Gain perspective. Get inspired. Make history. PAGE 18 Are letters THE HENRY FORD MAGAZINE - JUNE-DECEMBER 2017 | CURSIVE | LETTERPRESS | HOUSE INDUSTRIES | INSIDE THE HENRY FORD THE HENRY | INSIDE | HOUSE INDUSTRIES | CURSIVE LETTERPRESS 2017 - JUNE-DECEMBER MAGAZINE FORD THE HENRY and language MAGAZINE building blocks JUNE-DECEMBER 2017 linking art and communication? THE CURIOUS CASE FOR AND AGAINST CURSIVE HOW LETTERPRESS IS ALIVE AND WELL A HOUSE OF TYPE TELLS ITS FONT FAIRY TALE HARRISBURG PA HARRISBURG PERMIT NO. 81 NO. PERMIT PAID U.S. POSTAGE U.S. PRSRTD STD PRSRTD SOMETIMES, OUR HIGHEST HEIGHTS HAPPEN LONG BEFORE TAKEOFF. Ocial Airline of The Henry Ford. 2 JUNE-DECEMBER 2017 thehenryford.org 3 MAGAZINE JUNE-DECEMBER 2017 Contents DEPARTMENTS FEATURES Our Mission 4 Behind the Scenes 5 18 Letter from the President 6 FANS FIRST Ask + Answer 7 Co-founder Andy Cruz A Word or Two 8 shares how an enthusiast’s Social Snippets 9 disposition and a willing- Off the Shelf 10 ness to experiment helped A Look Back 80 build his font factory, House Industries INNOVATION 28 A SECOND RISING NATION 13 Digital Revolution. So what! The art and craft of letterpress lends INSIDE itself to movable type’s THE ongoing renewal HENRY 38 FORD CURSIVE: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation 48 DEAD OR ALIVE? Greenfield Village 50 Author of The History Ford Rouge Factory Tour 52 and Uncertain Future of Acquisitions + Collections 54 Handwriting shares both 2017 Events 56 sides of the war over how Connect 3 60 we write our words STAY, EXPLORE + SAVOR 61 ON THE COVER House Industries is fearless in engaging others to help solve a problem. When the typography studio set out to create toy blocks that matched its domestic sensibilities, Uncle Goose, a Michigan- based alphabet block maker, became the perfect problem-solving partner. PHOTO BY BILL BOWEN 2 JUNE-DECEMBER 2017 thehenryford.org 3 OUR MISSION Who We Are and What We Do TO MAKE A DONATION Jeff Dunlap, 313.982.6167 Gain perspective. [email protected] thehenryford.org/support TO MAKE A LEGACY GIFT Spence Medford, Get inspired. 313.982.6016 [email protected] thehenryfordlegacy.org Chairman of the Board ADVERTISING INFORMATION Make history. S. Evan Weiner Cyndi Schutter, 313.982.6158 [email protected] Vice Chairman THE HENRY FORD: A NATIONAL TREASURE AND CULTURAL RESOURCE Gerard M. Anderson MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION The Henry Ford Call Center The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, is an internationally recognized cultural Vice Chairman Sheila Ford Hamp 313.982.6001 destination that brings the past forward by immersing visitors in the stories of GENERAL INQUIRIES AND ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation that helped shape America. President and Secretary GROUP RESERVATIONS A National Historic Landmark with an unparalleled collection of artifacts Patricia E. Mooradian The Henry Ford Call Center from 300 years of American history, The Henry Ford is a force for sparking 313.982.6001 Treasurer curiosity and inspiring tomorrow’s innovators. More than 1.7 million visitors Lisa A. Payne RESEARCH INQUIRIES annually experience its four venues: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation,™ 313.982.6020 Greenfield Village,® Ford Rouge Factory Tour and the Benson Ford Research Board of Trustees research.center@thehenry Lynn Ford Alandt Center.® A continually expanding array of content available online provides ford.org Paul R. Dimond anytime, anywhere access to The Henry Ford Archive of American Innovation.® Edsel B. Ford II SUBSCRIPTION The Henry Ford is also home to Henry Ford Academy,® a public charter high Henry Ford III INFORMATION school that educates 485 students a year on the institution’s campus. William Clay Ford, Jr. The Henry Ford Call Center In 2014, The Henry Ford premiered its first-ever national television series, William Clay Ford III 313.982.6001 or visit The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation, showcasing present-day change makers George F. Francis III thehenryford.org/contactus Ralph J. Gerson and The Henry Ford’s artifacts and unique guest experiences. Hosted by news Subscription to this Christopher F. Hamp correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca, this weekly half-hour show won Emmy® magazine is just one of Steven K. Hamp the many benefits of being Awards its first two seasons on the air. It airs Saturday mornings on CBS. John W. Ingle III a member. Magazine-only For more information, please visit thehenryford.org. Eliza Hudson Kontulis Elizabeth Ford Kontulis subscriptions not available. Richard A. Manoogian Hendrik Meijer DESIGN, PRODUCTION AND Bruce Meyer EDITORIAL SERVICES Mark L. Reuss Hau Thai-Tang Alessandro F. Uzielli 248.399.1322 Amb. Ronald N. Weiser [email protected] Jennifer LaForce, Editor Help us inspire The Henry Ford Magazine Bill Bowen, Creative Director is published twice a year Julie Friedman, Art Director future change makers