Excerpt from Bruce Rogers Designer of Books I4and illustrations designed by the mural painter, Mr. Edwin H. Blashfield. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

In 1948, the world-renowned book designer Bruce Rogers wrote a brief text that documented and illustrated his creation of the Centaur typeface several decades earlier: The Centaur Types. The book was privately printed by Rogers himself under the name of his design studio, October House. This limited edition of the book was transferred to the Purdue University Libraries at the time of his death along with his other papers and books. Over the years remaining stock of the original private printing has found its home in the Special Collections of the Libraries, and although known as something of a collector's item by those who are aware of the few copies in circulation, it is here available to the general market for the first time in both paperback and digital versions. The Centaur Types is a fascinating book for several reasons: in the designer's own words, we learn of the evolution of the typeface and of his interest in the art and craft of creating type; it demonstrates different and comparable typefaces, and gives examples of Centaur from six to seventy-two point; and it stands as a fitting example of fine bookmaking from one of the master book designers of the twentieth century.