Alphabetum Romanum
Verona: Editiones Officinae Bodoni, 1960.
Limited Edition. Hardcover.
#135 of a Limited Edition of 400 numbered copies. Edited by Giovanni Mardersteig. This English Edition was set in Giovanni Mardersteig's Dante type and printed on his hand-press by Mario Facincani and Rino Grazioli. The paper was made by Fratelli Magnani, Pescia. The twenty-five letters of the alphabet were coloured by hand by Ameglio Trivella after the original manuscript. Illustrated with heliogravure plates and specimens of Feliciano's handwriting.
From the Prospectus: Felice Feliciano's Alphabetum dates from about 1460 and is of considerable importance in the history of lettering. It is the first treatise on the construction of classic Roman inscription letters and also represents the first attempt to construct them within a circle and square. In the days of antiquity these rules were normally observed, but later they were forgotten, and since their rediscovery they have interested the type-designers of all subsequent periods. Moreover, the manuscript of the treatise, now in the Vatican library, is particularly attractive because each of the letters of the alphabet is painted in two colours. In the present edition, the 25 letters reproduced from the original manuscript have been coloured by hand. As the constructional lines and circles are no longer visible in the manuscript, explanatory drawings have been placed opposite the letters to facilitate the understanding of Feliciano's text. At the end of the volume is an English translation of the treatise and the recipes for making coloured inks which follow it. Mardersteig's introduction gives an outline of the life of this versatile Veronese - calligrapher, collector of ancient inscriptions, poet and printer. The introduction also deals with the historical background and the problems which the treatise presents.
Item #9018986 x 9-1/8”, quarter brown morocco, brown paper over boards, top-edge gilt, 138pp, bibliographical notes, 5 heliogravures, 25 hand-colored letters, printer’s prospectus laid-in.
Previous owner’s armorial bookplate first paste-down endpaper, typical toning where leather and paper meet, a fine copy in original printed slip-case.
Price: $950.00