The Book Block :: Fine and Rare Books
NY Antiquarian Book Fair :: April 20 - 22, 2007

8vo., recent decorated paper boards sewn over alum-tawed pigskin bands, preserved in a cloth clamshell case. Thirty-eight full-page specimens of letters cut in wood by Eustacio Celebrino, including a full-page woodcut of writing instruments and another of four allegorical scenes; there are elaborate decorative woodcut initials throughout and a full-page woodcut of an astronomer using a quadrant on the verso of the final leaf. A few of the pages are printed in reverse (i.e. white on black), instructions for the italic hand is in a centered format in the first portion of the book. The Rotunda alphabet is identical to that of Fanti. Page formats include alphabets, texts and alphabets, and writing instruction and alphabets. All borders made with ruled lines. The title has some light spotting and two tiny ink additions; it has been re margined at the bottom. Several other leaves have been mended at lower outer corners and the final leaf has been repaired at the bottom affecting the ruled border. Notwithstanding these minor flaws, this is a MOST DESIRABLE COPY of a class of books that invariably appear (when they can be found!) in poor condition, having been used to death.

Tagliente was a professional writing master employed by the Venetian Republic. The author of numerous books, including one on arithmetic (1515), a reading book, Libro Mæstrevole, which he undertook to teach anyone to read in about one month, a letter-writing manual, Componimento di parlimenti and the first book to distinguish between single and double-entry bookkeeping. Tagliente's writing manual, Lo Presente Libro, was innovative in the way he reproduced the written word through woodblocks. In his petition for the privilege to publish, he says, "I have invented, not without a good deal of labor and personal expense, a new way of printing every kind of letter that can be made by the living hand; not printing the usual way, but by a new method never used before in Venice or her territory." The book first published in 1524 was issued about thirty times in the sixteenth century. Of his style A. S. Osley writes, "He is in love with the bold flourish, the decorative touch of the pen. Some have criticized his swagger and exuberance; no one can deny his vitality." See: Bonacini 1834. Johnson, "Catalogue," Selected Essays, pp. 23-24. Osley, Luminiario, pp. 18-26. Osley, Scribes and Sources, pp. 57-59. Atkins, Masters of the Italic Letter, pp. 26-29.

Oblong 8vo., later vellum (19th C.), plain sides with a red and green morocco title labels and gilt decoration on the spine. In a leather-edged sliding case. A very nice copy with some of the expected wear; title-page guarded, colophon leaf repaired. Bookplates of Alphons Dürr and J. W. Six. First published in 1554, Amphiareo's one book held its position for an appreciable time and never deteriorated in point of production; in fact, its content remained essentially the same throughout its long publication history (an edition is said to have been published as late as 1620): typographic title, dedication to Principe Francesco Donato, four pages of brief instructions, followed by 48 plates (beginning with every-day hands followed by more exotic alphabets), at the end is a page on pen cutting and another on ink. Among the more original alphabets offered for the first time in an Italian writing manual is "a set of capitals derived from tree trunks; another is of heavy gothic initials, hung with grotesque masks and providing a scaffolding on which naked cherubs, monkeys, storks, and dogs engage in various activities; and the third displays rather hairy letters in black strapwork. The German influence is very strong here and reminds us that Venice was a terminus of the much used trade-route to the great commercial centers of Augsburg and Nurnberg. (Osley. Scribes and Sources. p. 99.)"

Amphiareo, a Franciscan friar, was born at Ferrara and is said to have taught writing for thirty years. This was his only book, the first edition of which is exceedingly rare (Johnson records only the British Library copy; Bonacini failed to locate a single 1554 edition). All editions of Frate Amphiareo's writing books are scarce and desirable. See: Bonacini 59. Morison. 72 Writing Books. pp. 42-43. Morison/Barker. Early Italian Writing-Books. pp. 89-92. Becker, D. The Practice of Letters. Nos. 18-20.

Oblong 4to. (8 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches), four albums bound in cloth covered boards, one in wrappers; two with Paris shop labels: L Bourdillon, 56 rue de Rennes and A. Breffort, 88 Blvd. de Magenta. There are a total of 259 leaves including eight laid-in examples, six of which have (completed) tracing overlays. Two albums are consecutively numbered 1-68 and 69-126. A third is numbered 185-214. The other two are each numbered 1-50.

In addition to the numerous versions of the alphabet—in upper case and lower case—there is a total of 22 leaves of numerals. The entire work is accomplished in a variety of bright colored gouaches and silver and gold paint on heavy stock. The majority of typefaces fall into the Art Deco style. As Steven Heller and Louise Fili write in Deco Type: Stylish Alphabets of the '20s & '30s: "In the purest sense, Modern typography of the '20s and '30s is rooted in the rightness of certain basic forms: the circularity of a circle and the squareness of a square...it reflected the tempo of modern times—speed...[it]was a way to attain a rhythm that guided the reader's eye to the message." One can only guess whose albums these were, or for what purpose they had been created. Type designs? Samples for painted signs? An ad agency's in-house archive? Notwithstanding their genesis, it is difficult to imagine finding another collection like this. Included in the collection is a copy of L’Enseigne Commerciale, Duexième Partie, lithographped in color in Lyon. Also included is a copy of A B Z: More Alphabets and Other Signs. Edited by Julian Rothenstein and Mel Gooding. SF, 2003

Altogether 20 volumes (5 marbled, 7 wood-grained, 8 polka-dots), ranging in size from approx. 6 1/8 x 4 inches to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, in a variety of colors and patterns and textures. See: McLean, Ruari. Victorian Publishers’ Book-Bindings on Cloth and Leather. Berkeley, 1973. pp. 41, 106.

Altogether 22 volumes, ranging in size from approx. 4 1/2 x 3 inches to 11 1/2 x 9 inches, in a variety of colors and patterns, all in very fine condition. See: McLean, Ruari. Victorian Publishers’ Book-Bindings on Cloth and Leather. Berkeley, 1973. pp. 38-40.