A Bodoni Charade (1995)
A Bodoni Charade (1995)
Nicolas McDowall
Miniature accordion attached to paper over boards. H59 x W67 mm. 32 panels. Edition of 240, of which this is #1. Acquired from Bromers Bookseller, 16 August 2022.
Photos: Books On Books Collection.
A Bodoni Charade expresses a rare wit with 26 imaginative and original unions of letters, decorative type, text and images. The accordion joined to the front and back covers discourages stretching it out for reading and encourages turning the pages codex style. Just as well — the jokes should be savored no more than two at a time, and enjoying the execution of letterpress skill demands it. Notice how the letter g’s descenders kiss the bottom edge of the page as if they are about to fall into space. Glance — or look hard — at the icicle, and you will swear that the lowercase i’s dot is actually dripping. And enjoy how the lowercase j demotes the judgmental uppercase letter J by sharing its jester’s cap bobble.
Further Reading
“Abecedaries I (in progress)“. Books On Books Collection.
“Anne Bertier“. 10 August 2022. Books On Books Collection.
“Lisa Campbell Ernst“. 12 December 2022. Books On Books Collection.
“Suse MacDonald“. 10 August 2022. Books On Books Collection.
“Bruno Munari“. 19 August 2021. Books On Books Collection.
“Dave Pelletier“. 10 August 2022. Books On Books Collection.
“Laura Vaccaro Seeger“. 12 December 2022. Books On Books Collection.
Books On Books 