Edward Catich
Encyclopedia
Father Edward M. Catich ( 1906 – April 14, 1979 ) was an American Roman Catholic priest, teacher, and calligrapher. He is noted for the fullest development of the thesis that the inscribed Imperial Roman capitals of the Augustan age and after owed their form (and their characteristic serif
s) wholly to the use of the flat brush, rather than to the exigencies of the chisel or other stonecutting tools.
, Montana, and raised in Butte
, to a Serbo-Croatian copper miner family. His parents died when he was 11, and he and three brothers (including his twin) were taken by train to the orphanage of the Loyal Order of Moose, the Mooseheart
campus near Aurora
, Illinois.
At the orphanage he apprenticed under sign-writer Walter Heberling. After graduating high school in 1924, Catich toured with a Mooseheart band, and then went to Chicago, where he played music in bands, studied art at the Chicago Art Institute, and supported himself as a union sign-writer. Catich attended St. Ambrose College from 1931 to 1934, where he worked as the leader of the school band. He received a masters degree in art at University of Iowa
in Iowa City.
He went to Rome in 1935 to study at Pontifical Gregorian University
for Holy Orders
, where he also made a study of archaeology
and paleography. He was ordained in 1938 and returned to Iowa
to teach art, math, engineering, and music at St. Ambrose. As priest, he served the Diocese of Peoria parishes of Atkinson
and Hooppole
in Illinois.
He founded the Art Department at St. Ambrose University and taught there for forty years, until his death in 1979. The Davenport
, Iowa, university now holds some 4,000 of his works, many from his legacy to Professor John Schmits, at the Edward M. Catich Memorial Gallery. The gallery was originally his studio and press at the Galvin Fine Arts Center and was built with a donation from Hallmark Cards
, where several of his students worked.
He had ties to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Houghton Library
at Harvard, and was a founder of the Catholic Art Association
.
He created two typeface
s, Petrarch and Catfish.
Many of his books were published under his own press, The Catfish Press, operated out of his studio at the university.
Besides calligraphy, Catich was accomplished at liturgical art, working in slate, stained glass, watercolor, and print.
He played the trumpet, cello, and harmonica.
Other institutions which hold his work are
in the late 1930s, he made a thorough study of the letter forms of the epigraphy on Trajan's Column
.
While the brushed-origin thesis had been proposed in the nineteenth century, Father Catich, having worked as a union sign painter, made a complete study and proposed a convincing ductus by which the forms were created, using a flat brush and then chisel. He promulgated his views in two works, Letters Redrawn from the Trajan Inscription in Rome and The Origin of the Serif: Brush Writing and Roman Letters.
While the thesis is not universally accepted, electioneering posters excavated in Pompeii show unincised Imperial Roman capital
titles (followed by body text in Rustic capitals
) brush-painted on certain walls .
Serif
In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...
s) wholly to the use of the flat brush, rather than to the exigencies of the chisel or other stonecutting tools.
Life
He was the third of six children born in StevensvilleStevensville, Montana
Stevensville is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,553 at the 2000 census.-History:Stevensville is officially recognized as the first permanent settlement in the state of Montana...
, Montana, and raised in Butte
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
, to a Serbo-Croatian copper miner family. His parents died when he was 11, and he and three brothers (including his twin) were taken by train to the orphanage of the Loyal Order of Moose, the Mooseheart
Mooseheart
Mooseheart is an unincorporated village and a home for children run by the Loyal Order of Moose in Kane County, Illinois, USA. It is located near Aurora, Illinois...
campus near Aurora
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
, Illinois.
At the orphanage he apprenticed under sign-writer Walter Heberling. After graduating high school in 1924, Catich toured with a Mooseheart band, and then went to Chicago, where he played music in bands, studied art at the Chicago Art Institute, and supported himself as a union sign-writer. Catich attended St. Ambrose College from 1931 to 1934, where he worked as the leader of the school band. He received a masters degree in art at University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
in Iowa City.
