9781584560098 - Alphabets to Order: The Literature of Nineteenth-Century Typefounders' Specimens de Johnston, Alastair (6 résultats)

Hardcover. Etat : VG. Color illustrated dj, red boards with gilt text on spine. 213 pp. Some bw illustrations. "Alphabets to Order provides a survey of an overlooked artform - the literary output of the anonymous craftsmen who set type specimen books during the typefounding boom of the nineteenth century." "Combining typographic scholarship and literary criticism, Alastair Johnston explores the apparent randomness of the texts that typesetters used to show off their typefaces. Discussing hundreds of examples from British and North American specimen books, Johnston shows that the typefounders' 'nonsense' reflected their interests and preoccupations from the arcane to the mundane. Through this new lens, we see that the specimen books had plenty to say about the reading habits, politics, amusements and whimsies of the day." "Johnston argues that the typefounders' specimens are of significant literary interest as well. Playing both with words and with the graphic shapes of the letterforms, these nameless pioneers trod paths later explored by concrete poets, book artists, dadaists, performance artists, and other experimenters with literary form." "Alphabets to Order is for anyone interested in vernacular art, typographic history, or literary studies, combining all three in a fresh expose of a new class of cultural hero - the worldly wise typesticker.".

cloth, dustjacket, 4to ix+213 pp., 41 ills. survey of type specimen books of the 19th century; very good condition.

Original publisher's red-brown cloth hardback, gilt title spine and frontcover, pictorial dustjacket, large 4to: pictorial endpapers, frontispiece, title-page illustration, [10]pp., 214pp., very richly illustrated, side-notes & references, acknowledgements, list illustrations, appendices: lineages of British & American typefounders, list type specimens consulted, names & seizes of types, general bibliography, index. Very fine copy - as new.

First Edition. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw, now mylar-sleeved. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered.; 213 pages; Description: 213 p. : ill. ; 29 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-206) and index. Subjects: Type and type-founding --United States --Great Britain --History --English literature --19th century --History and criticism. Summary: This appropriately lovely history surveys the literary output of the anonymous craftsmen who set type-specimen books during the typefounding boom of the 19th century. Combining typographic scholarship and literary criticism, Johnston (a bibliographer and co- founder of Poltroon Press) shows that the apparently random texts employed by British and North American typesetters to display their typefaces actually reflected the typesetters' interests and preoccupations, from the arcane to the mundane, and that they had plenty to say as well about the reading habits, politics, amusements, and whimsies of the day. Includes a number of reproductions of texts. 2 Kg.

Hardcover. Etat : Used; Very Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! Greener Books.

First Edition. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw, now mylar-sleeved. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered.; 213 pages; Description: 213 p. : ill. ; 29 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-206) and index. Subjects: Type and type-founding --United States --Great Britain --History --English literature --19th century --History and criticism. Summary: This appropriately lovely history surveys the literary output of the anonymous craftsmen who set type-specimen books during the typefounding boom of the 19th century. Combining typographic scholarship and literary criticism, Johnston (a bibliographer and co- founder of Poltroon Press) shows that the apparently random texts employed by British and North American typesetters to display their typefaces actually reflected the typesetters' interests and preoccupations, from the arcane to the mundane, and that they had plenty to say as well about the reading habits, politics, amusements, and whimsies of the day. Includes a number of reproductions of texts. 2 Kg.