Book of the Week — Wrenching Times: Poems from Drum-Taps

15 Sunday Apr 2018

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Abraham Lincoln, Alan Wood, assassination, Brooklyn, Capitol, David Esslemont, democratic, frontier, Gaylord Schanilec, Gwasg Gregynog, Hugh Willmer, lilacs, M. Wynn Thomas, memorial, Monotype Baskerville, New York, Newton, North Wales Arts Association, poet, Powys, President, rare books, Rhian Ticehurst, typeface, Union, Wales, Walt Whitman, Washington, Western, wood blocks, wood engravings, Zerkall mould-made paper

“When lilacs last in the door-yard bloom’d,
And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d…and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.”

Wrenching Times: Poems from Drum-Taps
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Newton, Powys, Wales: Gwasg Gregynog, 1991
PS3211 A3 1991

From notes by M. Wynn Thomas: “Whitman was in New York, seeing Drum-Taps through the press, when Lincoln was assassinated on the evening of 14 April 1865, at the very time when he had finally secured victory for the Union. Whitman had come to identify very closely with the president, having supported him when others dismissed him as a mere country hick, and having seen him pass every day under Whitman’s window in Washington on his journey to and from the Capitol. Lincoln was, for the poet, the very epitome of Western, frontier qualities and his steadfast adherence, through the worst of times, to his principled belief in a democratic Union had won Whitman’s unqualified and undying admiration. Years later, in his old age, he would still endeavour, whenever his health allowed, to deliver an annual memorial lecture on the day of Lincoln’s death. On that occasion he always ensured that lilacs were placed on the table in front of him.

“The lilac was in flower near his Brooklyn home when Whitman heard of Lincoln’s murder.”

Wood engravings by Gaylord Schanilec, made at Gregynog during a residency, supported by the North Wales Arts Association, and printed from the original wood-blocks. Designed and printed by David Esslemont with the assistance of Hugh Willmer on Zerkall mould-made paper. Typeface is Monotype Baskerville. Edition of four hundred and fifty copies, one of four hundred copies bound in quarter leather by Alan Wood and Rhian Ticehurst at Gregynog.

Gregynog Press was a Welsh private press, started and run by two wealthy sisters, whose interests were more artistic than literary. All of the work of the books from this press happened under one roof – design layout, composition, presswork, design and execution of woodblocks, hand-coloring and binding – an unusual circumstance for early twentieth century presses.

Rare Books copy is number 201 with unpublished wood engraving laid in.

April is National Poetry Month.

Book of the Week — تاريخ راشد افندي

10 Monday Jul 2017

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America, Arabic, Austria, Celebizade, dictionary, European, France, grammar, historian, historiographer, Holland, Hungarian, Ibrahim Muteferrika, Islam, Istanbul, Latin, Muslim, Muteferrika Press, Ottoman, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish, poet, Rasit Efendi, Turkish, typeface, woodcut

تاريخ راشد افندي
تاريخ راشد
قسطنطنية : ابراهيم من متفرقه كان

The first Turkish printing house was established in Istanbul on December 14, 1727. The director of the press was Ibrahim Muteferrika (1674-1745), a Hungarian convert to Islam. In 1726 Muteferrika sent a report on the efficiency of the printing press to Vizier Damat Ibrahim Pasha, the Grand Mufti. After he submitted another report to Sultan Ahmed, he recieved permission to publish non-religious books, over the objections of calligraphers and religious leaders.

Muteferrika Press published sixteen books between 1729 and 1742. Each edition consisted of between five hundred and one thousand copies. The presses themselves came from France, the typefaces were designed and cut by Muteferrika. The printers were from Austria. The press’s first title, a dictionary, contained maps and drawings from the Islamic world. A grammar (1730) was the first printed Ottoman work in Latin. In 1732, the press published a history of the discovery of America. This was the first book by a Muslim author about the Americas and included thirteen woodcut illustrations.

The work presented here is Rasit Efendi’s Tarih-i Rashid Afandi, published in 1741 by the Muteferrika Press. This was the sixteenth book to be published by the press. The work covers the period 1071-1134AH (1660-1772) of the official Ottoman history. Rashid’s work is added to with Celebizade Isma’il Asim’s Tarih-i Celebizade Efendi, a history by Celebizade (d 1173 [1760]. Both Rashid and Celebizade held the post of official historiographer for the Ottoman Empire. This publication, printed in four volumes, here bound as one, is considered the prime source for the period.

