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granjon 1 vector

vector version of a renaissance arabesque unit attributed to robert granjon—vide ‹granjon’s first arabesque [?]›. the 2nd showing is a resetting of ‹wardropism 2›, with granjon 1 vector used in the arabesque composition; typeface is ‹tschichold’s sabon›—italic being a neo-granjon.

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granjon’s first arabesque [?]

early typographical arabesque displayed on the title page to Brief discours au vray, du portement es affaires de Piedmont: … by françois de bourbon enghien; printed by denis janot, paris, 1544.* hendrik d.l. vervliet attributes this arabesque unit [flanked by asterisks; 2nd illustration] to robert granjon [Granjon’s Flowers, oak knoll press, new castle (del), 2016, p23], & considers this the first showing.

* with thanks to BnF (bibliothèque nationale de france) for the photo.

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froben’s dictum

«Johannes Froben [1460–1527] neatly expressed the good publisher’s concern for his public in the words: Qui librum mendis undique scatentem habet, certe non librum habet sed molestiam—the buyer of a book full of misprints does not really acquire a book but a nuisance. And his star author Erasmus’s solicitude for faultless texts made him issue, in 1529 [sic*], the first Errata et Addenda appendix.» [s.h. steinberg, Five Hundred Years of Printing, penguin books, hammondsworth, 1955, p128.]

* two years after his death—steinberg’s misprint?

johann von amerbach «was the leading printer in the spread of the new learning and the introducer of roman founts into Basle.» [a.f. johnson, The First Century of Printing at Basl, charles scribners sons, new york, 1926, p7.] johann froben «is described as a ‘famulus’ of Amerbach and printed many books in partnership with him and Johann Petri.» [ibid., p10.] froben used roman founts derived from those of amerbach. «Of all his types it may be remarked that they are heavier in colour than some of the earlier Basle or the Venetian romans, and in this they harmonize with the initials and borders of Holbein and his followers.» [ibid, p12.] as basle roman derived from venetian models, for the setting i opted for goudy’s kennerley, which i class as neo-venetian—vide ‹the door in the wall›.

for more on the basle roman vide ‹der schmerzensmann auf der steine›.

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aphorism of friedrich nietzsche: «Wenn man keinen guten Vater hat, so soll man sich einen anschaffen.»; from Menschliches, Allzumenschliches | Ein Buch für freie Geister [2nd edition 1886].

translation [mine]: if one hasn’t a good father, thus should one create him.

set in neudoerffer fraktur—vide ‹piteous progeny›.

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‹a london ornament› t-shirt.

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jesus & mary in vesica

wood engraving by eric gill: interesting print, fortuitous find. gill engraved this motif in 1918, apparently for the cover of hilary peppler, JMJD — Three Poems, printed by pepler & issued from his st dominic's press, ditchling, sussex; it also appeared on gill’s xmas card for that year. the image is later found in two volumes: the scarce Wood-engravings, also from pepler’s st dominic's press, 1924 [p22]; & the now famous & scarce douglas cleverdon edition Engravings by Eric Gill, bristol, 1929. both editions were printed on batchelor handmade paper &, indeed, the batchelor watermark is found in this sheet.

the print illustrated is from none of the aforementioned. dimensions of this sheet [unevenly trimmed, approx 5.5x8.75 in.] are inconsistent with the 1918 cover [4.5x6.75 in.]; Wood-engravings of 1924 has titles & folios set at the foot of the forme; page dimensions of the 1929 Engravings by Eric Gill are 9x12 in., with folios set at top outside, but this sheet is not a trimmed page from cleverdon as lower deckle is present—it’s a smaller sheet. my guess: proof pulled by pepler for the 1918 cover—but who can say.

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point of pilgrimage

still standing, in lower manhattan’s noho district, is the edifice erected by nyc’s—if not the usa’s—greatest trade printer, theodore low de vinne, to house his printing establishment. who, however, is the «Thomas De Vinne» named on the plaque? perhaps, the name of a son was misattached, but no: de vinne’s surviving sons were theodore brockbank de vinne, & the younger charles dewitt de vinne.* surely the department of the interior has had sufficient time to correct this by now! * cf. irene tichenor, No Art Without Craft, david r. godine, boston, 2005, p65.

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happy lupercalia!

image abstracted from a photo of the sculpture Group of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros, in the collection of greece’s national archeological museum. setting in frutiger’s linotype herculaneum—vide ‹punic curse›.

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pure typographical valentine [again, this year]. cover: arabesque composition of will bradley fleuron pair [atf bradley combination ornaments—vide ‹nota bene›]; message set in caslon old style italic [lanston monotype 3371].

letterpress on somerset velvet, antique 250 gm.

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poem by ezra pound [Selected Poems of Ezra Pound, new directions, 1957, p22]. latin apparuit is third-person singular perfect active indicative of appareo—to appear.

set in ‹dante roman›.

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set in rotis semi-sans—vide ‹weighty words›.

