(Version française en commentaire) The Plaque Découpée Universelle or Universal Stencil Plate was created by the engineer Jonathan A. David in 1876 and sold at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1878, hence the French name. This lettering stencil was designed to draw all upper and lower case letters as well as all possible ornaments one can imagine using its numerous lines. I had the pleasure of discovering this item while reading the amazing book On Letters published by @domain______ , in which @prem_krishnamurthy discusses and examines On Kawara's lettering in his famous Date Painting series. Little is known about its creator, except that he probably lived in New York, where he patented the object almost 150 years ago. The scope of the project, shown in general public main events, suggests that it was made by someone who wasn't a type designer and therefore perhaps not in dialogue with the type world of his time. This may explain why it was long forgotten until Eric Kindel's 2007 article on how he came across it. I realised that it would be quite easy to cut copies with a laser and thought it would make an edition that graphic design enthusiasts would love. Then I thought that the object should be accompanied by some explanation. My solution was to reprint the original broadsheet with which it was sold, trying to recreate the entire typographic composition with today's means. The plates I cut out are made from cardboard scraps left over from previous projects, their sizes therefore depend on the pieces I come accross. Jonathan A. David, Plaque Découpée Universelle, 2023 (1876), 103 x 180 mm for the plate & 475 x 662 mm for the broadside Keaycolor 450g cardstock lasercut & digital newsprint, 200 copies. Click on the link in bio to purchase https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnzv0K0IBD4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
