Francesco Griffo da Bologna – Fragments & Glimpses

The Life & Work of the Man Who Cut Types for Aldus Manutius

With a leaf from one of the first Aldine books printed with Griffo’s italic type.

The first half of this book is a biography of Griffo’s life and work, assembled from quotations taken from over four dozen sources spanning the 15th to 20th centuries, structured both thematically (i.e. The Roman Types, The Greek Types, After Aldus) and chronologically.

The second half contains translations of four 19th century texts at the heart of Griffo’s rediscovery, after being lost to history and then mis-identified as the artist Francesco Raibolini. These translations, by Emma Mandley, were commissioned by HM, and we believe it is the first time these texts have been published in English. They include the New Appendix added to Antonio Panizzi’s second (1873) edition of his pamphlet Chi era Francesco da Bologna?; excerpts from Giacomo Manzoni’s introduction in Studii di bibliografia analitica (1882); Adamo Rossi’s “The Last Word on the Question of Francesco da Bologna’s Surname;” and an excerpt from Emilio Orioli’s “Contribution to the History of Printing in Bologna” (1899).

Set in roman and italic Bembo, with initial letters adapted from the ones attributed to Griffo in Paulus de Middelburgh’s Paulina de recta Paschae (1512). Printed damp on Arches Text. Edition of 50 copies, each with an an original leaf from Aldus’ 1502 edition of Heroidvm tipped in. Copies 1–5 bound in a full morocco Aldine-style binding, tooled in gilt and blind, by Natasha Herman. Copies 6– 20 bound by Claudia Cohen in limp vellum. Copies 21– 50 bound in quarter cloth with painted paper over boards. 8vo, 114 pp. 2020