About Alphabets, Some Marginal Notes on Type Design (Typophiles Chap Books XXXVII)

New York: The Typophiles, 1960. Hardcover. Very good +. One of 300 signed and numbered copies, duodecimo size, 118 pp. total, this volume signed by Hermann Zapf. Hermann Zapf (1918-2015) was one of the most influential typographers of the early digital age, having a career that "spanned the glory days of hot metal composition right through to the rise of the Apple Mac"; his creations continue to inspire today. Interestingly, it is Zapf's "dingbats" that may have had the biggest impact on modern communication: these formed the basis for Unicode's symbols, which in turn paved the way for the now-ubiquitous emoji.

This volume signed by Zapf (truncated) at the colophon, being no. 102 of the edition (both the signature and number in blue ink).

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full blue cloth over stiff cardboard, brown leather spine label with gilt lettering, the frontispiece a reproduction of a photograph of Zapf, replete with typographic designs, several being double-page; duodecimo size (7" by 4 1/2"), pagination: [1-6] 7-117, [1, colophon], this one of 300 signed/numbered copies (total English edition 700 copies; there were also 1300 copies printed in German).

___CONDITION: Better than very good: the cloth binding clean overall and without wear, all corners perfectly straight and unrubbed, a strong text block with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and the sole prior owner marking we see a gift inscription on the flyleaf dated "vii.62"; we would have graded this book fine except for (i) an old damp-stain at the head of the spine which has darkened the leather spine label and the cloth at the very top, and (ii) foxing to the edges of the text block. Even with its few faults, still special with Hermann Zapf's signature.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help. (Inventory #: 33331029)