by The Henry Ford, 20900 Kathy O’Gorman, Copy Editor Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn, The Henry Ford inspires dreamers, doers, movers and makers MI 48124. Copyright 2017. All rights reserved. with stories of the greatest breakthroughs and inventions Reproduction in whole throughout history. Your support goes a long way toward or in part without written permission is prohibited. unleashing The Henry Ford Archive of American Innovation and making our collections available to the world. The Henry Ford is an independent nonprofit organization. We depend on ticket purchases, income from our stores and restaurants, and tax-deductible contributions and memberships for support. To learn how your generosity can help take it forward, visit thehenryford.org/support. 4 JUNE-DECEMBER 2017 thehenryford.org PB Notable Colleagues and Correspondents BEHIND THE SCENES IF YOU WERE A TYPEFACE, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? Our contributors tell us. ANNE TRUBEK BERNIE BROOKS ELIAS STEIN BILL BOWEN CHRISTOPHER NIELSEN The font that best The font that best I would have to go with I don’t like being pinned After researching represents me is actually represents me is Wim Futura. It is based on down or boxed into a House Industries fonts the current standard, Crouwel’s New Alphabet. geometric shapes, which corner, but for the sake for the article I was Times New Roman, It’s forward-thinking and is similar to my drawing of argument, I would illustrating, I would have which was designed theoretically useful in style. Versatility is say I’m in the vein of to say today I’m feelin’ by Stanley Morison a hyper-specific sort important, and it can Helvetica, Akzidenz- kinda Housearama and harkens back to of way but ultimately pass for classic or Grotesk, Gotham and Strike! So many beautiful the script used by the totally impractical. modern. A lot of popular other sans-serif type- vintage-styled fonts to Romans, epitomized It’s also kind of stylish. sans-serif typefaces blur faces inspired by clean choose from on their site. by Trajan’s Column. It’s together, but Futura is lines, architecture and Bernie Brooks is a writer, Christopher Nielsen’s both historically minded distinct and memorable. simplicity of form. If you artist and curator from illustrations flow forth and contemporary. would have asked me Detroit. He regularly Elias Stein is a freelance from a love of vintage this question in the ’90s, Anne Trubek is the writes about art, culture illustrator from Illinois. design. His images I would have said I’m a author of The History and pop music. His clients include ESPN, have been adopted hybrid between Motion and Uncertain Future GQ, Target and more. by wineries, zoos, Fans First and and Modula from Emigre of Handwriting and Outside of illustration, department stores, A Second Rising, Fonts — just a little the director of Belt his main interests are radio stations and fish Pages 18 and 28 hyper with a sense of Publishing. music and sports — two mongers around the style slightly outside subjects that often show globe. When he’s not Cursive: Dead or Alive?, the mainstream. Page 38 up in his work. making images for Bill Bowen is a partner clients like Myer Cursive: Dead or Alive?, Page 40 at Octane Design, and department stores, when he’s not coaching Penguin Random House, hockey or drumming, Taronga Zoo, Kellogg’s he’s either behind the and Toyota, or raising camera or dreaming up two children, he can be the next new project for found on stage with his the studio. He enjoys band, The Ramalamas. meeting the people he Ask + Answer, Page 7 photographs as much as taking their pictures. His work has been featured in Delta’s Sky magazine, Visit Detroit and, of course, The Henry Ford Magazine. Cover; A Second Rising, Page 28 STAY CONNECTED WITH THE HENRY FORD. PB JUNE-DECEMBER 2017 thehenryford.org 5 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Casual Thoughts and Serious Correspondence At The Henry Ford, we have a saying: “Everything of significance we do, we do in partnership with others.” We firmly believe that strategic partnerships help fuel the lifeline of this cultural institution and provide a solid foundation to help us meet the demands of a constantly evolving, ever-shifting world. As stewards and leaders of this great organization, our commitment is strong and our focus on the future is steady, due in large part to the relationships we cultivate and nurture. This summer, we are privileged to be partnering with House Industries on a new exhibition, House Industries: A Type of Learning. This multisensory exhibition will open in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation on May 27 and run through September 4, 2017. Known throughout the world for its eclectic fonts and far-reaching creative exploits, House Industries has been a standard-bearer for American design for 25 years. House fonts can be seen on everything from movie posters and magazine covers to websites and cereal boxes.