Henry Lewis Bullen (1857–1938) was an Australian-born American printer, typographic archivist, and historian known for his contributions to printing technology and type history.
Born in Ballarat, Australia, Bullen left school at 14 to apprentice as a printer. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1875, working in Boston as a printer and editor for Trade Review. In 1891, he moved to New York, becoming advertising manager for Hamilton Manufacturing Company, later merged into American Type Founders (ATF.)
Bullen played a key role in marketing type families, reviving Garamond, Caslon, Cloister, and Bodoni. He contributed to The Inland Printer and became ATF’s corporate historian, producing type specimen books, catalogs, and pamphlets.
In 1908, he founded the ATF Library, merging collections from Theodore Low De Vinne, Typothetae of New York, and the Franklin Typographic Society. Housing over 16,000 documents, it served typography students. After ATF’s bankruptcy (1933,) Bullen helped transfer the library to Columbia University, opening it to the public in 1939.
Notable works include Discursions of a Retired Printer (1924) and Collectanea Typographica (1926,) exploring printing history and typography.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Henry Lewis Bullen
Tradition means handing on all that is of value to the next generation.
—Henry Lewis Bullen
Topics: Generations
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