The text, printed in Arabic script, is in Ottoman Turkish. Rare Books copy has evidence of at least one hand underlining and marking in faded brown ink. Bound in Ottoman style with blind-stamped European leather, lined with patterned paper.

Book of the Week — Prelude to Eden

03 Monday Jul 2017

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"graphic designer", acetate, advertising, aluminum, American, binding, book designer, Caledonia, calligrapher, Chiswick Bookshop, Dorothy Vernard Abbe, Electra, Fabriano, Frederic Goudy, Herman Cohen, Hingham, marionettes, Mergenthaler Linotype Company, photography, puppet, Püterschein Academy, silk-screen, theater, typeface, typographer, United States, William Addison Dwiggins, woodcarving, World War II

“But I know, I know that they’ve got me in the wrong place! I know it! I know it! I know it!”

PRELUDE TO EDEN: A DRAMA FOR MARIONETTES
William Addison Dwiggins (1880-1956)
Hingham, MA: Püterschein-Hingham Press, 1956

William Addison Dwiggins is one of the best known American book designers and typographers of the twentieth century. He studied under Frederic Goudy. He is credited with coining the term “graphic designer,” a term he used in reference to himself in 1922. His best known typefaces, still in use today, are Electra and Caledonia, created for the Mergentahler Linotype Company, for whom Addison worked from 1929 until after World War II. He was also a calligrapher and was legendary for his work in advertising. Dwiggins loved woodcarving, a passion that led to the creation of his marionette theater. He began a puppet group he called the Püterschein Academy, through which he produced several shows, including Prelude to Eden.

This “drama” is set in “A Wilderness Northwest of Eden” and features four marionette characters: Drace, the District Warden (who became The Serpent); Dijul, a kindly Antediluvian; Lillith, a young woman; and Azrael, an Archangel and Bailiff of Eden.

Illustrated throughout using what is referred to in the colophon as a “tone-line” process, which involved photographing and then silk-screening images of Dwiggins’ marionettes. Typography, composition, printing, silkscreens by Dorothy Vernard Abbe. Dorothy Venard Abbe is the author of The Dwiggins Marionettes, 1970. She worked as a book designer at several university presses. Bound in aluminum sheet boards, attached with green Fabriano paper at the spine, also by Abbe. This is the first time that metal covers were used as a binding design in the United States.

Rare Books copy in original acetate dust jacket. It is a presentation copy, inscribed by Abbe to Herman Cohen, owner of the Chiswick Bookshop, and his wife, Viv. The original mailing box survives, split at the seams, and addressed to Cohen. Laid in are two letters from Dorothy Abbe written in black ink, one with the original mailing envelope. Edition of one hundred and seventy-five copies.

Book of the Week — Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

01 Monday May 2017

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Arts and Crafts Movement, C. R. Ashbee, Campden, Endeavor, Essex House London, Essex House Press, Gouscestershire, Guild of Handicraft, John Ruskin, Kelmscott Press, typeface, vellum, William Morris, William Wordsworth

“Then sing, ye Birds, sing, sing a joyous song!
And let the young Lambs bound
As to the tabor’s sound!
We in thought will join your throng,
Ye that pipe and ye that play,
Ye that through your hearts to-day
Feel the gladness of the May!

INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY FROM RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
Campden, Glo: Essex House Press, 1903

In 1886, C.R. Ashbee established the Guild of Handicraft at Essex House London. Around the same time, Ashbee created the Essex House Press. The Essex House Press published its first book in 1898. The work of the press was very much a part of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Ashbee continually linked the aims of the press with those of John Ruskin and William Morris and described the object of the movement as “making useful things…making them well and…making them beautiful.”

The critics, however, were not so sure about the work of Essex House Press, calling it “articraftiness.” Later booklovers came to admire much of its work. Some of the presses and some of the workmen for Essex House Press came from the Kelmscott Press after its demise in 1897 following the death of William Morris.

Ashbee designed his own typeface called “Endeavor” for the press. In 1902, the press moved to Glouscestershire. The Essex House Press closed in 1910, having produced more than seventy titles.

