Illustration: Theodore Low De Vinne (1828-1914) via Wikimedia Commons.
Illustration of a punch (left) and matrix (right) used in type-founding, ca. 1876.
I’ve always loved the way steel-cut letters make a formal invitation look, the way they press into high-quality paper, drawing my attention to the hands of whoever did the typesetting. It’s a dying art to make the letters and even to print with them, and that inspired a filmmaker to look into the masters of the craft.
Carey Dunne writes at Hyperallergic, “In a smoky atelier in Torino, Italy, Giuseppe Branchino works as one of the world’s last punch cutters. Cutting punches, the first step in traditional typesetting, is the meticulous craft of carving letterforms into small steel billets.
“Branchino was the former head of the engraving department of type foundry and printing press manufacturer Nebiolo, founded in Turin in 1852. Along with a few others scattered across the globe, he carries on a centuries-old practice that’s becoming obsolete in the age of digital type.
“In the meditative short film The Last Punchcutter, by Giorgio Affanni and Gabriele Chiapparini, we watch Branchino create a punch. Drinking espresso and smoking a cigarette, he works silently and slowly, carving the letter ‘G’ into a thin block of steel with awls and chisels, peering through a magnifying glass to inspect his handiwork. He spends nearly seven minutes on a single letter.
“The film was created as part of Griffo, the Great Gala of Letters, a multidisciplinary project focusing on the life of Francesco Griffo, a 15th-century Venetian punch cutter and type designer. Born circa 1450 near Bologna, the son of the goldsmith and engraver Cesare Griffo, he went on to work for the house of Aldus Manutius of Venice, the most important publisher of the day. In 1501, for an edition of Virgil (the Aldine Virgil), he created what’s regarded as the first italic typeface.
“Though his typefaces are still widely used and inspire most contemporary type designers, details of his biography are murky and, as Joseph Blumenthal put it in The Art of the Printed Book 1455–1955, ‘Griffo has never received adequate recognition for his enormous contribution to type design.’ Through videos, texts, and an upcoming exhibition, the Great Gala of Letters project aims to bring Griffo some long overdue recognition on the the 500th anniversary of his death.”
That book is out of print, but nothing stops GoodReaders from reading out-of-print books. Marc Joseph gave Blumenthal book five stars, saying, “Joseph Blumenthal was a fine printer for years at his Spiral Press. One of the great printers of the mid-twentieth century. He was also a typographer, educator, author in all things fine printing and a historian in the history of the printed word.
“Here he brings all of that acumen to bear on the history of the printed book, from 1455 to 1955. … There are multiple plates showing examples of the printing mentioned in the text, so the reader not only reads the facts, but sees them as well.
“This book forms a foundational basis for understanding the history of print. A note must also be made on the production values of this book. It is printed letterpress by the Stinehour Press (which for the size of the book and length is crazy). The tactile feel of the letterpress is amazing and shows the reader what fine press work is all about.
“The plates were printed by the Meridian Gravure Company, another fine printer, particularly of plates, either black and white or in color (black and white here). This hardbound volume was released in 1973 by the co-publishers, the Pierpont Morgan Library and David R. Godine. At the time of writing this review [December 2023], this particular edition can be had for $22.00 in ‘as new’ condition.”
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