For The Love of Letters

Graphic designer Rob Saunders founded the Letterform Archive ten years ago as a place to share his personal collection of graphic arts ephemera with the public and preserve the history of anything with letters on it, from hand carved Mesopotamian tablets to mid-century subway tickets.

The nonprofit, which bills itself as a place for “all who love letters,” quickly outgrew its original Mariposa Street location. In 2020, it moved into a custom-built space at 2325 Third Street.

With nearly 30 employees, the museum aims to make its collection of more than 100,000 artifacts accessible. A digital archive was launched in 2019 for those who can’t visit in person. Unique exhibitions focus on specific holdings, including the current show featuring the work of Amos Paul Kennedy.

Kennedy’s journey into graphic arts began more than 35 years ago when, at the age of 40, he took a break from his corporate job as an AT&T systems analyst to vacation on the East Coast. During a tour of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, he saw a demonstration of the letterpress printing process, a technique of relief printing not unlike the common rubber stamp, where a raised surface is inked and pressed against paper to create an image multiple times. Kennedy became so enamored by the process that he decided to embark on a new career.

He studied for a year at a community-based shop in Chicago before earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in graphic design at the University of Madison, Wisconsin in 1997. He then opened Kennedy Prints! in Detroit, Michigan.

Kennedy was the subject of Proceed and Be Bold, a 2008 documentary about his life. He’s exhibited in dozens of museums and galleries, including New York City’s Poster House, Brooklyn Public Library, Library of Congress, and the Museum of Modern Art. Despite this exposure he describes himself as a “humble negro printer.”

Four years ago, Letterform Archive acquired more than 2,000 unique posters, handbills, maps, and artist’s books printed by Kennedy. The collection includes the Quotations of Rosa Louise Parks from 2015; rarely seen early artist’s books Strange Fruit, Riddle Ma Riddle, and Mask; prints that feature colloquial expressions, like the African Proverbs and I Am as Southern As series; and now-collectible gig and festival posters that celebrate the power of community.

Ladies, No Fighting in the Bathroom was made in 2003 for Tee’s Lounge in York, Alabama. The establishment was having trouble with the issue in the title; the sign successfully stopped it. According to Kennedy, prints of the poster are especially popular with parents who have more than one daughter.

Citizen Printer, a companion book to the show, contains more than 800 reproductions of Kennedy’s work, including new commissions. It’s the latest from the museum’s publishing venture, Letterform Archive Books, which has published 16 titles so far, 11 in the last year alone.

The exhibit of Kennedy’s work continues through this month. Admission to the gallery is $10 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with no charge on Thursdays, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. The archive plans special events to mark their 10th anniversary following the Kennedy show.