Dominique Carre

Hardcover | 22.8 x 2.3 x 28.5 cm | 320 pp

Gingko Press | 2015 | 9781584232667

This book is a beautiful republication of the 1860s wood type catalogue Specimen des caractères en bois de la maison Bonnet. It demonstrates that letters, like buildings, incarnate the spirit of an age, while preserving a timeless quality that constitutes a lasting source of inspiration.

The first wooden letters for typographic reproduction on posters were craft-produced in the 18th century. Their use spread with the expansion of commercial advertising in the 1820s; production was mechanised and new types with increased visibility were created. In addition to dated products, series of surprisingly “modern” types were developed that could be com-pared with those generated by the “new” digital typography.