Letterform Archive

Letterform Archive A nonprofit center for inspiration, education, publishing, and community in graphic design and type. We are open to all who love letters.

Letterform Archive is a nonprofit center for inspiration, education, publishing, and community.

Travel back to the Golden Age of exploration with Hotel Retro, a collection of 330 full-color stickers faithfully reprod...
06/06/2026

Travel back to the Golden Age of exploration with Hotel Retro, a collection of 330 full-color stickers faithfully reproducing the vibrant luggage labels that globetrotters once pasted onto their steamer trunks as souvenirs from the world's grandest hotels. ⁠
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Drawn from our collection, these stunning examples of graphic design — spanning art deco opulence to Swiss Style minimalism — celebrate the artistry of a bygone era while restoring the labels to their original adhesive purpose for a new generation to enjoy.⁠
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Purchase your copy today: https://letterformarchive.org/shop/hotel-retro-vintage-luggage-labels-from-tokyo-to-buenos-aires-330-travel-ephemera-stickers/
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Black Memory Scholar: The Language of Storytellers Juneteenth Tour ⁠⁠Thursday, June 18th, 2026 ⁠⁠1:30-3:00pm PT⁠⁠In-Per...
06/05/2026

Black Memory Scholar: The Language of Storytellers Juneteenth Tour ⁠
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Thursday, June 18th, 2026 ⁠
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1:30-3:00pm PT⁠
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In-Person at Letterform Archive ⁠
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Celebrate Juneteenth, meet the curator of our pop-up exhibition, and interact with inspiring objects that didn't make the show’s final cut.⁠
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In celebration of Juneteenth National Independence Day, curator Jada Simone Haynes will lead a conversation on the objects that inspired and are on display in Black Memory Scholar. This tour is meant to emphasize the importance of memory work and the preservation of Black communities, legacies, and stories within and outside “GLAM” institutions.⁠
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https://letterformarchive.org/shop/juneteenth-tour-black-memory-scholar/
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Jean Midolle, Oeuvres de Jean Midolle: Escritures Modernes, France, 1834–1835⁠⁠Jean Midolle was a 19th-century French ca...
06/04/2026

Jean Midolle, Oeuvres de Jean Midolle: Escritures Modernes, France, 1834–1835⁠
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Jean Midolle was a 19th-century French calligrapher and graphic artist whose enigmatic portfolio of fantastical lettering styles continues to fascinate designers and historians. Letterform Archive’s Tholenaar Collection includes the Spécimen des écritures modernes comprenant les romaines flueronées, gothiques noveles, fractures, françaises, anglaise, italienne et allemande, one of several Midolle portfolios printed in the mid-1830s by Frédéric Emile Simon at Strasbourg. ⁠

Read From the Collection: The Alphabet Lithographs of Jean Midolle: https://letterformarchive.org/news/jean-midolle/
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Raven / Allen Benedikt, 12oz Prophet, Issue 1, Miami, United StatesGraffiti zines of the 1990s emerged as fanzines docum...
06/02/2026

Raven / Allen Benedikt, 12oz Prophet, Issue 1, Miami, United States

Graffiti zines of the 1990s emerged as fanzines documenting a global subculture, enabled by accessible photo-processing and office technology, eventually growing from regional indie publications into mainstream magazines.

Together they form a significant chapter in independent publishing history, capturing graffiti's commercial evolution while serving as creative launchpads for future artists and media figures.

View our collection of zines in the Online Archive: https://oa.letterformarchive.org/?dims=Format&vals0=Zine

Richard Deighton, The Posture Master, Carington Bowles, London, England, 1780-1800⁠⁠The Posture Master, is a reproductio...
05/31/2026

Richard Deighton, The Posture Master, Carington Bowles, London, England, 1780-1800⁠
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The Posture Master, is a reproduction of a 1782 curio created by Richard Deighton, commissioned and sold by British print dealer Carington Bowles. ⁠
In these illustrations, Deighton was at liberty to use contortions, perspective, and clothing to make legible letters. They’re accompanied by a rhyming text that is the regular companion of educational alphabets.⁠
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Learn more about the interaction between letters and bodies in our blog post Letterforms / Humanforms: https://letterformarchive.org/news/letterforms-humanforms/

Join us and discover different regional styles from Los Angeles, Tijuana, and Monterrey during this choose-what-you-pay ...
05/31/2026

Join us and discover different regional styles from Los Angeles, Tijuana, and Monterrey during this choose-what-you-pay Letterform Lecture.

