This is one of a series of posters celebrating the artistry and craftsmanship of The Village Press, founded in 1903 by Frederic W. Goudy in Park Ridge, Illinois. The Village Press venture was modeled on the ideals of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The first publication of The Village Press was the William Morris essay, Printing; it went on to publish The Door in the Wall & Other Stories by H. G. Wells and Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving.
It was Goudy’s international reputation for type design that made this private press so extraordinary. In 1924, Goudy purchased a model Albion letterpress used by William Morris himself. That press is now famously called the Kelmscott/Goudy Press.
The second poster was inspired by the Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris in Hammersmith, London, in 1891, and where he produce the highly-regarded book, The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer (1896).
Goudy was born in Bloomington, Illinois, as was Elbert Hubbard, founder of another fabled print house, The Roycroft Press.
Elbert Hubbard founded the Roycroft Press (1893) in the village of East Aurora, New York, near Buffalo—he also advocated the Arts and Crafts movement ideals of William Morris.
Buy the Village Press poster here, the Kemscott Press poster here, and the Roycroft Press poster here.