Frontispiece by Walter Crane (1845-1915), painter and designer, known especially for his illustrations for children’s books. As an apprentice wood-engraver, he studied the work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He associated himself with the Pre-Raphaelites and the English Arts and Crafts Movement, working with William Morris and the Kelmscott Press.

Printed on vellum. Initials hand calligraphed, some with gilt. Edition of 150 copies. University of Utah copy is no. 138.

Book of the Week — He Kaine Diatheke

04 Monday Apr 2016

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Antoine Augereau, Aristotle, astrology, Bible, bibliographer, binding, Book of Hours, calendar, Calvin, Chartres, Christmas Eve, Cicero, classics, cosmology, Demarruello, Estienne, Euclid, France, French, Garamond, Geoffroy Tory, Gothic, Greek, Greek New Testament, Henri Estienne, heresy, heretic, Hesiod, hinges, Hippocrates, Horace, Hore beate marie, indices, initials, italic, Latin, Louvain, Lutheran, New Testament, Ovid, Paris, Paris Parlement, pressed paper boards, printing, proof sheets, Protestant, putti, R. Peter, Renaissance, repair, Robert Estienne I, Roman Catholic, signatures, Simon de Colines, Sophocles, subheadings, Terence, The University of Utah, theological, tools, typeface, typefounder, University of Paris, Virgil, woodcut

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” — Hebrews 8:11, New King James Version

HE KAINE DIATHEKE
Paris: [Antoine Augereau for] Simon de Colines, [29 November or 22 December] 1534
BS1965 1534

This is the first Greek New Testament printed in France. Simon de Colines edited the text, using printed and manuscript sources. To save his own neck, Colines hid the involvement of the book’s printer, Protestant typefounder Antoine Augereau. Augereau was condemned as a heretic, hung, and then burned at the stake on Christmas Eve 1534, only a few days after finishing the printing of Ha Kaine Kiatheke.

In 1520, Colines married the widow of Henri Estienne, the founder of the distinguished Estienne press, and took charge of that press until Estienne’s son, Robert I, took over in 1526. Colines then set up his own shop nearby. He focused his publishing efforts on Greek and Latin classics – works by Aristotle, Cicero, Sophocles, Hesiod, Horace, Ovid, Virgil, Terence, Euclid, Hippocrates and others – works then considered the literary backbone of the civilized world. He added to the classics publications of anti-Lutheran theological writings and works by the faculty of the University of Paris. In all, Colines’ press produced at least seven hundred and fifty publications. Although not a scholar himself, he used his considerable familiarity with the Estienne publications and extended his own press to include writings on the natural sciences, cosmology, and astrology.

Colines was an important part of the development of book and reading structure in Renaissance printing. It was during this time that chapter headings, subheadings, running heads, page numbers, tables of content, indices and source notes became elemental fixtures in the publication of texts.

Colines designed his own italic and Greek fonts and a roman typeface from which Garamond type was derived. He was one of the earliest printers to mix italic fonts with roman typefaces. During at least one of his printing projects, he worked with type designer Geoffroy Tory.

Ha Kaine Kiatheke is the first book printed in Simon de Colines’ second Greek font, including initial guide letters. The University of Utah copy has three lines (possibly an oath) written in an early hand in French and signed by “Demarruello.”

It also contains the book plate of Calvin bibliographer R. Peter.

The University of Utah copy bound in contemporary tan calf blind decorated with an outer roll of foxes, winged putti, acanthus leaves and lilies, central rectangle with brazier and foliage tools.

An earlier repair to the hinges of the binding revealed the following, making up the pressed paper boards: 28 leaves from Les choses co[n]tenues en ce present liure…Le contenu en ceste second partie du nouveau testament, Paris, S. de Colines 10 January 1524; and leaves from Hore beate marie [virgi]nis Secundu[m] vsum insignis ecclesia[?e] Cathedraiis Carnoten[sis]…, Paris, s.n., ca. 1511-1512.

The printed signatures found hidden in the binding appear to be proof sheets for the first Protestant French translation of the New Testament, second edition.

The printing of this edition was completed only months before the Paris Parlement condemned the work as heresy. Yet, the 1524 edition, due to its literary quality and scriptural analysis, served as the basis for nearly all future French versions throughout the century. Ironically, it also served as the 1550 Roman Catholic Louvain Bible.

