Dard Hunter (nonfiction)

Dard Hunter's watermark.

William Joseph "Dard" Hunter (November 29, 1883 – February 20, 1966) was an American authority on printing, paper, and papermaking, especially by hand, using the tools and craft of four centuries prior.

Hunter produced two hundred copies of his book Old Papermaking, preparing every aspect of the book himself: he wrote the text, designed and cast the type, did the typesetting, handmade the paper, and printed and bound the book.

A display at the Smithsonian Institution that appeared with his work read, "In the entire history of printing, these are the first books to have been made in their entirety by the labors of one man."

He also wrote Papermarking by Hand in America (1950), a similar but larger undertaking.

Active in the Arts and Crafts movement, Hunter created and championed many other types of handmade arts and crafts, publishing his own guides, such as Things You Can Make.

He experimented with pottery, jewelry, stained glass windows, and furniture.

He also founded a correspondence school, the Dard Hunter School of Handicrafts.