Eminent Typographer Matthew Carter to Present Opening Lecture Feb. 27
Providence Public Library will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the death of Giambattista Bodoni, one of history’s most important typographers and printers with an exhibition and opening lecture by the eminent typographer Matthew Carter on Thursday, February 27 at 6:00 pm. The 225 Washington Street entrance will open at 5:00 pm and the exhibition space will be open to visitors. A curator’s tour of the exhibition will take place at 5:30 pm.
Bodoni was born in 1740 in the city of Saluzzo, in what is now Italy. He spent most of his life directing the work of the royal printing house of the Duke of Parma, where he gained a reputation as a careful and detail-oriented printer of books that are lavish not because of their decoration but because of their typography. As a typographer, Bodoni was one of the central characters in the transition from older styles of type (based on the handwriting of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts) to modern typefaces.
The collection of Bodoni materials in the Special Collections department of the Providence Public Library is one of the finest Bodoni collections in the United States. It includes many books printed by Bodoni as well as ephemeral items (some with corrections in his hand) and a small group of his letters.
The exhibition will be on display in the Providence Journal Rhode Island Room, on Level 1 of the Library, from February 27 through mid-April.
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