Goudy, Frederic William

Goudy, Frederic William

(1865–1947) type designer, printer; born in Bloomington, Ill. After learning the printing trade in small shops and working as an accounting clerk in a Chicago bookstore, Goudy devoted himself to typography. His first venture, Camelot Press, soon failed; a second, Village Press, was suspended after a 1908 fire, but revived after World War I and a second fire in 1939. Goudy designed many popular typefaces, including one that bears his name. His books include A Half Century of Type Design and Typography (1946).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.