Volume 21–2.pdf

A HEBREW alphabet from Pel Solenne Battesimo
di S.A.R. Ludovico Principe Primogenito di
Parma...Parma, Impresso nella R. Stamperia, 1774.
Essentially a type specimen book showing
a number of the exotic alphabets Bodoni cut early
in his career (26 cm).
THE BIBLIOTECA Palatina houses the Museo Bodoniana, a collection of Bodoni's type
relics, which includes metal punches and thousands of volumes of books.
Walking down the streets on a sleepy summer day, it is difficult
to imagine that the rhythm of life in Parma has changed
much in two centuries. The shops and museums are closed for
the afternoon nap. We walk across the piazza and go into the
cathedral. It is cool and dark inside. We walk slowly, our footsteps
echoing Suddenly we are in front of a magnificent marble
bust. It is Bodoni. In Parma, Bodoni is like a saint. He has his
own place in the cathedral. This unexpected encounter with
Bodoni's sculpted image sets the mood for the rest of our visit.
The search for Bodoni takes on a new
dimension, a new meaning. We are
here not only to look at old books
and ancient metal
punches. We are
here to find the
spirit of Bodoni.
The Real Bodoni.
HE BODONI TYPE
relics are housed in
a museum inside a
library. Getting into
the Museo Bodoniana
requires an
appointment. First,
we climb the long
BODONI'S steel punches are each carefully
stored in their own special compartments
in wooden boxes like this one.
The steel punches
are remarkable pieces
of cculpture
set of marble stairs to enter the Biblioteca Palatina.
Then up another floor in a creaky old
elevator. We step out and are surrounded by
the products of Bodoni's prodigious career.
There are thousands of volumes—everything
from humble herbals to lavish folio classics
printed for kings, emperors and popes.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF PARMA AND METAL TYPE BY SUMNER STONE
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