"This lovely documentary" - Typeface reviewed in Library Journal

June 14, 2011

Back in March Library Journal gave Typeface perhaps one of its best reviews yet - and we only just found it! The highly respected publication for professional librarians gave the film a Star "recommended" rating, and Margaret Heilbrun's review is so nice we though we'd reproduce it in full:

"There’s some dispute over whether Two Rivers, WI, can rightly claim to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, but there’s no question that it is home to one of the largest collections of historical wood display type in the world. What was once the Hamilton Manufacturing Company became in 1999 the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum—one beloved by letterpress artisans/teachers and boutique graphic designers seeking a return to the authenticity of the old analog age of craftsmanship in display printing (think of 19th-century WANTED and circus posters). Only trouble: Two Rivers is miles from urban centers, tourist routes, or universities. Nonetheless, devotees make the trek.

In this lovely documentary, both elegiac and hopeful, understated yet moving, filmmaker Nagan unobtrusively presents the story of this museum, with a narration shifting among the voices of those involved, from the lone museum employee to the former Hamilton workers who return as volunteers to keep alive aspects of wood display-type creation (operating the pantograph machine; trimming type). Here also is the larger story of how the past can slip from our hands and of how, with attention and support, it can abide. Highly recommended for those already appreciating this part of Americana and those ready to be enchanted by it."

 

Typeface is available for educational purchase for libraries and other institutions through Cinema Guild, and for individuals through the Kartemquin Store.

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