Alpha-Beta is a work dedicated to the history of writing and typography. As the title suggests it deals with the fundamentals, the basics of the discipline of typography, with a historical slant and great attention to form. It is the first book by type designer Aldo Novarese, and dates back to the autumn of 1964, published by Progresso Grafico in Turin.
Initially conceived for the teaching of alphabet design in graphic schools, the book is one of the few works written in Italian to deal with the theory and practice of type design from the point of view of a practitioner of the discipline and not a theorist; Alfa-Beta presents the history of type with an original and dynamic slant that is still worthy of note and a source of inspiration today.
On the occasion of the centenary of Novarese’s birth (29 June 1920), the book was reissued thanks to a crowdfunding project conceived by Lorenzo Bolzoni, organised and followed up together with Archivio Tipografico and Matilde Argentero, the author’s niece. This re-edition includes the reproduction of Aldo Novarese’s book accompanied by a reading guide containing an introduction to the project, two essays by Enrico Tallone and Tommaso Trojani and an English translation of all texts by Alta L. Price.
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Published by Archivio Tipografico, Turin, 2020
Alpha-Beta Facsimile
Texts and illustrations by Aldo Novarese
17 × 24 cm
288 pages
Hardback
Italian
Reading Guide
Texts by Enrico Tallone, Tommaso Trojani
Translations by Alta L. Price
222 pages
Paperback
Italian / English
Two-volume edition in a letterpress printed slipcase
Isbn 978-88-945605-1-0
