Designing the Mentoring Stamp. Although a field that is often overlooked by bibliophiles and historians of printing and typography, several of the most important contributors to twentieth century book and letter arts have made significant contributions to the design of the seemingly modest postage stamp. Eric Gill, Reynolds Stone, Jan van Krimpen, S.L. Hartz, S.H. DeRoos, Georg Trump, Walter Brudi, and Hermann Zapf—designers who have been celebrated for their masterful accomplishments in the field of type design—have all considered the specific concerns of philatelic design. Eric Gill, although only responsible for one design marking the reign of George VI, had (as one might expect) exacting and pointed opinions about stamp design, and carried out a lengthy public debate on the matter in the pages of the Times. Jan van Krimpen and his Enschedé colleague S.L. Hartz, designed hundreds of stamps for the Netherlands and her colonies. These, and the dozens of examples by the above designers, are an unexplored resource of tremendous lettering and calligraphy which also provide exceptional insights into how these designers worked and solved problems. Designing the Mentoring Stamp is the first in a series of books to explore these heretofore forgotten bodies of work.

Lance Hidy, the accomplished designer of books, posters, types, and stamps, takes us through the process of designing a postage stamp while explaining how the small Mentoring stamp relates to his larger body of work. Thirty-eight full-color reproductions illustrate the photographs, designs, and drawings which were part of the design process, as well as related posters and illustrations from the last thirty years of Hidy's work. The 64-pages were printed at Stinehour Press and bound at Acme Bookbinding. Preview two pages from the book here.

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The Kat Ran Essays in Philatelics is a series meant to focus on the overlooked philatelic work of type and graphic designers. Designing the Mentoring Stamp by Lance Hidy was the first title in this series. Eric Gill's Notes on Postage Stamps is the second title. Future titles will focus on Wim Crouwel, Jan Van Krimpen, and Sem Hartz. To learn more about our stamp-related projects, visit our collection of postage stamps by type designers.

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