Ain’t Too Proud to Beg (for this book)
I’ve always thought that having an Amazon wish list – or at least alerting complete strangers to its existence – was kind of tacky. Yesterday, however, while killing some time in a bookstore I found a book that has made me swallow my pride. It’s quite simply one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever seen – so beautiful in fact that, being completely broke, I must endure the shame of begging for it.
Calligraphic Type Design in the Digital Age is a tribute to Hermann and Gudrun Zapf. It was published by the Gingko Press to accompany an exhibition in honour of them held in San Franscisco last year. The book contains over a hundred illustrations of the Zapfs’ work and work by other typographers inspired by them. The design and typesetting of the book is magnificent, the stock on which it’s printed is a joy to touch, and the colours are luminous.
Tower Records wanted $80 for it, despite the fact that Amazon sells it for half that (Powells has it for $50). This is why I don’t buy books from Tower.
Chances are that anyone reading this post has more money than I do right now, but if this is true for you by a comfortable margin and you’re feeling capriciously philanthropic, go now, I beg you, to Amazon and cure me of this booklust that shames me so.
The Amazon wish list to search for is in my long-suffering wife’s name; Etsuko Kamimura. The e-mail address is jeremy@twics.com (this is the address we sacrifice to online shopping). It contains a single item. You have my word I’ll try never to do this again, and I promise to remember you in my will. We now return you to our regular programming.
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Posted to Books • 2002.06.22 (Sat) • 23:49
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