You all must know of Dan X. Solo, even if you don’t actually know him. His books, filled with antique typographic wonders from the Victorian age and beyond, are both numerous and bountiful. Dan died about a week ago in an Oakland, California, hospital — a few months after being diagnosed with cancer.
The deep throated, basso voiced Solo was a radio announcer, printer’s devil and proprietor of Solo Type in Oakland. He possessed an enviable collection of wood and metal type, and was generous to a fault when it came to spreading his riches to admirers and users of vintage types.
In 1998 I interviewed Solo for my book Design Dialogues, which I reproduce here:
For more information on Dan X. Solo go here for his My Font showings. And here for a list of his Dover copyright free type collections.