List of LEC books printed by Officina Bondini

Is there a list of LEC books printed by Officina Bodoni? Would I be correct that these are among the best of the Macy era books?

>1 punkzip: despite the colophon, no LEC books were really printed by the Officina Bodoni (which to Mardersteig meant the hand press). They were designed by Mardersteig and printed by the Stamperia Valdonega (once established) or some other press before that.

In any case, they are some of my favorite LEC productions (Macy era and after; the Rilke novel is fantastic, for example).

I have a list I can share, but there is probably a post here somewhere that has it also.

>2 abysswalker: Technically, you are absolutely correct but 11 LEC titles are listed as being printed at the Officina Bodoni before they were reported as being printed at the Stamperia Valdonega. IMO all the "Officina Bodoni" editions were much nicer than the later Stamperia Valdonega books.

>2 abysswalker:
I seem to remember from earlier threads the only question mark is around Imaginary Conversations, the first Mardersteig title, which someone suggested _might_ just conceivably be printed at the OB. Sadly a title I have no interest in reading anyway…

(Also the Quarto-Millennary has lots of tables/indexes, including of printers. I assume the same is true of the Bibliography. But this forum searched correctly will throw up the same information as >2 abysswalker: points out.)

>2 abysswalker: I did look but couldn't find a post with the listing.

>7 punkzip:
https://georgemacyimagery.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/limited-editions-club-the-bet...
suggests
”… The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi in 1931, followed by The Divine Comedy in 1933, Imaginary Conversations in 1936, The Life of Benvenuto Cellini in 1937, this volume (The Betrothed) in 1951, The Georgics in 1952, The Gallic Wars in 1954, The Last Days of Pompeii in 1956, Metamorphosis in 1958, Quo Vadis? in 1959, Toilers of the Sea in 1960, The Trial and Death of Socrates in 1962, The Lives of the Twelve Casears in 1963, The Sonnets of Petrarch in 1965, Lives of the Most Eminent Painters in 1966, The History of Early Rome in 1970, and The Renaissance in 1976.”

>8 GusLogan:
… though I note https://www.majure.net/LECLISTOFTITLES.htm has The Divine Comedy as 1932, which was my recollection (made me look).

>8 GusLogan: if one includes The Renaissance (designed by Martino), one should also include A Raw Youth, The Leopard, and the Rilke novel (The Notebooks of ...). Maybe a few others too; I will double check my records when I am back at a computer.

>1 punkzip: see also the link posted by >9 GusLogan: and search within page for Mardersteig (which catches the signatures and so is an imperfect proxy but still useful).

>8 GusLogan: another typo in the Imagery post you quote, Metamorphosis should be Metamorphoses (Ovid not Kafka).

>12 abysswalker:
Good catch! I’m sure you’re right re: >10 abysswalker:, too. I wasn’t offering a take, just pointing to a resource. Two, combined with your trick of searching for Mardersteig!

Appreciate the corrections! They have been made on the post from my blog.

>1 punkzip:

1. The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi (1930) - Officina Bodoni
2. The Last Days of Pompeii (1956) - Officina Bodoni
3. The Gallic Wars (1954) - Officina Bodoni
4. The Life of Benvenuto Cellini (1937) - Officina Bodoni
5. The Orations and Essays of Cicero (1972) - Stamperia Valdonega
6. The Divine Comedy (1932) - Officina Bodoni
7. Imaginary Conversations (1936) - Officina Bodoni
8. The History of Early Rome (1970) - Stamperia Valdonega
9. I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) (1951) - Officina Bodoni
10. The Metamorphoses of Ovid (1958) - Officina Bodoni
11. The Renaissance by Walter Pater (1976) - Stamperia Valdonega
12. The Sonnets of Petrarch (1965) - Officina Bodoni
13. The Trial and Death of Socrates (1962) -Stamperia Valdonega
14. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars (1963) - Officina Bodoni
15. The Lives of the Most Eminent Painters (1966) - Stamperia Valdonega
16. The Georgics (1952) - Officina Bodoni
17. The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1987) - Stamperia Valdonega
18. The Leopard (1988) - Stamperia Valdonega

>15 dlphcoracl: what does your ordering represent? (Since it is clearly not date.) I suspect it is not favorites or quality, as I don't see any possible ranking where Pompeii is number two.