The leaves from Hore beate…, which also formed part of the binding’s pressed boards, are from an unrecorded Latin-French Book of Hours for the use of Chartres, with a calendar for 1512-1520. The type is Gothic, printed in red and black and includes two-line woodcut initials.

Rare Books acquisition made possible with help from Latin American Studies

24 Thursday Sep 2015

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accordion, Aesop, Alabama, Alan Sundberg, Allesandro Zanella, American, American Institute of Graphic Arts, Anthony O'Hara, Antonio Frasconi, Argentina, Art Students League in New York City, ASU School of Art, avante-garde, Biennale, broadside, Buenos Aries, Caldecott Medal, California, Carlos Oquendo de Amat (1905-1936), Cartiere Enrico Magnani, Catholic, Center for Latin American Studies, Cesar Vallejo (1892-1938), Charles Baudelaire, children, Chile, Christmas, Claribel Alegria (b. 1924), Communist Party, Cottondale, Craig Jensen, Cuba, David M. Guss, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Visual Arts, Ernesto Cardenal (b. 1924), European, fables, Gabriel Mistral (1889-1957), Gabriel Rummonds, George Wieck, Glenway Wescott, Goudy modern, Guggenheim Fellowship, H. Berthold A.G., Henry Holt & Company, Idea Vilarino (1902-2009), Isla Vista, Italian, Italo Calvino, Italy, Japan, Japanese paper, Joaquin Pasos (1914-1977), John Risseeuw, Joseph Blumenthal, Juan Gelman (1930-2014), Juana de Ibarbourou (1892-1979), Kitty Hawk, La Editorial Minerva, Lake Titicaca, Latin American Studies, Lima, linoleum blocks, Marco Antonio Montes de Oca (1932-2009), Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mexico, Mohawk, Montevideo, Museum of Modern Art, National Academy of Design, National Gallery of Art, New York City, New York Public Library, Nicanor Parra (b. 1914), Nicaragua, Nicolás Guillén (1902-1989), Octavio Paz (1914-1998), Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), Panama, paste paper, Peru, Plain Wrapper Press, poetry, Post Mediaeval, postage stamps, printer, Puno, Purchase, Pyracantha Press, rare books, Republic of Uruguay, Robert Frost (1874-1963), Roberto Fernandez Retamar (b. 1930), Sanctuary, Sergio Pausig, Smithsonian, Sorbonne, Spain, Spiral Press, State University of New York, Tempe, The House That Jack Built, The University of Utah, Tom and Elfie Rummonds, Turkey Press, type, typeface, United States, Uruguay, Venice, Vicente Garcia Huidobro Fernandez (1893-1948), Walt Whitman, Washington handpress, William Weaver (1923-2013), woodcuts, World War I, World War II

Thanks to generous support from the Center for Latin American Studies, Rare Books has purchased a rare copy of a work by Argentinian artist Antonio Frasconi.

19 Poemas de Hispano America
Antonio Frasconi (1919-2013)
South Norwalk, CT: 1969
PQ7798.16 R374 D5 1969

Twenty-one full-page color woodcuts, each signed by the artist. Printed on Japanese paper. Poets include Juana de Ibarbourou (1892 – 1979, Uruguay), Cesar Vallejo (1892-1938, Peru), Vicente Garcia Huidobro Fernandez (1893-1948, Chile), Gabriel Mistral (1889-1957, Chile), Nicolas Guillen (1902-1989, Cuba), Pablo Neruda (1904-1973, Chile), Nicanor Parra (b. 1914, Chile), Joaquin Pasos (1914-1977, Nicaragua), Octavio Paz (1914-1998, Mexico), Idea Vilarino (1920-2009, Uruguay), Claribel Alegria (b. 1924, Nicaragua), Ernesto Cardenal (b. 1924, Nicaragua), Juan Gelman (1930-2014, Argentina), Roberto Fernandez Retamar (b. 1930, Cuba), Marco Antonio Montes de Oca (1932-2009, Mexico). Issued in orange cloth tray case made by George Wieck. Edition of fifteen signed copies. The University of Utah copy is no. 3.

