A Hundred Years of Type 1813–1908

This research offers an excursus on nineteenth-century typography in Italy, grounded in the analysis of type specimens produced by contemporary foundries and printers. It is supported by an investigation into the technical development of the graphic arts, including type design and manufacture, typesetting, and printing processes.

The project began in 2005 with the objective of addressing a significant gap in the historiography of Italian typography. While Giambattista Bodoni—renowned printer and punchcutter from Parma—has been extensively studied, the century following his death in 1813 and preceding the emergence of the Nebiolo type foundry remains largely unexplored. Using an initial list of type specimens provided by my dissertation advisor, I undertook the task of locating and analyzing surviving materials. Over time, the scope of the project expanded to include a broader mapping of Italian type foundries active during this period, their production output, and the transformation of the typefounding industry in Italy as it underwent mechanization during the Industrial Revolution.

A Hundred Years of Type 1813–1908: Typefounders and Printers in Italy from Bodoni’s death to the foundation of Augusta company in Turin.

Master degree dissertation developed with Emanuela Conidi.

Supervisor: Prof. James Clough Politecnico di Milano, July 2006