First published in 2015 by
DAVID R. GODINE, PUBLISHER
Post Office Box 450
Jaffrey, New Hampshire 03452
FRONTISPIECE
Bust of Bodoni by Gabriele Ambrosio.
Liceo Ginnasio Statale G. Bodoni, Saluzzo. Photo: VL.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Lester, Valerie Browne, 1939-
Giambattista Bodoni : his life & his world / Valerie Lester.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
HARDCOVER ISBN 978-1-56792-528-9
1. Bodoni, Giambattista, 1740-1813. 2. Printers–Italy–Parma–Biography. 3. Printing–Italy–Parma–History–18th century. 4. Printing–Italy–Parma–History–19th century. 5. Type and type-founding–Italy–Parma–History–18th century. 6. Type and type-founding–Italy–Parma–History–19th century. I. Title.
Z232.B66L47 2014
686.2092–dc23
Copyright © Valerie Lester, 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, please contact Permissions, David R. Godine, Publisher, Fifteen Court Square, Suite 320, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108.
EBOOK ISBN: 978-1-56792-557-9
For Jim
CONTENTS
9. The Private Press and the Amoretti and Didot Débacles
12. 1798. The Triumphal Return and Life on the Farm
13. A Letter from Jean-George Handwerck
14. The Death of a Duke, the Presentation of a Medal, and the Death of a Diplomat
I. Cutting a Punch (Stan Nelson)
II. Striking and Fitting a Matrix (Stan Nelson)
III. Printing on a Hand Press (Fred & Barbara Voltmer)
IV. The Trieste Leaf (James Mosley)
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS AND PERMISSIONS
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
In Saluzzo
GIAMBATTISTA BODONI, leading man, printer and director of the royal press at the court of Parma
GIANDOMENICO BODONI, Bodoni’s grandfather, a printer
FRANCESCO BODONI, Bodoni’s father, a printer
PAOLA MARGARITA GIOLITTI, Bodoni’s mother
CARLO BODONI, Bodoni’s uncle, a priest
DOMENICO BODONI, Bodoni’s older brother, a printer
ANGELA BODONI, Bodoni’s older sister
BENEDETA BODONI, Bodoni’s next sister
GIUSEPPE BODONI, Bodoni’s younger brother, his assistant in Parma
IGNAZIO CAPPA, school friend
DOMENICO COSTA, school friend who accompanied Bodoni to Rome
In Rome
CARDINAL SPINELLI, prefect of the Propaganda Fide
COSTANTINO RUGGIERI, superintendent of the press at the Propaganda Fide
PAOLO MARIA PACIAUDI, priest, archaeologist, librarian, responsible for bringing Bodoni to Parma
JOSÉ NICOLÁS DE AZARA, Spanish diplomat, Bodoni’s patron in later life
In Parma
FERDINANDO I, duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla
MARIA AMALIA, archduchess of Austria, duchess of Parma
GUILLAUME DU TILLOT, prime minister of Parma
ENNEMOND PETITOT, architect at the court of Parma
JEAN BAPTISTE BOUDARD, sculptor at the court of Parma