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tafel v

ornamental display from the greek hellenistic period; plate v from Die Mathematische Denkweise by andreas speiser [2nd ed., verlag birkhäuser, basel, 1945].

speiser explains: «Als Beispiel für die griechische Leistung auf unserem Gebiet gebe ich den Votivschild auf Tafel V aus der hellenistischen Zeit. Die Gesamtfläche ist in neun Kreise eingeteilt, einen mittleren und acht tangierende.» [ibid., p120].

english translation [mine]: as example of greek achievement in our subject area, i offer plate v, a hellenistic period votive display. the collective surface area inscribes nine circles: median with eight tangential.

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this year’s gift card—vide ‹gift card?›. ‹nuremberg arabesque› on the cover; greeting set in lydian—vide ‹felix natalis›.

letterpress on somerset velvet antique.

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fournier’s recutting

rococo ornamental composition from Les Caractères de L’Imprimerie, by fournier le jeune (pierre simone fournier) [paris, 1764, p9]; the finisher is his recutting of a renaissance ornament, one i call ‹a london ornament›—amazing how well a renaissance ornament harmonizes with the rococo! 2nd illustration shows a line of the ornament [ibid., p109].

with thanks to the british library for permitting my examination of their copy of Les Caractères de L’Imprimerie [1391.b.55.]

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a london ornament

the first illustration displays digital reissue of monotype’s recutting [english monotype 218] of an arabesque unit, which d.l. vervliet attributes to robert granjon¹. vervliet found its first display in the office of london printer henry bynneman in 1569 [2nd illustration²], & notes: granjon founts had arrived around this time in london; exiled antwerp punchcutter françois guyot was residing in london & «is known to have provided types to printer john day»³. vervliet gets his dates from oastler⁴, but oastler only mentions that day was among the first london printers to use guyot types, & françois’ son, gabriel guyot, «may have been instrumental» in bringing to london the guyot double pica italic. oastler does give evidence that guyot, his family, & servants resided in john day’s house in 1568 (françois returned to antwerp in 1570, where he died shortly thereafter). vervliet dismisses guyot as the ornament’s designer on aesthetic grounds.⁵  as evidenced by his italics guyot was an admirer of granjon; indeed, harry carter views guyot’s types as «revolutionary in effect, bringing an archaic regional typography almost into line with Paris» ⁶. the oldest know type specimen by a founder who was not also a printer⁷ is confirmed by carter to show the types of françois guyot; the sheet survived for having been bound in with a set of elizabethan proclamations—arguably, guyot prepared the sheet as advertisement of his types to london printers⁸: on it appears a solitary ornament, a vine leaf [3rd illustration⁹]. granjon cut many vine leaves—no surprise to find guyot’s version. however, i must disagree with vervliet on one point: bynneman’s ornament i do not find particularly granjonesque, & the engraving of guyot’s vine leaf seems consistent with the hand that cut bynneman’s ornament.  it is conceivable that day held strikes of guyot ornaments—his property or that of guyot—to cast sorts for use in his office or to sell to other london printers, such as bynneman.

¹ hendrik d.l. vervliet, Granjon’s Flowers, oak knoll press, new castle (de), 2016, p99. ² section from the border on the title-page of: st anselm, Epistolæ duæ ... ad Nicholaum Papam primum de cęlibatu cleri., henry bynneman, london, 1569. with thanks to the british library for permitting my examination of their copy [G.11998. 1360.a.16.]. ³ ibid. p95. ⁴ c.l. oastler, John Day | the Elizabethan Printer, oxford bibliographical society, ocaasional publication no. 10, oxford, 1975, pp. 34–5. reprint of oastler’s 1965 oxford thesis [based upon archival records].  ⁵ op. cit., p95. ⁶ harry carter, «The Types of Christopher Plantin», The Library, volume s5-XI, issue 3, 1956, p177. ⁷ specimen of 1565—only known copy, folger shakespeare library. ⁸ op. cit., carter. a tentative attribution was given by a.f. johnson in t.b. reed, A History of the Old English Letter Foundries, ed. a.f. johnson, faber&faber, london, 1952, pp. 91–2. ⁹ section of no. 1 in john dreyfus, Type Specimen Facsimiles, bowes & bowes and putnam, london, 1963.

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wardropism no. 2

copy for this setting from james wardrop’s The Script of Humanism [clarendon press, oxford, 1963, p.xiii].

for typeface details vide ‹tagliente italic›. the arabesque finisher/separator is a composition of english monotype 280—vide ‹granjon arabesque?›.

letterpress on okawara.

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peculiar ornament[s] of john bell

peter quennell’s words [small caps are mine] from his Baudelaire and the Symbolists [chatto & windus, london,1929, p14]. set in monotype bell—vide ‹the letters of john bell›. the finisher was described by morison as a «small nondescript ornament» & so far as he knew «peculiar» to john bell’s edition of perdita’s poems*—vide ‹perdita 2 [the english sappho]›. on close inspection, not a single ornament but composition of two each of two ornaments: lozenge pair flanked by flower. * stanley morison, John Bell, printed for the author at the university press, cambridge, 1930, p113.