book (design) story #418
rudolf hostettler:
the printer's terms
sgm books, st. gallen, 1952
printer: zollikofer & co, st. gallen
size: 15 x 10 cm
designer: rudolf hostettler
i wish i had found this tiny book before since it would have been very useful for this project! it contains explanations of virtually all printer's terms of the pre-digital "lead age of typography" in english, german and french, partly with translations into italian and dutch.
rudolf hostettler (1919-1981), typographic designer and editor of the magazines "schweizerische graphische mitteilungen" and "typographische monatsblätter, first published "the printer's terms" in 1949. this is the 2nd edition from 1952.
the neat, asymmetric typography can be considered typically swiss – however the gill sans typeface is not: akzidenz-grotesk ruled in switzerland at the time!
the book is extremely well organised, ...
... with detailed instructions for use, ...
... examples of typeface families and their names in different languages, ...
... many useful photos and diagrams such as layouts of letter cases in different countries, and even a laid-in typographic ruler for the various point systems, ...
... and finally very clever cross-reference lists. highly recommended!
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