Culture
Words by Michel Wlassikoff
Le Jardin des Plantes: Romanticism and the art of bookmaking in the integration of text and illustration in 19th century French publishing
Romanticism, in the 1820s, revolutionized publishing by integrating text and illustration, using techniques like lithography and new woodcut techniques, as exemplified by Léon Curmer’s richly illustrated works.
Romanticism, in the 1820s, revolutionized publishing by integrating text and illustration, using techniques like lithography and new woodcut techniques, as exemplified by Léon Curmer’s richly illustrated works.
At the end of the 1820s, Romanticism formed a brutal reaction to the values imposed by the bourgeoisie. In the field of publishing, the proponents of Romanticism cherish the project of publishing and distributing to the greatest number of beautiful books illustrated using the most recent techniques such as lithography or engraving on end-grain wood. These two techniques allow that text and illustration are no longer separated: the drawing of the letter is transferred to the lithographic stone associated with the image, the end wood engraving is printed in the same form than typography. Publishers like Léon Curmer (1801–1870) engaged in the publication of abundantly illustrated works whose wood-engraved vignettes were integrated into the text and punctuated it. The title pages of romantic books present themselves as manifestos calling into question the typographical mastery of Didot. Roman founts are associated with Blackletter faces, whose romantic enthusiasm for the Middle Ages justifies the renewed favor .
Documents: Bernard, Pierre; Couailhac, Louis; Gervais, Paul; Lemaout, Emmanuel, Le Jardin des Plantes. Description Complète, Historique et Pittoresque du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, de la Ménagerie, des Serres, des Galeries de Minéralogie et d’Anatomie, et de la Vallée Suisse. Two volumes grand in 8º, Paris, Léon Curmer, 1842-1843.
École Estienne library.
