La dolce vita dei caratteri: looking back at Legacy of Letters 2012
In preparation for Legacy of Letters 2013 I was looking through the over 1300 photos that Alexander Trubin sent me from last year’s tour and workshop. I had failed to organize them and last night I found myself bogged down in the tedious task while watching the New York Rangers demolish the Washington Capitals. The tedium was relieved by the opportunity to enjoy and relive the tour afresh: rubbing inscriptions in the courtyard of Sant’Ambrogio in Milano, viewing the moulds and matrices of Bodoni in Parma, surveying Verona from the Panoramico, eating and drinking with printer Martino Mardersteig, arriving at Villa Bolzonello in Cornuda, exploring the riches of the Tipoteca, walking down a dusty road in Cornuda with the other Legacy of Letters participants in the warm sun, looking at rare books in Venice, working on the tour keepsakes with master printer Lucio Passerini, and more. Indelible memories.
Here is a selection of some of Alexander’s photos from last year as a taste for those of you who missed the experience. This year’s tour and workshop will not be identical but it promises to be just as sweet. Join us and find out for yourself.
Making a rubbing in the courtyard of S. Ambrogio, Milano. From left to right: Angela Holland, Clinton Harvey, DIana Pasovski, Tim Chambers, David Shields, Maureen Hoffmann, Paul Shaw and Alta Price. 18 July 2012.
Lucio Passerini inking type during our visit to Il Buon Tempo, his printshop in Milano. 19 July 2012.
A Parmense rebuke: “Educated people throw refuse in the trashcan.”
Moulds, ladles and other items for casting type on display in the Museo Bodoniano, Parma. 20 July 2012.
View of Verona from the Panoramico. 20 July 2012.
Arriving at the Villa Bolzonello in Cornuda, our base for the workshop portion of the tour. From left to right: Tim Chambers, Paul Shaw, Angela Holland, Sandro Berra, David Shields, Maureen Hoffmann and Pat Vining. 20 July 2012.
Sandro Berra showing us some of the treasures in the library at the Tipoteca. 21 July 2012.
Some of the many printing presses at the Tipoteca.
Calligraphy workshop with Paul Shaw. 21 July 2012.
Isola di S. Giorgio, Venice. Home to the Fondazione Cini. 24 July 2012.
Borges labyrinth at the Fondazione Cini. 24 July 2012.
Detail from 15th c. manuscript written in rotunda. Note the guidelines and the poorly done correction (e with abbreviation mark above it).
Saying farewell to Dott.ssa Lucia Sardo (center), Ilenia (right) and the Fondazione Cini. 24 July 2012.
Luca Barcellona demonstrating the construction of Imperial Roman capitals and fraktur using the broad brush. 25 July 2012.
Working on the group keepsake: setting type. From left to right: Tim Chambers, Angela Holland, Lucio Passerini, Maureen Hoffmann, Paul Shaw and David Shields. 26 July 2012.
Lucio Passerini proudly displays Alexander Trubin’s freshly printed keepsake. 27 July 2012.
On the road between Cornuda and Rovereto. 28 July 2012.
Alta Price and Paul Shaw facing off in the courtyard of MART (Museo d’Arte Rovereto Trento) in Rovereto. 28 July 2012.
Legacy of Letters 2012 farewell dinner in Verona with guest Martino Mardersteig. On the left: Diana Pasovski, Clint Harvey, Paul Shaw, Martino Mardersteig, Maureen Hoffmann, and David Shields. At the end Tim Chambers. On the right: Alexander Trubin, Alta Price, Angela Holland, and Patricia Vining.
Sasha, thanks for the photos and for being part of the tour last year. It was great fun hanging out with you.—Paul
Alexander Trubin practicing calligraphy. Photograph by Maureen Hoffmann. 25 July 2012.
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