Placas, Trepes & Ganchos: Graffiti Transcends Border with François Chastanet
Tue, Jun 30, 2026
12:00pm–1:30 PT (8:00pm–9:30pm GMT)
Online via Zoom

This lecture examines three phenomena of public name-writing within a Mexican-American dialogue on cultural identity. Through an analysis of suburban Los Angeles Placas (Cholo script), Tijuana Trepes (hybrid border culture), and Monterrey Ganchos (cumbia- and metal-influenced monograms), this session traces the evolution of the Latin alphabet, its chronology, and its typographic and calligraphic influences.

Sign up here: https://letterformarchive.org/shop/placas-trepes-ganchos-three-mexican-graffiti-hands/?sku=EVENT_LL_26-06-30-FR

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Jean Midolle, Oeuvres de Jean Midolle: Escritures Modernes, France, 1834–1835⁠⁠Jean Midolle was a 19th-century French ca...
05/28/2026

Jean Midolle, Oeuvres de Jean Midolle: Escritures Modernes, France, 1834–1835⁠
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Jean Midolle was a 19th-century French calligrapher and graphic artist whose enigmatic portfolio of fantastical lettering styles continues to fascinate designers and historians. Letterform Archive’s Tholenaar Collection includes the Spécimen des écritures modernes comprenant les romaines flueronées, gothiques noveles, fractures, françaises, anglaise, italienne et allemande, one of several Midolle portfolios printed in the mid-1830s by Frédéric Emile Simon at Strasbourg. ⁠
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Learn more about Jean Midolle in our blog post From the Collection: The Alphabet Lithographs of Jean Midolle.: https://letterformarchive.org/news/jean-midolle/
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Michelle Ghiotti, Fringe type specimen, United States, 2025⁠⁠Fringe is inspired by the soft, serrated leaves and velvety...
05/27/2026

Michelle Ghiotti, Fringe type specimen, United States, 2025⁠
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Fringe is inspired by the soft, serrated leaves and velvety texture of the French lavender plant. Its letterforms reflect that natural character, balancing gentle irregularity with quiet structure. A tall x-height, open counters, and soft, bracketed serifs make it well-suited for long-form text, while rounded curves, bulbous terminals, and subtle asymmetries add warmth and movement.⁠
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Michelle graduated from our Type West program in 2025. Learn more about Type West, the only certificate program in type design on the West Coast: https://letterformarchive.org/education/
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The history of the Arabic speaking peoples of Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) is complex—nested in various cultu...
05/26/2026

The history of the Arabic speaking peoples of Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) is complex—nested in various cultural, religious, social, political, technological and economic contexts. Letterform Archive invites you to come celebrate the history of Arabic graphic design across borders with our docent Sabiha Basrai. ⁠
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Collections Tour: Arabic Calligraphy and Font Development⁠
Fri, Aug 14, 2026⁠
4:30pm–6:00pm PT⁠
In-Person at Letterform Archive⁠
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There are a multitude of scripts in the SWANA region—more than 28 languages that use the Arabic script (Persian, Urdu, Ottoman Turkish, etc), and scripts like Tamazight, Hebrew, and Ge’ez, that showcase the rich cultural diversity of the region. This tour will focus on the diversity of Arabic calligraphic styles, and show examples of font development that required transforming a once handwritten art into movable type.⁠
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RSVP: https://letterformarchive.org/shop/collections-tour-arabic-calligraphy-and-font-development-vjvd/

Specimen featured: Uthman b. Umar ibn Al-Hâjib, Manuscript with commentary on Al-Kafiya, 1800s, A 19th century copy of a commentary on Mullâ Jâmi's Al-Kâfiya.⁠
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2325 Third Street Floor 4R
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94107

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Thursday 1pm - 8pm
Friday 11am - 6pm
Saturday 11am - 6pm
Sunday 11am - 6pm

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