Newsletter Updates
Follow along as I research, interview, learn, and write. No spam — only stories from the road: secret locations, special photos, and a behind-the-scenes look at the reality of making the book.
Want to read a bit before you commit? I’ve written several issues with exclusive content.
Questions I’m Answering
- Where is the original Blower Linotype machine which hasn’t been seen publicly in three decades?
- What were the experiences of women & minority populations using the Linotype?
- Can we find the original 1936 NBC radio broadcast celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Linotype?
- How did the Linotype company transition to photo and computer typesetting technology?
- How did a small group of people swindle over $775,000 from the company in 1945?
- What was the APL (All-Purpose Linotype) and why did it fail so spectacularly?
- How did the International Typographic Union become so powerful and so hated?
- Why did the New York Times wait 20 years longer than everyone else to stop using the Linotype?
- Why was Ottmar Mergenthaler so angry and depressed at the end of his life?
- What was the relation between the U.S., U.K., and German Linotype companies during two World Wars?
Fast Facts
- Research locations visited
- 14
- Experts interviewed
- 8
- Spreadsheets created
- 13
- Estimated budget to self-publish the book
- $300k
- Publications currently in the bibliography
- 129
- Estimated pages of the final book
- 450?
- Custom font in progress
- 1
- Estimated years to finish research & writing
- 1½?
Did you know?
- Ottmar Mergenthaler was kicked out of his own company because he couldn’t stop tinkering?
- The Linotype wasn’t the first (or even the best) typesetting machine, but it suceeded due to overly-aggressive lawyers?
- The author Mark Twain almost went bankrupt funding a machine that was faster at composing type than the Linotype?
- There is a Twilight Zone television episode centered around a “possessed” Linotype?
- The venture capitalists behind the Linotype invested so they could break up the printing & typesetting unions?
- The Linotype company almost went out of business because Mergenthaler submitted a patent for spacing words 49 days late?
About me
My name is Doug Wilson, and I’m a designer, writer, filmmaker, and type historian. After the film came out, I thought I was finished with the Linotype — but I was wrong!
I’ve continued to research and collect fascinating stories with a focus on its large impact on society and now I’m writing a book to share it with you.
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