Personally, I think they are all excellent except Cellini, which I find to be an unsuccessful design, and The Leopard, which, while attractive in some ways, just doesn't fit the work in my opinion (and that's even if you factor out the strange illustration choice).

>15 dlphcoracl: The Lives of the Most Eminent Painters is Stamperia Valdonega

>16 abysswalker:

The ordering is alphabetical by author from No. 1-16, i.e., Assisi, Bulwer-Lytton, Caesar, etc., the George Macy LECs. No. 17 & 18 are Sidney Shiff LECs.

>18 dlphcoracl: makes sense! Thanks for clarifying. I should have thought of alphabetical by author.

>2 abysswalker: >3 kdweber: I do not doubt your information, but what is confusing is that the LEC Bibliography lists 15 titles as printed at the Officina Bodoni and four at the Stamperia Valdonega (with one of those--Livy--bound at the OB). It only goes through 1985, so anything after that is not treated.

For my own satisfaction, what source did you draw upon for the contrary information so that I can make a note in my references accordingly.

Thank you!

>20 Glacierman: Actually it's 11 books from the Officina Bodoni and 7 from the Stamperia Valdonega (see >15 dlphcoracl: list).

We've had this discussion before and >2 abysswalker: summarizes well with their first comment.

For the curious:

The Officina Bodoni was founded in 1922. The Stamperia Valdonega was established in 1948; my understanding is that the SV was basically a different department within the same company.

There is no mention of any Limited Editions Club books in the catalogue raisonné that is part of Mardersteig & Schmoller (1980).

Additionally:

"In view of the limited possibilities of the hand press and the desirability of making finely printed books available to a far larger circle of readers, Giovanni Mardersteig has set up in Verona the Stamperia Valdonega, which produces machine-set and machine-printed books in closest collaboration with the Officina Bodoni, while the latter restricts itself to the production of editions printed on the hand press."

(Morison, 1954, p. IX)

"Several of Mardersteig's pre-war clients at the Officina Bodoni also offered him work for the newly-established Stamperia Valdonega: Mardersteig had designed books for the Limited Editions Club and others in the '30s and '40s, but it was not until the establishment of the Stamperia Valdonega that he could use his own shop to print the large editions that were unsuitable for the hand press."

(Kelly, 2008, p. 10)

References

Kelly (2008). Giovanni and Martino Mardersteig ... Catalogue of the exhibition celebrating sixty years since the founding of the press Stamperia Valdonega 1948-2008. The Grolier Club.

Mardersteig & Schmoller (1980). The Officina Bodoni: An Account of the Work of a Hand Press 1923-1977 (Hans Schmoller, Ed. & Trans.). Edizioni Valdonega.

Morison (1954). Officina Bodoni Verona: Catalogue of Books Printed on the Hand Press MCMXXIII-MCMLIV: Exhibition at the British Museum September-October 1954. The British Museum.

>22 abysswalker: Thanks!

>10 abysswalker: >15 dlphcoracl: What's the reason to leave out Raw Youth, Toilers of the Sea and others from the list?

>24 bacchus.: I would include those in a complete list (and I do mention A Raw Youth explicitly in >10 abysswalker: above).

http://limitededitionsclub.com/three-poems-by-octavio-paz/

Would like to add to the list of OB/SV books Three Poems by Octavio Paz. I thought I was close to having all works done there for the LEC, but I just learned that Three Poems was set at SV, and one of the three poems printed there. Not going to be able to get them all anytime soon I guess.