The Fitzwilliam Museum - University of Cambridge

The John Dreyfus Bequest
Goudy Modern, from
A Miscellany of Type Compiled
at Whittington
The Whittington Press, 1990,
limited edition of 530 numbers,
one of thirty presentation copies.
Printed on Zerkall mould-made
paper in a variety of typefaces,
quarter bound in buckram
and patterned covers, 125pp,
360 x 270 mm.
PB.183–2003
John Dreyfus Bequest
This is the largest and most important
bequest of fine printing made to the
Museum since those of Viscount
Fitzwilliam (1816) and Frank McClean
(1904). John Dreyfus (1918–2002) began
his career in Cambridge, under Stanley
Morison's guidance, and quickly rose from
a trainee to Assistant University Printer
and Typographical Adviser. It was at the
Fitzwilliam Museum that he organised,
together with Stanley Morison, his first
exhibition on printing in 1940. The
bequest represents the section of Dreyfus'
library that comprised publications of
bibliophile societies and Private Presses,
an area in which the Museum has a longstanding
interest and rich holdings. The
collection reveals Dreyfus' wide-ranging
tastes and his holistic approach to the art
of the book. A Miscellany of Type
celebrates the typographical renaissance
inspired by Stanley Morison in the 1920s
and embodied in the technical perfection
of the Monotype Corporation. It is
designed 'to be enjoyed for its content as
much as for its typographical displays'.
Among the liveliest typefaces is Goudy
Modern, designed by Frederick Goudy
and cut by Monotype in 1928. It is
represented by a fragment from 'Portrait of
the Wood Engraver in Middle Age', written
and illustrated by Peter Forster. As a
typographer with strong interests in book
illustration and as a contributor to the
edition, John Dreyfus received an
exclusive presentation copy.
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Major Acquisitions