Antonio Frasconi was born in Buenos Aries and grew up in Montevideo, Uruguay. His parents, of Italian descent, had moved from Italy to Argentina during World War I. At the age of twelve, he began apprenticing with a printer. Frasconi liked the idea of making multiples in order to offer art at reasonable prices. Frasconi moved to the United States from Argentina in 1945 at the end of World War II on a scholarship to study at the Art Students League in New York City. In 1952, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1959, he was a runner-up for the Caldecott Medal, an honor awarded to the illustrator of the best American picture book for children. The House That Jack Built, was also written by Frasconi and remains a favorite today. He was elected into the National Academy of Design as an associate member and became a full Academician in 1969. In 1982, Frasconi was named Distinguished Teaching Professor of Visual Arts at the State University of New York at Purchase. Frasconi illustrated more than one hundred books. His woodcuts appeared on album and magazine covers, holiday cards, calendars, posters and a U.S. postage stamp. His work is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian and private collections.

19 Poemas de Hispano America joins several other pieces illustrated by Frasconi in the rare book collections:

12 Fables of Aesop
New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1954
PA3855 E5 W48

Linoleum blocks by Antonio Frasconi illustrate fables adapted by Glenway Wescott. The book was designed by Joseph Blumenthal and honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts as one of the year’s 50 best books. Edition of nine hundred and seventy-five signed copies. University of Utah copy is no. 724.

Kitty Hawk, 1894
Robert Frost (1874-1963)
New York: Spiral Press, 1956
PS3511 R94 K57 1956

Issued as holiday greetings from Henry Holt and Company, Christmas, 1956.

Kaleidoscope in Woodcuts
Antonio Frasconi
New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968; Japan: Zokeisha Publications, Ltd., 1968
NE1112 F72 A4 1968

Printed to honor Antonio Frasconi by the Republic of Uruguay at the 34th Biennale in Venice. Color reproductions of woodcuts printed on a continuous strip of paper folded accordion style. Bound in grey cloth boards. Issued in black slipcase with printed paper label. University of Utah copy gift of Gabriel Rummonds.

Overhead the Sun: Lines from Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1969
First edition
PS3204 F65

Color woodcuts by Antonio Frasconi. University of Utah copy signed by artist.

¡Apoye santuario!
Tempe: ASU School of Art Pyracantha Press, 1985
HV645 F73 1985

Broadside designed and printed by Antonio Frasconi and John Risseeuw “in support of the churches that take part in the new underground railroad known as Sanctuary.” – from the colophon. University of Utah copy nol. 123, signed by the designers.

Prima che tu dica « Pronto »
Italo Calvino
Cottondale, AL: Plain Wrapper Press, 1985
PQ4809 A45 P713 1985

From Fantasies and Hard Knocks, Gabriel Rummonds, 2015: “…in October 1983 Antonio Frasconi invited me to give a talk to a group of art students at the State University of New York at Purchase. During that visit he inquired about the Calvino project and I reluctantly had to admit that I still had not published it – partly because I had been unable to find an artist who would work within my specified parameters. I related the problems I had had working with Alan Sundberg and Sergio Pausig. Antonio, who had always wanted to illustrate at least one PWP book, asked me to send the manuscript to him, saying he would like to give it another try. Knowing of his wonderful landscapes and not wanting to risk disappointment again, I gave up on the idea of having circular illustrations and suggested that he use the geographic locations mentioned in the story as themes for his illustrations. And that is exactly what he did with great success.”

English translation by William Weaver (1923-2013). The aesthetic and technical challenge of binding this edition inspired Craig Jensen to pursue edition binding over an intended career in book conservation. It also marked the beginning of his work with master printer Gabriel Rummonds. Illustrated with four multi-colored woodcuts by Antonio Frasconi. Printed on an 1847 Washington handpress by Gabriel Rummonds and Alessandro Zanella. Some pages printed on double leaves. Type is handset Post Mediaeval cast by H. Berthold A.G. Paper handmade at the Cartiere Enrico Magnani, printed damp. Tan quarter leather with paste paper sides by Antony O’Hara. Binding is a tight joint, in-boards style, incorporating a spine hollow and handsewn silk endbands. Housed in a cloth-covered, drop-spine box with the Plain Wrapper Press device set in a recess on front board. Edition of seventy-five numbered copies, signed by the poet and the artist. University of Utah copy is no. 4, printed for Tom and Elfie Rummonds.

