The Nebiolo Typefoundry, 1878–1978. New critical assessments

 45,00

Proceedings of the International symposium / Turin, 16–17 September 2021

The Nebiolo company of Turin was Italy’s greatest type foundry on both national and international levels for most of the 20th century until its closure in 1978. Originating from a small type foundry established in 1852 and bought by Giovanni Nebiolo in 1878, Nebiolo was officially set up in 1880. By the turn of the century the company experienced a rapid commercial expansion that would lead it to successfully develop the production of printing presses, a sector in which it would dominate the Italian market until the 1970s.

Nebiolo is especially remembered for its contributions in the field of typeface design. Its Studio Artistico – headed successively by Giulio Da Milano, Alessandro Butti and Aldo Novarese – released influential typefaces that had a strong impact on the history of 20th-century printing and graphic design in Italy and elsewhere. Due to the dispersion of the company archives, a critical evaluation of Nebiolo’s heritage has been lacking until now. With this first international symposium, and the publication of its proceedings, the Nebiolo History Project offers at last an overview of the latest research on hitherto underinvestigated aspects concerning Nebiolo and its role in the history of industry and the graphic arts in Italy.

Edited by Nebiolo History Project: Alessandro Colizzi, Riccardo Olocco, James Clough, Riccardo De Franceschi, Marta Bernstein, Massimo Gonzato
Texts by various authors

19 × 27 cm
376 pages
Paperback
Original language edition (italian/english)
Isbn 978-88-98030-89-7
First published July 2023

Description

You may also like…

  •  130,00

    Special edition limited to 50 copies for collectors
    60×40 cm dust jacket/poster with alphabet by Luca Barcellona
    Canvas slipcase with hot foil stamping.

    Claudio Rocha and Tony de Marco founded “Tupigrafia” magazine at the beginning of the millennium in São Paulo and have been working on it ever since. They are editorial designers and have always been a reference point for visual artists, communicators, researchers, teachers, calligraphers, street writers and typographers in Brazil. They created “Tupigrafia” because they wanted to have fun with letterforms and stay in touch with like-minded readers, exchanging ideas and experiences on the typographic scene. Their surprising and unconventional magazine has always reflected the state of typographic arts and lettering in Brazil and around the world.

    Now, after more than 20 years and 13 issues only available in Portuguese and almost all out of print, the masters of “Tupigrafia”, Rocha and De Marco, launch the first English-language anthology of the original magazine. A powerful and colourful 208-page volume presenting the vibrant content of “Tupigrafia” for an international audience of lettering and typeface enthusiasts.

    This unpredictable and unmissable anthology will feature some of ‘Tupigrafia’s most inventive and innovative subjects such as, among others, the sign painters known as “abridores de letras”, who work on boats in the Amazon; the Dutch postage stamps created by Gerrit Noordzij, Wim Crouwel, Joost Swarte and others; Fefê Talavera’s wall paintings for the ‘concrete jungle’ of São Paulo; the bizarre wooden typefaces of the Tipoteca Italiana and even the hidden typography of a pencil collection.

    Design and curatorship by Claudio Rocha and Tony de Marco
    Cover title by Luca Barcellona

    15.5 × 22.5 cm
    208 pages with letterpress insert
    Hardback
    Isbn 978-88-98030-41-5
    First published September 2021

  •  13,00

    “Cast it” is a publication that uses CAST fonts and deals with the history and culture of type. Issue 5 presents The Processes of Type-making, an excerpt from the first chapter of Plain Printing Types, a book written by the American scholar-printer Theodore Low De Vinne and included in his four-volume treatise The Practice of Typography (1900-1904).

    The excerpt focuses on De Vinne’s summaries of electrotypes, stereotypes, printing presses and especially his analyses of typeface wear. As pointed out by Paul Shaw in his preface: “De Vinne’s account of typography, typesetting and printing is that of a large-scale commercial printer” […] “His language is lucid and easily understood by a modern reader in contrast to that of Moxon, Fournier, or even Mackellar.”

