bouquiniste

Typography Tuesday

This week we present A Constructed Alphabet, A Geometric Analysis of the Greek and Roman Capitals and of the Arabic Numerals by the American artist, calligrapher, and typographer David Lance Goines, published by David R. Godine in 1982. 

Beginning with how to “Construct a Square,” Goines continues to demonstrate how to construct Arabic numerals and Roman and Greek majuscules based on his own contemporary understanding of classical geometric formulations of “just proportions.” As the liner notes observe, “His letters are of an awesome and austere beauty. Like their sixteenth-century precursors, they are constructed according to geometric formulae based on the circle and the square, but achieve a sense of proportion and design of commendable modernity.”

This publication, designed by Goines, was composed, printed letterpress, and bound entirely at The Stinehour Press of Lunenburg, Vermont, in Monotype and Narrow Bembo. Once again, it is a gift from our friend and benefactor Jerry Buff.

A collection of Black Books of Hours

Black Hours, ca. 1475 (Morgan Library, New York)

Horae beatae marie secundum usum curie romane, ca. 1458 (Hispanic Society of America)

It’s Friday, so let’s have a look at one of my favorite bindings here in Special Collections!

Stout Accessions

One of our favorite collection items qualifies for inclusion in both the Stout Reference Library and the IMA Archives – the first accession book for the Art Association of Indianapolis library, begun in 1908. Library history buffs will love that this “Condensed Accession Book” carries Melvil Dewey’s stamp of approval!

Although the Stout Reference Library’s very first accession listed in this volume has since been withdrawn, the second accession, a French dictionary of art terms, still resides in our collection.

The book: