement house in the United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located in the Near West Side of , Hull House opened its doors to the recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had grown to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull...
School before becoming an apprentice wood engraver. From 1900 to 1902 he attended further classes at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1903, he moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to work as an engraver at the American Bank Note Company
American Bank Note Company
The American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates.-History:Robert Scot, the first official engraver of the young U.S...
. In subsequent years he attended classes at both the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
and the New York School of Art.
In 1910, Ruzicka received his first major art commission from System magazine. Many exhibitions followed, including such venues as the Societe de la Gravure, Paris, the Grolier Club, and the Century Association, New York. In 1935 Ruzicka was awarded the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Graphic Arts
American Institute of Graphic Arts
AIGA is an American professional organization for design. Organized in 1914, AIGA currently has more than 22,000 members throughout 66 chapters and more than 200 student groups nationwide...
, and in that same year began work with the Typographic Development staff at Mergenthaler Linotype Company, for which he was to produce typeface families. He moved to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1948 and eventually settled in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Over the years, D. B. Updike and Ruzicka collaborated on a number of well-respected book designs, including Newark and the Grolier Club
Grolier Club
The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, Treasurer General of France, whose library was famous; his...
's Irving, as well as a fine series of Merrymount Press annual keepsakes. Ruzicka also provided substantial consulting for Updike's book Printing Types. Today Ruzicka's art is collected in the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, the Carnegie Institute
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, New York.
Typefaces
- Lake Informal, designed for Linotype in 1935, though matrices were evidently never cut, as there is no record of this type having ever actually been cast in metal. Design later used for so-called "digital type" in 1993.
- Ruzicka Freehand, proposed designs made for Linotype in 1939 and never made into actual type. A digital knock-off of this design was made in 1993 by Ann Chaisson and Mark Altman.
- Fairfield seriesFairfield (typeface)Fairfield is an old style serif typeface designed by Rudolf Ruzicka as a text font. Released in 1940, its design is rooted in the forms of Venetian Old Face types. Fairfield Medium was released in 1947....
- Fairfield + Italic (Mergenthaler Linotype Company, 1940). Perhaps twenty digital variants of this face have been designed by Alex Kaczun for Linotype.
- Fairfield Medium + Italic (Mergenthaler Linotype Company, 1949). A digital knock-off of this has been issued by BitstreamBitstreamA bitstream or bit stream is a time series of bits.A bytestream is a series of bytes, typically of 8 bits each, and can be regarded as a special case of a bitstream....
as Transitional 751.
- Primer + Italic (Mergenthaler Linotype Company, 1953), designed for legibility and to compete with A.T.F.'sAmerican Type FoundersAmerican Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
Century SchoolbookCentury Type FamilyCentury refers to a family of type faces derived from the original Century Roman cut by American Type Founders’ designer Linn Boyd Benton in 1894. Despite originating in the nineteenth century, use of the typeface remains strong, for periodicals, textbooks, and literature...
. A digital knock-off of this has been issued by BitstreamBitstreamA bitstream or bit stream is a time series of bits.A bytestream is a series of bytes, typically of 8 bits each, and can be regarded as a special case of a bitstream....
as Century 751.