Typography in Wood

The first wooden letters for poster work were craft-produced in the 18th century. Their use spread with the expansion of commercial advertising in the 1820s; production was mechanized, and new types with increased visibility were created. Poster requirements led to the development of so-called "Norman" letters with solid downstrokes, "antiques" or lineals without serifs, and "Egyptian" types with heavy rectangular serifs. The Romantic Movement drew from this new typographic register for illustrated books and the first lithographic posters advertising their publication, and introduced the reign of the fancy letter with its profusion of decorative elements. The catalog entitled Sp'cimen de caractäres en bois de la maison Bonnet probably dates from the 1860s - a period when Romantic phantasmagoria was on the decline in the structure of the letter but still prevalent in its outlines; type design was beginning to borrow from the architectural eclecticism of the age, and sometimes resembled wrought ironwork. In addition to dated products, series of surprisingly modern types were developed that could, somewhat ironically, be compared with those generated by the new digital typography. The republication of this catalog demonstrates that letters, like buildings, incarnate the spirit of an age, while preserving a timeless quality that constitutes a lasting source of inspiration.