He went to Rome in 1935 to study at Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
for Holy Orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
, where he also made a study of archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and paleography. He was ordained in 1938 and returned to Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
to teach art, math, engineering, and music at St. Ambrose. As priest, he served the Diocese of Peoria parishes of Atkinson
Atkinson, Illinois
Atkinson is an incorporated town in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 972 at the 2010 census, down from 1,001 at the 2000 census....
and Hooppole
Hooppole, Illinois
Hooppole is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 204 at the 2010 census, up 162 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hooppole is located at ....
in Illinois.
He founded the Art Department at St. Ambrose University and taught there for forty years, until his death in 1979. The Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, Iowa, university now holds some 4,000 of his works, many from his legacy to Professor John Schmits, at the Edward M. Catich Memorial Gallery. The gallery was originally his studio and press at the Galvin Fine Arts Center and was built with a donation from Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
, where several of his students worked.
He had ties to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Houghton Library
Houghton Library
Houghton Library is the primary repository for rare books and manuscripts at Harvard University. It is part of the Harvard College Library within the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Houghton is located on the south side of Harvard Yard, next to Widener Library.- History :Harvard's first...
at Harvard, and was a founder of the Catholic Art Association
Catholic Art Association
The Catholic Art Association was founded in 1937 by Sister Esther Newport as an organization of artists, art educators and others interested in Catholic art and its philosophy...
.
Works
His calligraphy and stonecutting work won Catich an international reputation, and he created many slate inscriptions using his brush and chisel technique.He created two typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
s, Petrarch and Catfish.
Many of his books were published under his own press, The Catfish Press, operated out of his studio at the university.
Besides calligraphy, Catich was accomplished at liturgical art, working in slate, stained glass, watercolor, and print.
He played the trumpet, cello, and harmonica.
Other institutions which hold his work are
- Chapel + Cultural Center at RensselaerChapel + Cultural Center at RensselaerThe Chapel + Cultural Center at Rensselaer is an architecturally unique, multipurpose performing arts and spiritual space in Troy, New York, owned and operated by the Rensselaer Newman Foundation . It is conventionally referred to as "The C+CC"; the "+" sign has come to be formally used instead of...
- Harvard CollegeHarvard CollegeHarvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
- Los Angeles County Museum of ArtLos Angeles County Museum of ArtThe Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
- Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
's corporate headquarters - Reed CollegeReed CollegeReed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
- Morton ArboretumMorton ArboretumThe Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, covers 1,700 acres and is made up of gardens of various plant types and collections of trees from specific taxonomical and geographical areas. It includes native woodlands and a restored Illinois prairie. The Arboretum has over 4,100 different species of...
- University of PittsburghUniversity of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
's Cathedral of LearningCathedral of LearningThe Cathedral of Learning, a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
and Benedum HallBenedum HallMichael L. Benedum Hall of Engineering is a landmark academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Deeter, Ritchey, and Sippel and completed in 1971 at a cost of $15 million...
The origin of the serif
Studying in Rome during his novitiateNovitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
in the late 1930s, he made a thorough study of the letter forms of the epigraphy on Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...
.
While the brushed-origin thesis had been proposed in the nineteenth century, Father Catich, having worked as a union sign painter, made a complete study and proposed a convincing ductus by which the forms were created, using a flat brush and then chisel. He promulgated his views in two works, Letters Redrawn from the Trajan Inscription in Rome and The Origin of the Serif: Brush Writing and Roman Letters.
While the thesis is not universally accepted, electioneering posters excavated in Pompeii show unincised Imperial Roman capital
Roman square capitals
Roman square capitals, also called capitalis monumentalis, inscriptional capitals, elegant capitals and quadrata, are an ancient Roman form of writing, and the basis for modern capital letters....
titles (followed by body text in Rustic capitals
Rustic capitals
Rustic capitals is an ancient Roman calligraphic script. As the term is negatively connotated supposing an opposition to the more 'civilized' form of the Roman square capitals Bernhard Bischoff prefers to call the script canonized capitals.Rustic capitals are similar to Roman square capitals, but...
) brush-painted on certain walls .