Anyone know where to find hi-rez images of Jenson's Roman?

Posted by jefferson in

Design

14 Nov 2004 — 5:13pm

I'm working on an impressionist interpretation of Nicolas Jenson's roman from his version of Pliny's Historia Naturalis. Unfortunately, I don't have the complete character set.

So far, two universities (Liverpool & Glasgow) with copies of the Jenson Pliny have let me down regarding requests for high-resolution photographs. Does anyone know of an institution that might be more helpful? I fully expect to pay through the nose. I just don't want to be fobbed off with excuses.

dan_reynolds
15 Nov 2004 — 4:03am

Maybe the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University? When I was at RISD, we used to see books there all the time, and they had an extensive collection. Maybe being so close to an art school will make them more liberal with photographs.

jefferson
15 Nov 2004 — 4:42pm

I will check with the John Carter Brown Library. Thanks, Dan. And yes, Tiffany, I checked Octavo. They have some wonderful stuff, but their catalogue is not very extensive yet.

hrant
16 Nov 2004 — 10:59am

The only good repro I have of Jenson is from Gaskell's photographic enlargements article.

http://www.typophile.com/forums/messages/30/48532.html

If you got the dough, maybe buy an actual Jenson!!

hhp

jefferson
16 Nov 2004 — 7:52pm

A woman pressing Chianti with her feet, haha.

Buy an ACTUAL Jenson?! I'd give my firstborn child (if I had one, which I don't) for one. I suggested to the University of Liverpool that they should make and market a digital copy of theirs, but they apparently have only one staff photographer, and she is busy with other projects at the moment.

"there's an article that might interest you: it's called "Photographic Enlargements of Type Forms" by Philip Gaskell, in the Journal of the Printing Historical Society, #7, 1971, pp 51-53, with 12 plates. One of the plates is from the De Evangelica of 1470; it shows about 60 letters, at just over 1" em height. Want a scan? "

Do you have a scan available? I'd love to see that, but I don't want to put you out.