Notable people · Designer · Artist · Author
William Addison Dwiggins
Born in Martinsville, Clinton County, Ohio, Dwiggins became one of America's leading book and type designers. He drew the Metro, Electra and Caledonia typefaces and designed books for the publisher Alfred A. Knopf.
At a glance
- Born
- 1880-06-19
- Died
- 1956-12-25
- Known as
- Designer, Artist, Author
- Organizations
- Mergenthaler Linotype Company, Alfred A. Knopf, Lakeside Press
Life story
William Addison Dwiggins was born in 1880 in Martinsville, a small village in Clinton County. He later worked in Chicago, drawing lettering and advertising art.
He moved east to Hingham, Massachusetts, and in 1919 published a sharp criticism of how books were being designed. In 1922 he was diagnosed with diabetes and turned away from advertising toward book work.
In 1926 he designed an edition of Edgar Allan Poe's Tales for Lakeside Press. Three years later the Mergenthaler Linotype Company hired him as a consultant, and he drew several typefaces that are still admired, including Metro, Electra and Caledonia. He also built a marionette theater.
He died on Christmas Day 1956 and is buried in Hingham. Bookbuilders of Boston created an award in his name in 1957.
Timeline
- 1880-06-19: Born (Martinsville, OH) source
- 1919: Publishes a critique of book-design standards (Hingham, MA) source
- 1922: Diagnosed with diabetes and shifts away from advertising work (Hingham, MA) source
- 1926: Designs Poe's Tales for Lakeside Press (Chicago) source
- 1929: Becomes a consultant to Mergenthaler Linotype (Brooklyn, NY) source
- 1956-12-25: Dies (Hingham, MA) source
- 1957: Bookbuilders of Boston establish the W. A. Dwiggins Award (Boston, MA) source
What William is known for
- Designed the Metro, Electra and Caledonia typefaces
- Consultant to the Mergenthaler Linotype Company from 1929
- Designed many Alfred A. Knopf books
- Typefaces Metro, Electra, Caledonia
- Book designs for Alfred A. Knopf
- Marionette theater
Honors and things named for them
- W. A. Dwiggins Award, Bookbuilders of Boston (1957)
Family
- wife: Mabel Hoyle Dwiggins
Ohio places
Where William Addison Dwiggins was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Martinsville, Clinton County ZIP 45146 · Martinsville · Clinton County
- Lived: Hingham, MA, Plymouth (Massachusetts) County
Myths and corrections
- Disputed: Dwiggins is often said to have coined the term "graphic design" in 1922. The Wikipedia article says there is evidence the phrase was used earlier, so the claim is not settled.
Further reading
Sources
- Wikipedia: William Addison Dwiggins birth 1880 and place; career dates; typefaces; honors; burial; the graphic-design term claim