Add this copy of Printer's Abecedarium to cart. $10.00, like new condition, Sold by Abacus Bookshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Pittsford, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1974 by David R. Godine.
Add this copy of Printer's Abecedarium to cart. $11.95, very good condition, Sold by Peninsula Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Traverse City, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1974 by David R. Godine.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good with no dust jacket. 0879231076. A full page illustration on every other page printed in two colors. Historical description of an important printer whose last name coincides with the letter of the alphabet. This copy has a previous owner inscription dated 1985 on the half title as well as a previous owner bookplate on the blank free end paper, else a clean, tight and unmarked book. Stiff white wrappers with blue printed dust jacket. Unpaged but about 38 p.; Color Illustrations; 8vo, 8"-9" tall; [38] pages.
Add this copy of Printer's Abecedarium to cart. $12.00, very good condition, Sold by Dunaway Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Saint Louis, MO, UNITED STATES, published 1974 by D. R. Godine.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Pagesare very clean and bright with no markings. Binding is tight and square. Minor to moderate rubbing to the edges and corners of the DJ. DJ is now protected by a mylar cover.
Add this copy of Printer's Abecedarium to cart. $20.00, very good condition, Sold by Tornbooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austin, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1974 by D. R. Godine.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. First Printing. NF/NF. Softcover, stiff wraps, unpaginated, illustrations, slight edgewear with tiny rubbed spot to jacket front panel due to sticker removal, else a clean and crisp copy.
Add this copy of Printer's Abecedarium to cart. $20.00, very good condition, Sold by Between the Covers-Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester City, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1974 by David R. Godine.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine. First edition. Tall octavo. Edited by Susan C. McCrillis. Spine lightly toned, a bit of wear at the extremities, very good or better with the interior bright. A charmer.
Add this copy of Printer's Abecedarium to cart. $46.50, very good condition, Sold by Powell's Books Chicago rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1974 by D. R. Godine.
"Printer's Abecedarium" by John O. C. McCrillis is a book I first saw in a bookstore 30 or more years ago. At the time, cash was short and it seemed an indulgence to buy it, but for a third of a century I've regretted that decision. Now I finally have my own copy and I could not be more pleased. A traditional abecedarium, of course, was, inter alios, a book for teaching the alphabet to children: A is for aardvark, Z is for zebra, with illustrations to keep the child's interest.
McCrillis took that idea to teach us something about the history and art of print and typography. In this book A is for Aldus Manutius, the "Renaissance Venetian printer and type designer . . . noted for his innovative approach to typography." Z is for Gunter Zainer, "a scribe and illuminator. . . He wanted to use wood-cut illustrations in his books but an early example of the power of the printers' unions blocked his efforts. They threatened suit unless he agreed to have the woodcuts made by members of the woodcutters' guild."
The last entry is a short essay on the Ampersand, "a corruption of 'and per se, and'. It is also a monogram of the two letters et. Its purpose was primarily decorative since it occupied no less linear space than the Latin word et."
As fascinating as each entry is, equal pleasure is afforded by the design and typography of the book itself, As Dale Roylance, Curator, Arts of the Book Room, Yale University Library, wrote in the Foreword: "[The book] also gives homage to the twenty-six letters of the alphabet with the utmost finesse of presentation and historical aptness. . . [It] gives us a latter-day calligraphic model book, masterfully printed and worthy of its fine fifteenth-century inspiration."
