Will Bradley, His Chap Book: An account, in the words of the dean of American typographers, of his graphic arts adventures

In Short

This memoir traces the life of Will Bradley, a self-taught graphic artist who rose from an impoverished childhood as a printer's devil to become a defining force in American typography and design. Through boyhood apprenticeships, midwestern newspaper offices, and the founding of his own Wayside Press, Bradley recounts his pioneering work with Caslon types, magazine covers, and art direction. His recollections reflect the rapid industrialization of the graphic arts, capturing the movement from hand-set type to modern commercial publishing with modesty, humor, and a lifelong commitment to craftsmanship.

The Story

Will Bradley begins his life in Swampscott, Massachusetts, spending quiet days with an ailing father who advises him that he will one day want to be an artist. Following his father's death, his mother moves them to Ishpeming, a Michigan iron-mining town. At age eleven, Bradley enters a cold print shop located above a saloon, learning to forage for kindling in snowdrifts while working for local editor John D. West. By fifteen, he becomes foreman of the Iron Ore shop, earning a man's wage and trying his hand at hand-lettered promotional posters. A chance meeting with a visiting Chicago landscape painter prompts him to seek broader horizons.

Moving to Chicago, Bradley finds work in the design department at Rand McNally. He witnesses the early evolution of printing technology, moving from hand-folded papers and drum-cylinder presses to direct line photo-engraving and early halftones. Free-lancing out of a studio on Dearborn Street, he works exhaustive hours for local paper merchants and publishers. He becomes embedded in a bohemian literary circle that includes Eugene Field and publisher Irving Way, whose passion for William Morris and fine printing ignately sparks Bradley’s own artistic ambitions. Commissions from Stone & Kimball and Way & Williams establish his reputation as a master of book decoration and poster art.

Seeking creative independence, Bradley moves to Massachusetts and opens the Wayside Press in Springfield, choosing a dandelion leaf as his device. Here, he champions the revival of historic Caslon typefaces, pairing them with Strathmore deckle-edge papers. He launches Bradley: His Book, an ambitious art and literary journal, but the dual burden of designing, editing, and managing commercial contracts overwhelms his health and finances. The press is ultimately absorbed by the University Press in Cambridge, a heart-breaking setback from which he recovers with his wife's support.

Undeterred, Bradley pivots to New York City and enters the magazine world. He secures contributions from romantic figures like Richard Harding Davis and begins high-profile assignments for major periodicals. Over the subsequent decades, he serves as art editor for Collier's, Good Housekeeping, Century, and Metropolitan. Working closely with publishers like Robert Collier and William Randolph Hearst, Bradley revolutionizes editorial layouts, introduced bold full-color openings, and sets type by hand in uninhibited combinations of roman and italic. His career expands into writing children's stories, designing motion picture serials, and staging pantomimes. In his later years, he settles into California retirement, looking back on a lifetime of graphic innovation with deep gratitude for the evolution of his craft.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Fatherless at a young age, a boy moves with his mother to a Michigan mining town and takes a job as a printer's devil in an unheated shop. He quickly masters the trade, rising to foreman by age fifteen while painting promotional rink posters on the side.

The city of opportunity Moving to Chicago, the young printer navigates the commercial design world at Rand McNally while learning new photo-engraving technologies. He mixes with local writers, book collectors, and ambitious young publishers who give him his first book design assignments.

Building the Wayside Press Settling in Springfield, Massachusetts, he opens his own press, pairing classic Caslon types with rich Strathmore papers and publishing an art magazine. Overworked by business details and commercial press runs, his health collapses, forcing him to surrender the enterprise.

Conquering the metropolis He moves into New York's magazine scene, pitching top authors and redesigning major national periodicals like Collier's. His innovative use of borders, striking cover art, and asymmetric typography reshapes commercial publishing.

An expanding horizon Partnering with William Randolph Hearst, he expands his graphic direction across newspapers, magazines, and early cinema projects, including pantomimes and film serials. He closes his career by restyling major publication layouts before retiring to California.

The People

• Will Bradley wants to achieve his father's dream of becoming an artist while mastering the practical details of the printing trade. Driven by energy and an eye for historic typography, he frequently overextends himself by running printing presses and editing magazines simultaneously. He transforms from an uneducated small-town printer into the nation's preeminent graphic designer and art editor.

• John D. West is the editor of the Peninsula Record in Ishpeming who offers the young Bradley his early start in the printing business. A direct and colorful pioneer, he gives the boy room to learn the trade in a frontier environment.

• Mr. Newett is the publisher of Iron Ore who recognizes Bradley's talent, rapidly promoting him from job printer to shop foreman by age fifteen. A likable sportsman who shoots out a street faker's flare with a rifle, he acts as a supportive mentor.

• Irving Way is a passionate Chicago publisher who collects fine press books and introduces Bradley to literary figures and collectors. His enthusiasm for fine printing helps steer Bradley toward artistic book design.

• Richard Harding Davis is a famous romantic author who generously agrees to write a story for Bradley's fledgling magazine without requiring immediate payment. His warmth gives the struggling young publisher crucial encouragement.

• William Randolph Hearst is a media mogul who provides Bradley with broad creative freedom across magazines, newspapers, and films, constantly challenging him to innovate with color and typography on tight deadlines.

In Its Own Voice

"I had always thought of printing as being along the wayside to the achieving of my ambition. And I chose a dandelion leaf as my device because the dandelion is a wayside growth." Bradley explains the philosophy behind his famous press and its symbolic device.

"The mixing of roman and italic in radically different sizes and with consideration for desired emphasis... resulted just as I had visualized while the type was being set in fragmentary form." Capturing his energetic method of setting type directly in the composing room to revolutionize magazine headers.

"God love them and the editorial lads who give them opportunity and encouragement. They are making an old man mighty happy--yes, making him envy their fun while he is relegated to sheer laziness in the siesta sun of California." Reflecting on the talent of younger illustrators while enjoying his peaceful retirement years.

What It's Really About

Beneath its narrative of career success, the memoir explores the tension between artistic ambition and commercial execution. Bradley constantly balances the pure idealism of fine craftsmanship—exemplified by his devotion to Caslon types and handmade papers—against the relentless demands of modern mass production. The text documents a pivotal era when printing transformed from a manual trade into an industrialized media empire. It celebrates the dignity of hard work and self-directed learning, showing how a humble apprentice can shape the visual taste of an entire nation. Ultimately, the book is an affectionate love letter to the graphic arts, emphasizing that true creative fulfillment comes from viewing one's daily work not as a heavy burden, but as a joyful, lifelong lark.

Why Read It Today

This memoir offers a vivid, first-hand account of the golden age of American design and publishing. Readers fascinated by book history, typography, or late-nineteenth-century American life will find Bradley’s narrative engaging and refreshingly modest. The prose is clear, warm, and entirely devoid of pretension, capturing the vibrant atmosphere of pioneer print shops, bustling Chicago lofts, and New York editorial suites. While the narrative occasionally assumes familiarity with bygone printing machinery—such as drum-cylinders, routing plates, and hand-jogging—the author's infectious enthusiasm keeps the reading light and accessible. What lingers long after finishing is Bradley's boundless creative vitality and his gentle, generous outlook on a life spent in pursuit of visual beauty.