I am no maths expert, but I have deciphered Euclidean Proposition 41, that ‘if a triangle and a parallelogram are on a common base and between the same parallels, then the area of the triangle is equal to half the area of the parallelogram’. I’m not sure this properly shows that!

Whilst there are few in the world who cast metal type, there are fewer who create their own matrices from which to cast brand new designs. Ed Denovan has an engraver, and this 18pt Euclidean shape - unavailable in any form of type ornament - was his first creation using it.

Byrne used four small ornaments across many pages. Years later, by unrelated chance, Monotype made three of these available for casting. Sadly, the inverted “House” was never available in any form… until the work of Ed Denovan brought it to life! More to follow…!

#monotype

Even when you’re reading about the first printed edition of Euclid’s Elements from 1482 (Elementa Geometriae, Erhard Ratdolt) - someone has to go and pop in Byrne’s edition for reference… there’s no escaping it.

#euclid #geometry #geometric #euclid es #elements #firstedition

When Byrne is considered a “Monument of Printing”…

Monuments of Printing, Gutenberg Through the Book Arts Revival: Selected Works in the Rare Book Collections of the Stanford University Libraries (John E. Mustain, 2013)

#bookexhibit ion #bookexhibit #artexhibit ion #artexhibit

Reading never stops when you’re writing about Byrne…

#bauhaus #arttheory #destijl #colourtheory

First proof of an excerpt from Cobden-Sanderson’s ‘Book Beautiful’… too many changes needed to list here(!). C-S’s tract was written over 50 years after Byrne’s Euclid, but The Beauty of Byrne will seek to assess whether Byrne’s Euclid would actually qualify as an Ideal Book.

Morris’s paper on the ‘The Ideal Book’ stated, “a book ornamented with pictures that are suitable for that book, and that book only, may become a work of art second to none…”.

He could almost have been talking about Byrne’s Euclid with these words.

#williammorris

It’s hard to argue with Ruari McLean’s assessment in “Victorian Book Design & Colour Printing” (Faber, 1963) that Byrne’s Euclid was one of the most beautiful books of the whole century. That he also thought it the “oddest” probably holds equal weight!

#bookdesign

The Beauty of Byrne is a contemplation on why Oliver Byrne’s edition of Euclid’s Elements, published in 1847, is such an aesthetically pleasing book; as well as a monograph on the publishing of the edition & its place in the history of Euclidean texts and artwork of the same vein

Playing with Byrne’s Euclidean “illustrations” for possible repeat pattern combinations…

#pattern #pattern design #pattern designer #pattern making #pattern observer #pattern maker #pattern art #repeatpattern #repeatpattern s #repeatpattern design #euclid #euclid es #shapes #geometry

Wonderful exhibition on now at @thehigginsbedford curated by @victorianpartridge - Edward Bawden & Me.

Very pleased to see @hughribbans illustrations for Animal Farm on show.

See it while you can! One of the best art galleries in the UK.

#higginsbedford

Always a pleasure to hear from subscribers and see where my editions end up; so thank you to Eton College Library for putting my 1984 in their display cabinets for public viewing. [Photo courtesy of an acquaintance who randomly discovered it and showed me!]
Eton College Library

One of my favourite faces is Van Krimpen’s Open Kapitalen. Although I’ve been playing with using it on the title page for Beauty of Byrne, as here, the reality is I have a very limited fount of it and the single size equally limits its use. Watch this space!

When your planned edition of ‘The Beauty of Byrne’ triples in size from the first mock-up binding…!
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#papermill #papermaking #bookmaking #makingbooks #privatepress #finepress #finepress printing #finepress books #bookbinding #bookbinding techniques #bookbinding process #bookbinder

Setting small caps for Beauty of Byrne, which requires every letter to be hair spaced or more. Time consuming but necessary. Although, having done this, I’m almost certain I won’t be using it in the book… how often plans change as you go!

#typesetting

The Beauty of Byrne will make use of two English papers: handmade Barcham Green paper (watermarked Hayle 115gsm laid paper) and Somerset paper made at St Cuthberts Mill (100% cotton 160gsm mould-made). The former no longer exists; the latter has been going since the 1700’s.

Setting the contents page by hand for Beauty of Byrne proves difficult when you can’t decide between two type sizes, so end up setting both to test them more accurately! Having done this though, I’m now thinking of going in an entirely different direction with this page…!