The Noblest Roman, A History of the Centaur Types of Bruce Rogers by Kelly, Jerry and Beletsky, Misha - 2016

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 2016. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. No. 98 of 300 copies, quarto size, 122 pp., signed by Jerry Kelly and Misha Beletsky, with prospectus. Bruce Rogers (1870-1957), American typographer and inventer of the "Centaur" typeface (based on the Renaissance-period printing of Nicolas Jenson), is considered by many to be one of the greatest book designers of the twentieth century. He designed books for the Riverside Press, Cambridge, where he cut his first typeface, "Montaigne," named for the first book it appeared in, "The Essays of Montaigne," 1903; he designed "Centaur" while working as house designer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This publication by The Book Club of California details the history of the Centaur typeface and its uses in printing, particularly by the Grabhorn Press in San Francisco; the information is accompanied by lovely images of type specimens and facsimiles of its early use.

___DESCRIPTION: Full beige paper, tan illustration on the front board, white paper spine label with black lettering, brown endpapers, frontispiece a black-and-white photograph of Bruce Rogers, ca. 1945, title page in red and black with a red illustration of a centaur, colour photographs and facsimiles of type and type specimens throughout; Monotype Centaur type, quarto size (10.25" by 7.5"), pagination: [1-5] 6-120 [121] [1 colophon], one of 300 copies, this numnber 98, signed by Jerry Kelly and Misha Beletsky on the colophon. Loosely laid in is the prospectus with the same red illustration as the title page, images of type and of Bruce Rogers in colour and black and white, one sheet folded once, and a loose sheet of text from Joseph Blumenthal's biography of Bruce Rogers, printed letterpress in red and black. In a brown paper slipcase.

___CONDITION: A fine copy; the covers clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the binding tight with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, as new. The slipcase is fine overall, strong and sturdy, clean, without wear, but with some light sunning. The prospectus is fine, clean and without wear.

___POSTAGE:  International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

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