Dialogo delle Lingue - Sperone Speroni

This is one of 118 copies printed letterpress on pure-cotton Magnani paper.

PRINT RUN

For a total of 144 copies, this book comes in the following editions:

- 118 copies on pure-cotton Magnani laid paper, made in Tuscany; 

- 16 copies on pure-cotton off-white laid Magnani vat paper;

- 9 copies on pure-cotton Alcantara paper, handmade in Acidario Bonaccorsi, Sicily;

- only copy on pure-cotton laid Roma paper, handmade in Fabriano.

Postface by Carlo Ossola.

This dialogue is dedicated to the beauty and affirmation of the Italian vernacular language. 

This work, written by the famous Paduan philosopher and orator Sperone Speroni (Padua, 1500 - 1588), influenced the subsequent linguistic discussion more than any other. Sperone Speroni's Dialogue, which appeared in 1542, had an immediate success that crossed the borders of the Italian language. Notably, Joachim du Bellay’s “Deffence, et illustration de la langue françoyse” (1549) includes numerous passages taken from Speroni’s Dialogue (Du Bellay addresses to French the arguments that Speroni used in defense of Italian).

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A volume in the 8vo format (16x25 cm) of 100 pages typeset by hand in Italic 12pt Tallone. This type was designed by Alberto Tallone, hand-cut on punches by Charles Malin, and cast by Radiguer Foundry in Paris. 

In the original 1542 edition, the pages of the dialogue flow one into the next without paragraph breaks. Each page is a full column of text without interruptions between the protagonists’ contributions to the conversation.  The same text distribution has been maintained in this new edition, because it helps to visually convey the liveliness of the dialogue between the six characters; moreover, the Italic Tallone type beautifully embodies the harmonious fluidity of the Italian vernacular language:

The final note was typeset by hand in 10pt Garamond, hand-cut on punches by Henri Parmentier, and cast by Deberny & Peignot in Paris:

Neither monotype nor linotype are used. These typesetting systems from a keyboard are often passed off as manual typography. The Tallone Press also does not print from plastic plates derived from digital compositions (photopolimer plates), today very much in vogue to simulate the effect of type impression onto the paper. 

The number of movable types handled for the manual typesetting of this book, makes it an exceptional endeavor in contemporary fine printing.

Printed on very fine paper and sewn by hand, this collector’s edition is a sophisticated gift meant to last over time and designed to give the best reading experience possible.

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The volume is housed in a hand-made slipcase and box, custom made to an exact size, whose exteriors are covered with Ingres paper. The book title is letterpress-printed on the slipcase’s spine.