Five Meters of Poems
Carlos Oquendo de Amat (1905-1936)
Isla Vista, CA: Turkey Press, 1986
First English edition
PQ8497 O5 C513 1986

Carlos Oquendo de Amat was born in Puno, Peru, but spent most of his childhood on the streets of Lima. Puno was a provincial capital on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Amat’s father was a Sorbonne-educated progressive newspaper publisher, a prominent member of Puno society and a vocal opponent of Peru’s conservative Catholic establishment. Upon the death of his father in 1918, Amat and his mother moved from genteel comfort in Pano to poverty in Lima, at a time when the city experienced growth and transformation in the form of new working and professional classes. Amat became a part of an extensive avant-garde poetry movement in Lima. Cinco metros de poemas is his only publication, written between 1923 and 1925, and printed in 1927, when Amat was 19. The original publication, produced in Lima by La Editorial Minerva, was printed on a single sheet of folded paper five meters long. The lines were composed in varying layouts throughout the sheet. The poem-object is reminiscent of earlier and contemporary European modernist movements that included poets such as Baudelaire and known to the literati in Lima. Amat joined the Communist Party, and spent the rest of his life in and out of jail for dissent. He contracted tuberculosis in prison. He was deported to Panama, from where he managed to get to Spain. He died there shortly after he arrived and just before the Spanish civil war. Translation of Cinco metros de poemas by David M. Guss, with an introduction by Guss. Illustrated with woodcuts by Antonio Frasconi. Formed as one folded sheet, five meters long. Typeface is Goudy modern. Paper is Mohawk. Edition of three hundred copies.

The Bill of Rights

29 Monday Jun 2015

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Arizona, Arizona State University, ASU College of Law, bicentennial, Bill of Rights, broadside, calligrapher, calligraphy, Chuck Brownson, colophon, Congressional, Dan Mayer, David Kader, deckled edges, facsimile, John Risseeuw, Nancy Pilgrim, National Archives, Ocotillo Arts and Papermill, Plantin, Pyracantha Press, Tempe, typeface

The Bill of Rights
Dan Mayer and John Risseeuw
Tempe, AZ: Pyracantha Press, 1991

Printed in red, blue, dark gray and black on purple paper, partly in calligraphy; deckled edges. From the colophon: “This broadside commemorates the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights…produced at…the Arizona State University of Art [with help from] David Kader of the ASU College of Law, Chuck Brownson of Ocotillo Arts and Papermill, and calligrapher Nancy Pilgrim. The typeface is Plantin. The text was taken from a facsimile of the enrolled original Congressional resolution held in the National Archives.” Edition of two hundred copies printed.

Book of the Week – New Borders: The working life of Elizabeth…

05 Monday Jan 2015

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Adolf Hitler, Bauer Type Foundry, Bembo, Berlin Academy, calligraphy, Curwen, Elisabeth-Antiqua, Elizabeth Friedlander, Ellic Howe, English, font, forgery, Francis Meynell, Frankfurt, Friedlander-Antiqua, Georg Hartmann, Germany, Incline Press, Italian, Italy, Jewish, Linotype Corporation, London, Mondadori, Monotype, Nazi, Pauline Paucker, Penguin Books, propaganda, rubber stamps, Sandhurst, Third Reich, typeface, typography, Wehrmacht

New Borders. The working life of Elizabeth…
Pauline Paucker
Oldham, United Kingdom: Incline Press, 1998

Elizabeth Friedlander (1903-1985) produced calligraphy and decorative designs for books from the 1920s until her death. New Borders is based on her workbooks, which she kept throughout her life.

Born into an affluent family, Friedlander studied typography and calligraphy at the Berlin Academy. She worked for the German fashion magazine, “Die Dame,” designing headings and lay-outs, and attracting the attention of Georg Hartmann of the Bauer Type Foundry in Frankfurt. He invited her to design a typeface. This was to become their Elisabeth-Antiqua. It was originally meant to be named Friedlander-Antiqua. However, Adolf Hitler came to power just as the type was ready to be cast. Hartmann suggested that the name be changed from her Jewish surname to her first name.

