Summary
Overview
This episode tells the dramatic story of Thomas Cobden Sanderson and Emery Walker, two friends who founded the Doves Press in 1899, created the beautiful Doves Type, and then saw their friendship collapse into a bitter feud that ended with Thomas throwing the entire typeface into the River Thames over the course of five months in 1916-1917. The story is presented as an adaptation of a live musical show combining narration, music, and theatrical elements.
The Birth of a Friendship and the Doves Press
Thomas Cobden Sanderson and Emery Walker met in 1880s London, brought together by shared interests in socialist politics and printing. Thomas was a brilliant bookbinder struggling with depression, while Emery had risen from childhood poverty to become a typography expert and successful photo-engraving business owner. Their close friendship led them to establish the Doves Press in 1899, funded by Thomas's wealthy wife Annie with £1,600 (equivalent to £250,000 today).
- Thomas and Emery met in late 1880s London, bonding over socialist politics and printing
- Thomas became a bookbinder after his wife complained his interests were too abstract, eventually founding the Doves Bindery in 1893
- Emery founded a photo-engraving company in 1886 capable of unprecedented quality reproductions
- The two lived and worked extremely close to each other - Emery at No. 3 Hammersmith Terrace, Thomas at No. 7
- They established the Doves Press together in 1899, with Annie lending £1,600 to start the business
" To a perfect friend, an imperfect souvenir. "
The Revolutionary Doves Type
The centerpiece of the Doves Press was its custom typeface, Doves Type, based on Nicholas Jensen's 15th-century design but modernized for the future. The typeface and the press's aesthetic philosophy - beautiful letters without ornamentation, plain black text with graceful red letters - was revolutionary and hugely influential on typography and book design. Their Doves Press Bibles became so legendary they now sell for £45,000.
- Doves Type was based on Nicholas Jensen's Venice typeface from the late 1400s but designed to look to the future
- Thomas found ornate printing styles unreadable - Doves Press books featured no illustrations or ornamentation
- The type was praised as 'trimmed to a slim grace which suggests a racehorse at the top of its training'
- Doves Press Bibles were considered superior to all others and now sell for £45,000
" trimmed to a slim grace which suggests a racehorse at the top of its training with no ounce of superfluous flesh but full of spring and life "
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