#poliphilus

[duardius]

quick as boiled asparagus

a favorite expression of augustus caesar. set capitalis quadrata, of upper-case poliphilus—vide ‹poor poliphilo›. the tabula ansata is digital issue of a cut originally engraved by eric gill for the golden cockerel press [itc golden cockerel ornaments].

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

Last week we presented wood engravings by the English-American artist Nora S. Unwin (1907-1982) from Joseph; the King James Version of a Well-loved Tale, arranged with an introduction by her friend and frequent collaborator Elizabeth Yates, and printed and bound by the Plimpton Press in 1947 for Alfred A. Knopf in America and the Ryerson Press in Canada. 

Today we present Unwin’s fine wood-engraved historiated initials for the chapter openings of the book. The initials mesh well with the solid stateliness and deep color of Stanley Morison’s Poliphilus typeface (released by Monotype in 1923), and integrates uniformly with Unwin’s engraved illustrations, creating a harmonious and holistic presentation to the entire production. This copy is another gift from our friend and benefactor Jerry Buff.

View more posts with historiated initials.

View more Typography Tuesday posts.

View more posts with women wood engravers.

View more posts with wood engravings!

[uwmspeccoll]

It’s Fine Press Friday!

This week we present Poem Upon the Lisbon Disaster, by Voltaire (François Marie Arouet), illustrated with original wood engravings by American printmaker, illustrator, and wood engraver Lynd Ward, and translated by the American poet Anthony Hecht from the Pléiade edition of 1961. It was designed by Michael McCurdy at the Penmæn Press and set by Michael Bixler in Monotype Blado for the French text and Poliphilus for the English. McCurdy hand-printed the book on Ragston paper with assistance from Evelyn Clarke, and the book was bound by Robert Burlen and Son in Lincoln, Massachusetts in 1977 in three separate versions, totaling 500 assorted copies.  

In his introduction to the edition, Arthur Wilson notes that the massive earthquake that hit Lisbon in 1755 had a profound impact on then-famous dramatist, poet, and historian Voltaire, reinvigorating his disbelief in “all is for the best,” with the cynical quote “Optimism and all-is-well got it in the neck.”  The Lisbon earthquake is believed to be the most extreme earthquake in human history, with estimations concluding that 60,000 people perished from the first shocks or the ensuing tremors and seismologists believe that this event would have registered an 8.9 on the Richter Scale. It is no wonder that Voltaire found himself questioning his primary beliefs and values after a disaster of this scale, and he even referred to this poem as a sermon. 

Ward’s wood engravings follow this religious theme by tying a sense of impending doom into the increasingly dark perspective of the poetry. Beginning with a man gazing into a sunny sky and ending with hooded creatures approaching the man, the illustrations further convey the idea of despair and loss that Voltaire unmistakably conveys throughout the meandering, sorrowful poem. This poem is widely regarded as an introduction to Voltaire’s acclaimed 1759 novel Candide where he confronts the problem of evil, and also includes an episode on the Lisbon earthquake. 

View more posts featuring Lynd Ward illustrations. 

View more Fine Press Friday posts.

-Emily, Special Collections Writing Intern

[duardius]

but tell us of the image

context of the woodcut facsimile shown on the page from de vinne in ‹bona fide nyc›, in english from joscelyn godwin’s translation of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by francesco colonna [thames & hudson, london, 1999, p177].

for more on the first edition & typeface vide ‹poor poliphilo›.

[duardius]

poor poliphilo

text from joscelyn godwin’s introduction to his english translation, from the ornate italian, of francesco colonna’s Hypnerotomachia Poliphili [thames & hudson, london, 1999, p xiii]. set in digital reissue of monotype poliphilus , the 1923 recutting [english monotype 270] of the third aldine roman, originally cut by francesco griffo da bologna; & first shown in the Hpynerotomachia Poliphili (english: Poliphilo’s Strife of Love in a Dream) by francesco colonna [aldus manutius, venice, 1499].

[duardius]

is a rose a Rose?

opening line set in digital reissue of monotype poliphilus—vide ‹poor poliphilo›. body set in digital reissue of monotype blado; small-caps from poliphilus roman are fitted to the blado italic to attain period compositional style—renaissance typographers sought to recreate scribal custom; they adapted the scripts of humanist scribes.  blado is the 1923 recutting [english monotype 119] of antonio blado’s larger italic adapted from the 2nd italic of ludovico degli arrighi da vincenza, & first shown in the Apologi IIII of petrus collenucius, printed by arrighi, rome, 1526 [stanley morison, A Tally of Types, cup, 1973, p53]. «It originated in Rome in 1526 but it was the Vita Sfortiae of Paolo Giovo printed by Antonio Blado in 1539 that served as the basis for the recutting in 1923.» [ibid., p60].  (2nd illustration.)  separator is a line of monotype digital reissue of their recutting [uk monotype 280]—vide ‹granjon arabesque?›.

[duardius]

the capture

illustration: Die Gefangennahme Christi, woodcut by albrecht dürer [from Der Großen Passion, 1510; 47 in: emil waldmann, Albrecht Dürers Stiche und Holzschnitte, insel verlag, leipzig, 1917].

text: matthew 26, 1 [Novum Testamentum et Psalterium, libreria editrice vaticana, 2002]. kjv translation: And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

 set in monotype poliphilus—vide ‹poor poliphilo›. 

[travelwithflere]

Spelling out Pierre de Ronsard in linocut. E as in Exil. No paper and no ink: I show the linocuts themselves. A new frame inspired by the title page of « Discours du Songe de Poliphile »(The Dream of Poliphilus), 1546 Paris edition. Engraved linocut boards, frame 11 x 8 inches, initial 5 x 4 inches, 2022. #exil #poliphile #poliphilus #16thcentury #16esiecle #pierrederonsard #ronsard #frenchpoetry #lettrine #initials #linocut #linogravure #fredericlere #ronsardlere https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ9wh6fuMzH/?utm_medium=tumblr