The font was cut in 1939, after Friedlander left Germany. Under the Third Reich, Friedlander was forced to apply for official registration and was refused a work permit. She moved to Italy, where she was permitted to work so long as she did not become politically active. She learned Italian and worked with the publisher Mondadori, but in 1938, harsh Italian Race Laws threatened her employment. She moved to London, where she learned English and found a job as a domestic servant.

Francis Meynell found work for her as a designer. By 1942, she was in charge of design at Ellic Howe’s propaganda unit, where she produced forged Wehrmacht and Nazi rubber stamps while also working on freelance commissions.

Her most notable work included patterned papers for Curwen and Penguin Books, decorative borders for the Linotype Corporation, printer’s flowers for Monotype, and calligraphy for the Roll of Honour at Sandhurst.

Examples of her work tipped-in. Set in Bembo. Bound in half cream cloth over yellow and green-patterned paper, with a printed paper cover label. Edition of three hundred and twenty-five copies, signed by the author.

Book of the Week – Wo/Men at Work

03 Monday Jun 2013

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AIGA, award, BFK, binding, Book Arts Program, Cheltenham Italic, Claire Taylor, Copper Ingot, Copper Ingot award, David Wolske, Emily Tipps, Franklin Gothic, Greg Thompson, Laura Decker, letterpress, Linotype, Marnie Powers-Torrey, pamphlet, paper, papers, photopolymer plates, Red Butte Press, Rives Heavyweight, sans serif, serif, typeface, typefaces, W-fold, W-fold pamphlet

: Wo/Men at Work, 2012, Cover

: Wo/Men at Work, 2012

: Wo/Men at Work, 2012, Image

Wo/Men at Work
Salt Lake City: Red Butte Press, 2012
N7433.4 W65 2012

Three texts (“Consuming labor: a preface to Wo/Men at Work” by Matt Basso and Andrew Farnsworth, “Cooking from Scratch” by Judy Blunt, and “Everything’s dangerous: an essay from the 1941 collection Men at Work” by Ralph Powell) printed in a W-fold pamphlet. Titles printed on opposite covers. From the colophon: “…Book Arts Program staff contributors are Managing Director Marnie Powers-Torrey, Creative Director David Wolske, Laura Decker, Claire Taylor, Becky Thomas and Emily Tipps. David designed and typeset the text. The typefaces, evocative of the 1930s and ‘40s printshop vernacular, are as follows: bold titling is Hamilton, a revival of a popular 19^th century wood type; bylines and colophon are Franklin Gothic, a workhorse sans serif found in printshops across America; italic subheadings are Cheltenham Italic, a ubiquitous early 20^th century serif design; and the main body typeface is a version of Fairfield, released in 1939 and designed for the Linotype machine. Claire and Laura produced the saddle and pressure cooker drawings, respectively, in dialogue with the essays and one another…Andrew [Farnsworth], Dayna Kerns, and Chris Dunsmore, under the direction of Book Arts staff, letterpress-printed the imagery and text from photopolymer plates on Rives Heavyweight and BFK papers. Emily oversaw binding design and production of the W-fold pamphlet…Associate Director for Special Collection Greg Thompson provided the committed support that helped make this endeavor a reality.” Edition of twenty-six copies. University of Utah copies are letters ‘U’ and ‘V.’

Congratulations to the Book Arts Program and Red Butte Press staff for receiving one of 7 AIGA 100 Show Professional Copper Ingot awards for Wo/men at Work. The AIGA 100 Show showcases the year’s best design, advertising, and digital media. Of those pieces, a select few are awarded the Copper Ingot, one of the most sought-after communication awards in the Intermountain West. Visit http/aigaslc100show.com for information, to view pictures from the awards ceremony, and download the 100 Show Book PDF.

Book of the Week – The Dollmaker’s Son

13 Monday May 2013

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aquatints, Bodoni, handset, Jean Butterfield, printed, type, typeface

: The Dollmaker’s Son, 1991, Cover

: The Dollmaker’s Son, 1991

: The Dollmaker’s Son, 1991

The Dollmaker’s Son
Jean Butterfield
S.l.: November Press, 1991

Text handset and printed by the author. Typeface is Bodoni 14 pt. Illustrations are aquatints. Covers are stained plywood embellished with acrylic doll eyes. Edition of sixty copies. University of Utah copy is no. 3.

OPEN BOOK

~ News from the Rare Books Department of Special Collections at the J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah

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