Friedrich Friedl Nicolaus Ott — Typography. When, who, how

Konemann, 1998 Cloth, with dust jacket. 592 pages. Text in several languages. As new with minimal signs of use to the dust jacket, internally nearly as new. This trilingual reference work on typography and writing has three parts. First, a chronological overview in words and images of the development of writing and typography, in reverse order: it starts with the present day and goes back to the invention of writing. The second part contains fairly brief articles on the life and work of more than seven hundred typographers, type designers, calligraphers and others who worked with letters in the broadest sense, with their work shown in fine colour reproductions. The third and final part discusses the tools of typography, from the hand axe and the reed pen to the computer. The authors aimed to bring together information on typography and writing as concisely as possible, although the field is so vast that even this substantial book is only a beginning. All texts are in French, German and English. With more than two thousand illustrations, it is also a beautiful book to look at.