Auction raises $8000 for type publishing
Dave Farey, type designer and raconteur of type history and typographic gossip, was at the helm as auctioneer for the ATypI annual auction, the proceeds of which go to ATypI publishing projects.
The sales from the auction exceeded $8,000.
Farey, in fine form and fettle, brought the bidding to a crescendo on a few occasions culminating with the sale of, as described in the sales sheet, "Historia dele Guerre Esterne de Romani by Appia of Alexandria, printed in Venice, bound in vellum, printed entirely in fine 16th Italic, with slip case, 1550." The buyer, James Montalbano. The price, $800. The donator of the volume to the auction, Dave Farey.
Like all of the type ephemera, memorabilia, and typographic objects in the auction donated by ATypI supporters, this book has a story. Farey had originally acquired this volume when working on the design of an Itlaic typeface. He mined the book for reference, ideas, and eventually finished his project. Monatalbano, also a type designer and designer, coveted the book as a "beautiful object," citing that "I love the way the type looks, I like the use of frequent ampersands in the text, I like the general look of the type."
Farey also relates what other bidding highs kept him hopping. "I was surprised that the Paul Renner, Eine Jahresgabe Der Typographischen Gelleschaft, Munich, 1978, (donated by Colin Brignall) went for $170. Wood type, donated by Cynthia Hollandsworth, a late entry, also brought in a bidding peak and two items were acquired by Erik Spiekermann. Farey, who is partial to type objects, was impressed by two type designers donations. Matthew Carter donated his punch of a fleuron which he cut when working at Enschede Foundry in 1956. Carter also created a digital font of a "suite of fleurons" based on this design. Bought by Frank Blokland, the Carter suite sold for $220. Jean Francoise Porchez provided pencil roughs, ink drawings and test settings for his typeface Appoline, which sold for $140 to Peter Lofting.
There were interesting impulse buys. For example, Sam Berlow bought Garcia designed by Rolling Stone art director, Fred Woodward (an ATypI presenter), because the book featured a FontBureau font. Jean Francois Porchez bought a vase for $70 thrown and glazed by Zuzana Licko. One of the most touching buys was David Berlow buying back for $350, his own contribution of the Framed Ornaments from the Plantin Moretus Museum.
