The Graphic Design Techniques and Cultural History of Radical Publications — Jessica Meoni

Recorded during TypeCon2016: Resound in Seattle, Washington

While some historians trace the radical press back to the colonial days of Thomas Paine’s Enlightenment leaflet, Common Sense, others look to earlier prints such as Martin Luther’s disputation piece, The Ninety-Five Theses. Both of these documents served as prominent, controversial beneficiaries of Gutenberg’s printing press. Later, during the Dada and Surrealism movements of the early 1900s, avant-garde mail art such as weeklies, monthlies, letters, and pamphlets added an additional layer of letterpress exploration through collage and découpage. These ephemera championed motives of students in the 1930s, who sought to craft self-published opinion pieces on the newly integrated Platen printing press model and typewriters.

The radical press described these groups, encompassing those who printed countercultural literature and art that challenged social norms. Chronicling underground school newspapers, science fiction fan clubs, Amateur Press Associations, labor unions, punk rockers and more, the capability to self-publish played a major role in the promotion and historical conservation of many diverse groups, subcultures, and social movements.