Giambattista Bodoni

This is a lavishly illustrated biography of the great printer Bodoni, vividly describing his work, life, and times while justifying his reputation as the "prince of typographers." This is the first English-language biography of the incomparably talented printer Giambattista Bodoni (1740-1813). Born to a printing family in the small Italian town of Saluzzo, he left his comfortable life to travel to Rome in 1758 where he served as an apprentice of Cardinal Spinelli at the Propaganda Fide press. There, under the sponsorship of Ruggieri, his close friend, mentor, and protector, he learned all aspects of the printing craft. Even then, his real talent, indeed his genius, lay in type design and punchcutting, especially of the exotic foreign alphabets needed by the papal office. His life changed in 1768 at age 28 when he was invited by the young Duke of Parma to abandon Rome for that eponymous city to establish and direct the ducal press. He remained in Parma, overseeing a vast diversity of printing - all of it making use of typefaces he designed and engraved. This book goes beyond Bodoni's capacity as a printer; it examines the life and times in which he lived, the turbulent and always fragile political climate, and the fascinating cast of characters. Intriguing, scholarly, visually arresting, and designed and printed to Bodoni's standards, this title belongs on the shelf of any self-respecting bibliophile.