Rob Roy Kelly Collection Facts

-Rob Roy Kelly published American Wood Type, 1828–1900: Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types and Comments on Related Trades of the Period as a comprehensive history of American printing types of this period.

-He began collecting these wood types starting in the 1950s for use with his art and design students, but by 1966 he sold the collection to Dr. Bernard Karpel, who later sold the collection to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. It finally ended up in the College of Fine Arts in 1993.

-In 1990 Kelly chose particular woodtypes for him to digitalize for the Adobe Originals program.

-The wood type industry was declining by the end of the twentieth century, which manufacturers at the time were using the end cut method.

-There are four methods used to commercially produce wood type, including end-cut, die-cut, and veneer