Harry "Ward" Ritchie was born in 1905 in Los Angeles, California. His interest in literature and publishing developed at an early age; as an eighth-grader at the Marengo Avenue School in South Pasadena, he and a fellow student launched a printed paper called The Marengo Literary Leader. They printed student writings, including several of the early efforts of classmate Lawrence Clark Powell, future University Librarian at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Ritchie's lifelong friend. In high school Ward Ritchie worked on the school paper and yearbook, and as an undergraduate at Occidental College, he took a keen interest in the poetry of Occidental alumnus Robinson Jeffers and that of Occidental English professor Carlyle MacIntyre. As a printer he would go on to publish editions of both their works. After graduating from Occidental College in 1928, he entered law school at the University of Southern California. He quickly realized, however, that law was not congenial to him. After discovering the journals of the great English printer Thomas J. Cobden-Sanderson, co-founder of the Doves Press, who was once himself a discontented lawyer, Ritchie decided to give up law and become a printer and book designer. He enrolled in a printing class at a nearby trade school and got a job at the Abby of San Encino Press in South Pasadena.

Soon thereafter, with limited printing experience but ample enthusiasm, he traveled to Paris to seek an apprenticeship with internationally renowned printer Francois-Louis Schmied. Upon his return in 1931, Ritchie resettled in Los Angeles, and in 1932 he started the Ward Ritchie Press. His exceptional talents as a book designer were evident from the beginning. The first piece he published was an eight-page insert for the Colophon entitled "First Book: Robinson Jeffers", which attracted national attention. In 1934, one of Ritchies pieces, an edition of A Gil Blas in California by Alexandre Dumas, was selected by the American Institute of Graphic Arts as one of the "Fifty Books of the Year", the first of many of Ritchies designs to be thus recognized.

During the 1920s and 1930s, fine printing in Southern California experienced something of a Golden Age. Many new private presses emerged during this unique and dynamic period, and printers collaborated not only with each other but with artists, publishers, booksellers, and authors. Bookseller Jake Zeitlin once aptly referred to this era as a "Small Renaissance: Southern California Style". Indeed, A Gil Blas in California is notable not only for its typographical excellence, but because it represents the synergy and zeitgeist of this Small Renaissance. It was designed by Ward Ritchie, published by Jake Zeitlin's Primavera Press, illustrated by artist Paul Landacre, and printed by Saul Marks at the Plantin Press.

Over the next few years the Ward Ritchie Press flourished, and soon became too big for Ward to operate alone. Printer Gregg Anderson joined the company in 1935. When he was killed in the Normandy invasion, his wife took over his interest in the firm. Joseph Simon became a partner in 1945, and the Ward Ritchie Press evolved into Anderson, Ritchie & Simon. This larger press handled mostly commercial printing work, while the Ward Ritchie Press published keepsakes, limited editions, cookbooks, and books about local history or Western Americana. In 1976, Ritchie retired as president of Anderson, Ritchie & Simon, and moved to Laguna Beach to pursue hand-press printing. He bought an Albion hand press, and called his press the Laguna Verde Imprenta. Some of his best and most interesting work comes from this period.

Throughout his life Ritchie remained closely connected with his alma mater, Occidental College. From 1936 to 1938 he taught a bookmaking course for the fine arts department. Also during the 1930s, Occidental's Mary Norton Clapp Library, then under the direction of Elizabeth McCloy, began collecting Ritchie's graphic work, an endeavor which continued until his death in the 1996. For his part, Ritchie contributed generously to that collection throughout his life to help make it complete. The library held several exhibits of his work over the years, most notably in 1937 and 1957. In 1960 Ritchie was awarded an honorary doctorate by the College, and from 1961 to 1973 he served as chairperson of the Library Patrons.

Ward Ritchie died in Los Angeles in 1996 at the age of 90. He is internationally recognized as one of the finest American printers of the 20th century.