Beautiful Bodoni
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Bodoni created typefaces and typography to impress the eye. His books and other printing exercises were meant to be looked upon and appreciated as works of art, rather than as mere pieces of communication. 1
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Giambattista Bodoni A twenty-eight-year-old Bodoni was asked to take charge of the Stamperia Reale, the official press of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma. Bodoni accepted the charge and became the private printer to the court. He printed official documents and publications desired by the duke, in addition to projects he conceived and initiated himself. His initial design influence was Fournier le Jeune, whose foundry supplied type and ornaments to the Stamperia Reale after Bodoni took charge. The quality of Bodoni’s design and printing, even though scholarship and proofreading were sometimes lacking, contributed to his growing international reputation. In 1790 the Vatican invited Bodoni to Rome to establish a press for printing the classics there, but the duke countered with an offer of expanded facilities, greater independence, and the privilege of printing for other clients. Bodoni elected to remain in Parma. 2 3
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Characteristics
1. Ball terminal 2. Small aperture 3. Abrupt hairline serifs
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Versions of Bodoni
Bodoni was one of the most prolific type designers and considered an arch-romantic. His hundreds of faces embrace considerable variety, and more than 25,000 of his punches are in the Bodoni Museum in Parma.The revivals issued in his name reflect only a tiny part of this legacy, and many are simply parodies of his ideas. The ITC Bodoni, digitized in 1994-95 are the closest of all the revivals to Bodoni’s mature style. Other favorites are the Bodoni cut by Louis Hoell for the Bauer Foundry, Frankfurt, in 1924, and the Berthold Foundry version, produced in 1930. Both have been issued in digital form. 3
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ITC Bodoni (outlined) compared to Bauer Bodoni
ITC Bodoni (outlined) compared to Berthold Bodoni
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Bodoni and Baskerville
Bodoni was no revolutionary. The modern Roman style, which is attributed to him, did not spring forth as if by magic. While the letters he cut and the books he printed were more refined and of higher quality than most of the work originating before or during his lifetime, it would be difficult to classify any of Bodoni’s efforts as fundamentally new. When he was young, the work of John Baskerville served as his ideal. In later years, the work of his great Parisian competitor, Francois Didot, influenced him dramatically. Bodoni was always, in some manner, dependent on the work of other, bolder contemporaries. 4
Baskerville’s type (outlined) greatly influenced Bodoni.
1. Bodoni has thinner serifs 2. Bodoni’s letters are more condensed 3. Bodoni and Baskerville both have dramatic contrast between thick and thin strokes 4. Bodoni and Baskerville both have a vertical axis
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The subtle differences between Didot (outlined) and Bodoni
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1. Bodoni’s weight transitions are more gradual 2. Bodoni has more dramatic ball terminals 3. Bodoni’s serifs still maintain a degree of bracketing 4. Bodoni’s lowercase T shows a hint of “old-style”
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Bodoni and Didot
Despite the influences of Didot and Baskerville, Bodoni was not a copyist. On the surface, Bodoni and Dido’s type may appear virtually identical, and there are distinct similarities in their work. Bodoni surely studied Didot’s designs very carefully, but a close examination reveals that Bodoni’s weight transitions are more gradual and his serifs still maintain a slight degree of bracketing. There is even hint of “old style” in Bodoni’s work. He followed Didot’s lead, carefully evaluating the designs of his great competitor, but consciously remaining always just slightly behind the radical modernism of his contemporary. Perhaps this explains to some degree the longevity of Bodoni’s type designs. They were radical enough to be considered new and different (to establish for Bodoni an important and influential place in current typographic circles), but not so different that they became the 18th-century versions of fad designs. 3 11
“The letters don’t get their true delight when done in haste and discomfort, nor merely done with diligence & pain, but only when they are created with love and passion.” -Giambattista Bodoni
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References and Bibliography
1. Haley, Allan. Typographic Milestones. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. (SC: Z250 A2 H18 1992 4o), 46. 2. Philip B. Meggs, A History of Graphic Design (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992), 126. 3. Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 1992), 217-218. 4. Haley, Allan. Typographic Milestones. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. (SC: Z250 A2 H18 1992 4o), 46. 5. Haley, Allan. Typographic Milestones. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. (SC: Z250 A2 H18 1992 4o), 48.
Bodoni, Giambattista. Manuale Tipografico, 1788. Facsimile a cura de Giovanni Mardersteig, Verona: Editiones Officinae Bodoni, 1968. (SC: Z232 B66 1788a 4o) Bodoni, Giambattista. Preface to the Manuale Tipografico of 1818, translated by H. V. Marrot, London: Lion & Unicorn Press, 1953. (SC: Z232 B66 1953)
Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces, essays by Carolyn Annand ... [et al.]; Edited by Philip B. Meggs and Roy McKelvey, New York: RC Publications, 2000. (A&A: Z250. R45 2000) http://www.linotype.com http://www.fonts.com
Cleland, T. M. Giambattista Bodoni of Parma. Boston: Society of Printers, 1916. (SC: Z232 B66 C5) Jaspert, W. Pincus. The Encyclopaedia of Typefaces. Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press; New York: Distributed in the U.S. by Sterling, 1983. (SC: Z250 J36 1983)
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This book was designed by Maria Burke in the fall of 2011 for Typography I Typefaces used include Bodoni ITC 72 and Scala Sans; Bauer Bodoni, Berthold Bodoni, and Baskerville used for comparisons.
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