Type Tuesday - District of Columbia Paper Manufacturing Company

We here at Type Tuesday love type, but what is it worth without the paper on which it appears? In addition to type specimens, the Kemble Collection on Printing and Publishing also holds a variety of paper samples from fine paper manufacturing companies such as the District of Columbia Paper Manufacturing Company. Their 1924 publication, Designs & Typography for Cover Paper, features samples created by esteemed designers, demonstrating how the company's paper could be used for advertising, taking into consideration color, size, paper weight and other features, such as deckling. As the introduction states, "every design, therefore, represents the unhampered taste and thought of its producer, to whom full credit for the result is due."

The District of Columbia Paper Manufacturing Company produced their own papers in their mill in Washington D.C., where "in addition to making [their] own rag pulp, [they] also produced [their] own chemical wood pulp, thus having complete control over these raw materials."

The following are some examples of the designers work, including information about their particular paper choices for their designs. 

Cover design for Women’s Wear by Mary McKinnon, printed at the Marchbanks Press. Reproduced on Green Executive Cover, Light Weight.

Cover design for Hotel Prospectus by W.A. Dwiggins, printed by McGrath-Sherrill Press. Reproduced on White Executive Cover, Heavy Weight.

Cover design for Children’s Wear by Lucille Patterson Marsh, printed by Norman T.A. Munder. Reproduced on Gray White House Cover, Light Weight.

Cover design for Automobile Catalogue by Edward A. Wilson, printed by Norman T.A. Munder. Reproduced on Terra Cotta National Cover, Light Weight.

Cover design for Sporting Goods Catalogue by George J. Illian, printed at the Printing House of William Edwin Rudge.

Jaime Henderson

Archivist