In view of the problem of fake news spreading online, US magazine Columbia Journalism Review decided to take over one of New York’s famous newsstands for a day. It swapped the usual publications, the likes of The Wall Street Journal and Time for a range of fictitious titles that contained fake news. Its headlines and stories were taken from the internet and included ‘Texas now recognised as Mexican State’, amongst many others.
In contrast, we have ‘This is a Printing Office’. This famous broadside by Beatrice Warde, penned back in 1929, was created to promote the release of the Perpetua typeface by the Monotype Corporation. These words are very dear to us print professionals and her words are truer now than ever before.
This is a Printing Office, can be found on the walls of numerous printing offices (including ours here at letterworks), has been cast in bronze and is mounted at the entrance to the United States Government Printing Office in Washington, D. C.