Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles 1628-1900

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Cees De Jong

Alston Purvis

TASCHEN, Cologne, Germany, 2009, English, French, and German

Nonfiction, Graphic Design

9.8 x 12.4 inches, hardcover and image database, 360 pages, black-and-white and color illustrations

ISBN: 9783836511018

Suggested Retail Price: $59.99

From the Publisher. This exuberant selection of typographic fonts and styles traces the modern evolution of the printed letter, reproducing pages from exquisitely designed catalogs showing type specimens in roman, italic, bold, semi-bold, narrow, and broad fonts. Also included are borders, ornaments, initial letters and decorations, and many spectacular examples of their use. Victorian fonts, spectacular in their complexity, are accorded a prominent place. In addition, examples from lithography and letters by inscription carvers and calligraphers are also included and described.

Featuring works by type designers William Caslon, Fritz Helmuth Ehmcke, Peter Behrens, Rudolf Koch, Eric Gill, Jan van Krimpen, Paul Renner, Jan Tschichold, A. M. Cassandre, Aldo Novarese, and Adrian Frutiger.

To accommodate the vast amount of material, we have divided the subject into two volumes. This, the first volume, covers pre–20th-century typeface specimens, with texts by editor Cees de Jong and collector Jan Tholenaar.

Includes exclusive access with TASCHEN keycard to online image library: over 1,000 high-resolution scans of type specimens downloadable for unrestricted use.

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Louise Fili

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This two-volume set, with CD, is an exhilarating compendium of type specimens and ornaments from the U.S. and Europe. Volume One spans 1628 to 1900, and Volume Two from 1900 to 1938. Every time I open one of these books I find a new surprise.

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