Curiosity from the shelf

Among the volumes collected in the library, we like to share a few titles that may arouse the public’s curiosity and interest due to their value or history. A very refined work, with numerous illustrations made with the stencil katazome dye on handmade paper, is the book Kami no Tabi (The Paper Journey, Tokyo 1964) by the Japanese artist Gôtô Seikichiro, dedicated to papermaking. As it is a Japanese text, the book is browsed from the end, compared to our western tradition, and features a typical oriental binding.
Another interesting book is a tiny edition (mm 10×16) of the Lettera di Galileo a Cristina di Lorena, published in Padua in 1897 by the Tipografia Salmin. The 206-page booklet is an astonishing editorial feat considering its size: the ‘fly-eye’ typeface in which the text is written measures 2 points! Another curious work in the library is an artist’s book by Pino Guzzonato, in which the artist’s handmade paper is printed directly on objects and materials from the old Vivaro paper mill in Dueville. It is a book produced in a limited edition of just a few copies, without text, as the conceptual narrative is left to the paper, which is shaped by the imprint of the objects.