Elizabeth Colwell

Colwell was born in Bronson, Michigan; according to the 1880 United States census, her family, including parents Elisha and Nancy, and siblings, Frederic, Albert, Fernando, William and Laura, lived on a farm at Burr Oak.[1]

Colwell studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago[2] Her instructors included John Vanderpoel and Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt,[1] the latter of whom instructed her in the art of Japanese woodblock printing.[2] After becoming acquainted with Thomas Wood Stevens in 1899 she began contributing illustrations and poetry to editions of the magazine The Blue Sky.[1]

Bowl of Fruit, 1940 etching created by Colwell for the Federal Art Project

During her career Colwell worked in advertising, and she was known for her hand-lettered newspaper advertisements. In 1909 she published a book of poetry, Songs and Sonnets, which she designed and illustrated herself; she published other such books during her career.[3] 1910 saw the publication of the volume On the Making of Wood-Block-Color Prints. For American Type Founders Colwell designed the 1916 display typeface Colwell Handletter and its italic.[4][5][6] A 1947 exhibition on the history of type design in American noted her place as the only American female type designer known at that time.[7]

She was associated with the Works Progress Administration during the 1930s;[2] one of her paintings from the period, Bowl of Fruit in watercolor and tempera on panel, is currently owned by Western Illinois University.[8] Several other works are in the collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Colwell exhibited widely throughout her career, and was a member of the Chicago Society of Artists and the Chicago and New York Societies of Etchers.[2]

"Findagrave" Elizabeth Colwell, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58548625/elizabeth-martha-colwell

• American Type Founders specimen book, 1923 - Colwell Handletter is shown extensively on pages 292-7