    Co-produced with CAST Cooperativa Anonima Servizi Tipografici
    Type designers: Erasmo Ciufo, Alessandro Colizzi, Beatrice D’Agostino, Riccardo De Franceschi, Giovanni De Faccio & Lui Karner, Rafael Dietzsch, Alessio D’Ellena, Giulio Galli, Radek Lukasiewicz, Riccardo Olocco, Luciano Perondi, Leo Philp, Gianluca Sandrone, Tipiblu
    Preface by Paul Shaw
    Editing by Andrea Amato, James Clough, Massimo Gonzato, Riccardo Olocco
    Book design by +fortuna

    16.5 × 24 cm
    48 pages
    English
    Issn 2531-765
    Isbn 978-88-98030-44-6
    First published December 2021

  •  22,50

    Many typefaces created today are related to types of the past, and interest in older letterforms is stimulated by the great number of visual resources available. We are surrounded by digital fonts based in one way or another on historical models, but it is clear that we cannot consider all of them as revivals. So, how to distinguish a type revival from a typeface that is loosely based on historical forms? More reflection on this subject is necessary, both to help navigate the landscape of contemporary typefaces, and to give greater clarity to discussions on the history of type. This 104 pages pamphlet provides tools for researching and designing revival types. A concise publication that will show a practical perspective and fresh content, fuelling the conversation among and between designers and scholars.

    The content is organised into four parts. The authors begin by defining the theoretical ground, including a definition of revivals, and a discussion on the boundaries of a revival project. The second part introduces the framework of analysis developed for recording the relevant design features of the type used as a model. In the third part, Olocco and Patané apply the framework to the roman type cut by Francesco Griffo for the De Aetna (1496). Based on this analysis, the fourth part showcases the process of reviving this historical type.

    Although the authors are focusing on defining a procedure to design a type revival, those suggestions can be adopted beyond the scope of a revival project. Their approach will ensure a strong connection with the original source and a substantial help towards understanding how to employ historical models in a contemporary context.

    Texts by Riccardo Olocco and Michele Patanè
    Preface by Gerry Leonidas
    Book design by Riccardo Olocco and Michele Patanè

    12.5 × 21 cm
    112 pages
    Paperback
    English
    Isbn 978-88-98030-48-4
    First published May 2022

  •  48,00

    Claudio Rocha and Tony de Marco founded “Tupigrafia” magazine at the beginning of the millennium in São Paulo and have been working on it ever since. They are editorial designers and have always been a reference point for visual artists, communicators, researchers, teachers, calligraphers, street writers and typographers in Brazil. They created “Tupigrafia” because they wanted to have fun with letterforms and stay in touch with like-minded readers, exchanging ideas and experiences on the typographic scene. Their surprising and unconventional magazine has always reflected the state of typographic arts and lettering in Brazil and around the world.

    Now, after more than 20 years and 13 issues only available in Portuguese and almost all out of print, the masters of “Tupigrafia”, Rocha and De Marco, launch the first English-language anthology of the original magazine. A powerful and colourful 208-page volume presenting the vibrant content of “Tupigrafia” for an international audience of lettering and typeface enthusiasts.

    This unpredictable and unmissable anthology will feature some of ‘Tupigrafia’s most inventive and innovative subjects such as, among others, the sign painters known as “abridores de letras”, who work on boats in the Amazon; the Dutch postage stamps created by Gerrit Noordzij, Wim Crouwel, Joost Swarte and others; Fefê Talavera’s wall paintings for the ‘concrete jungle’ of São Paulo; the bizarre wooden typefaces of the Tipoteca Italiana and even the hidden typography of a pencil collection.

    Also available in limited edition: Tupigrafia. 2000–2020 Anthology – Limited edition

    Design and curatorship by Claudio Rocha and Tony de Marco
    Cover title by Luca Barcellona

    15.5 × 22.5 cm
    208 pages with letterpress insert
    Hardback
    Isbn 978-88-98030-41-5
    First published September 2021

The Nebiolo Typefoundry, 1878–1978. New critical assessments

 45,00