New-York Exhibition

Printing for Kingdom, Empire and Republic, Treasures of the Archives of the Imprimerie Nationale

From December 2011 to February 2012, the Imprimerie Nationale is the guest of the Grolier Club of New York for a special exhibition entitled « Printing for Kingdom, Empire and Republic, Treasures of the Archives of the Imprimerie Nationale ».

Drawn from the archives of the Imprimerie Nationale, the exhibition documents the history of printing and its influence on publishing and typography over the last five centuries.

Over 200 objects, most of them being classified as historic monuments are on view in both Grolier Club galleries, including original manuscripts, rare books and artworks, punches and matrices dating from the sixteenth century to the present, engraved brass used to produce illustrations. Some objects are exhibited for the first time in history.

The Grolier Club, 47 East 60th Street.

Matrices and leads.

Engraved punches (magnifying glass).

Poeme Gy ou La Promenade fantastique du graveur de poinçons à l’ouvrage, by Nelly Gable, typecasted in Marcellin-Legrand, 4 point.

Manuscript La Politique by Aristote, written by Ange Vergece.

Punches Greeks of the King.

Histoire ecclésiastique, d’Eusèbe Pamphile, 1544. First book typacasted with Grekks of King.

Typecast using Greeks of the King.

Historical matrices of Romain de l’Université (or Garamont).

Œuvres by Virgile, Imprimerie royale, 1641. Typecasted in Garamont.

Typecast made with characters from Pierre Moreau.

Punches engraved by Pierre Moreau.

L’Enéide by Virgile typecasted in Pierre Moreau.

Traité de la peinture, by Léonard de Vinci, Imprimerie royale, Jacques Langlois, 1651.

Copper and letter design : Romain du Roi.

Matrices of Grandjean or Romain du Roi 48 point.

Punches Grandjean or Romain du Roi 120 point.

Œuvres, Horace, Paris, Typographia Regia, 1733. Typecasted in 6 point.

Punches Grandjean or Romain du Roi 4 point, called « La Perle », engraved by Louis Luce.

Manuel du Républicain, Imprimerie exécutive du Louvre, Year II of the Republic (1793-1794), small breviary of the perfect revolutionary.

Punches and matrices of hieroglyphs, from the drawings of Devéria and Dubois (1842-1852).

Dictionnaire chinois, français et latin, publié d’après l’ordre de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand, Imprimerie impériale, 1813. Typecasted with Buis du Régent, chinese characters engraved from 1715 to 1742.

L’Imitation de Jésus-Christ, Imprimerie impériale, 1855, artwork gaining the medal of honor of the World Fair of 1855.

Left : Eugene S. Flamm,
President of the Grolier Club

Middle : H. George Fletcher,
Director of the Grolier Club and curator of the exhibition

Right : Didier Trutt,
President of the Imprimerie nationale

Video installations provide visitors with an overview of the know-how of the Imprimerie Nationale, as well as demonstrations of all aspects of book production from December 7th to 9th by the « Maîtres d’Art » of the Atelier du Livre d’Art et de l’Estampe of the Imprimerie Nationale : Nelly Gable, punch cutter, Franck Jalleau, type designer et Elena Cenada, orientalist compositor.

A major publication has been created and produced by the Imprimerie Nationale’s Atelier du Livre d’Art et de l’Estampe (ALAE), and a day-long colloquium on the themes of the exhibition is planned on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

Those interested in more details should: