This collection was part of the private library and working collection of (John David) Ruari McDowall McLean (1917-2006), CBE DSC, leading British typographer and a former Trustee of the Library. Born in Galloway, Scotland, but brought up in England, McLean decided on a career in graphic design. He worked at the Shakespeare Head Press, then run by the eminent typographer Bernard Newdigate, who also helped him to obtain work experience in Germany in the late 1930s. He was able to visit the German typographer, Jan Tschichold (1902-1974), then living in exile in Switzerland, who played a significant role in the development of modernist graphic design in the 20th century. After service in the Second World War, McLean worked at Penguin Books along with Tschichold, before working freelance and in conjunction with other publishers. He supervised the design of the popular post-War children's magazine, 'Eagle', followed by 'Girl', 'Swift' and 'Robin', as well as the art periodical 'Motif'. He wrote several books on typography and on Victorian book design and publishers' bookbindings. The collection consists of around 1,400 20th-century books, including a collection of German books notable for their design or illustration, books designed by Ruari McLean, manuscripts and printed books of Jan Tschichold, the working notebooks of Ruari McLean, and a substantial collection of design ephemera.

Organisation

The books have been catalogued individually and have the shelfmark 'McLean.'.

Acquisition

The collection was purchased by the Library from Ruari McLean in 1994.

Related collections

Various collections of manuscripts were presented to the Library by Ruari McLean during his lifetime. Acc.11491 contains letters and papers of McLean to and from, and concerning, leading typographers.

The archive of Ruari McLean Associates, covering McLean's later career, is held in the University of Reading Library.

References

'Jan Tschichold: a life in typography,' R McLean, London, 1997.

'True to type', R McLean, London, 2000.

'How typography happens,' R McLean, London, 2001.