Post-doctoral research abroad (BEPE)
The Hennies’ print shop typographic repertoire:
from Germany to São Paulo
Researcher
Jade Samara Piaia
(BEPE FAPESP grant n° 2021/10507-1)Supervisor abroad
Nikolaus Weichselbaumer
Abstract of the research project
This research project is based on the typographic repertoire of Tipografia Hennies Irmãos (Hennies Brothers Letterpress Printing Shop), focus of the current post-doctoral research. It intends to broaden the knowledge about movable types that circulated in the first century of letterpress printing in the city of São Paulo (started in 1827). It aims to confirm the identification of the typefaces that comprise the repertoire of those printers and to investigate their origins, aiming to shed light on the relations between type trade in Germany and the types brought to Brazil by the Hennies. The internship will be carried out at the Book Studies Department of the Gutenberg Institute for World Literature and Script-Oriented Media, Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) Mainz. The supervisor abroad, Dr. phil. Nikolaus Weichselbaumer, is a researcher in the history of typography in Germany linked to the Book Studies Department, and a specialist in type specimen research and optical character recognition. The work plan includes a review of the methods adopted so far and the application of new methods of comparative analysis of typefaces. The results obtained should enlighten the network of Hennies Brothers’ type suppliers on German territory, highlighting the visual characteristics of the typefaces in their typographic repertoire and their history.
Typeface Hennies Brothers, 1891- 1911 [1940] - AirTable
A database was prepared containing visual samples and previously researched information on the typefaces that were part of the research scope in Germany. This was a survey of types from the typographical repertoire of the Hennies Brothers letterpress printing shop collected from materials printed in the first twenty years of its activity, 1891-1911, which are not part of the "Specimen of Types. vignettes, etc." (n.d.) [printed after 1935]. Includes samples of typefaces used in titles and subtitles of books and periodicals, advertisements published in almanacs, magazines and newspapers. Subsequently, typefaces published in the "Specimen of Types. vignettes, etc" that had not been identified by other means were added to this base. It had as reference the procedures adopted by the researcher Dan Reynolds. The database was shared with other researchers who collaborated with the research, suggesting names of typefaces similar to the samples, specimens for consultation, pointing archives and libraries for consultation of specimens, among other possibilities.
The database can be consulted by clicking on the image below.
Hennies Type Catalog
Printed in photolite 55% of black, 27 pages.
Research process
The Hennies typefaces were compared with typefaces from German type specimens by thread counter or a 10x magnification lens. The type specimen page and the comparisons of characters were photographed, match or no.
Sequence of methodological procedures applied.
Exemple of a typeface match.
Examples of failed comparisons with characters from different typefaces in different sizes.
I found an advertisement of Lövinsohn & Co. ink fabrik with colour samples in a book about printing techniques. This company was one of the suppliers listed by the Hennies. Gutenberg Museum Library.
The Specimen (Hennies, n.d.) can be observed side by side with type specimens. In this case is Helion from Brüder Brutter, the same typeface applyed in the "Hennies & Cia"company name, on the cover. Gutenberg Museum Library.
Results
The results was organized in this spreadsheet “Hennies Type Catalog - Germany to Brazil”. It concentrate the summary of the catalog and the results of comparison with type specimens of German type foundries. The matches are highlight in green and the failed comparisons in red light. The typefaces was organized by the priority level of research, according to the data obtained with the previous research.
The spreadsheet can be consulted by clicking on the image below. The match images can be checked clicking on the link in each typeface name on the spreadsheet, it was organized by type specimen, type foundry and archive or library consulted.
In all research, 76 typefaces were identified as belonging to the repertoire of some German type foundry, a positive result that covers 67% of the scope.
In priority level 1 the positive results reached 90,2%.
Most important German type foundries identified that supplied types to the Hennies Brothers
Museums visited and other technical activities
Typeset composition and printing experiences in two workshops at Gutenberg Museum, Mainz. Type catalog sheets with manual search and the complete type set of characters of Block from H. Berthold in the workshops space at Gutenberg Museum, Mainz
Watermarked paper form, clay matrix used in casting Chinese type and phototype disk from Futura, DiaType. Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum, Leipzig.
Matrix production by electroplating, production of wooden clichés made from photographs of miniature machine replicas and a type composition with Hennies theme in a typewriting workshop. Below, visit to the basement type matrices storage with observation of Block matrices, H. Berthold; cast type "A" next to the matrix; example of kerning in wood types "fa". Museum für Drukkunst, Leipzig.
Printing Techniques exhibition at Deutsches Technik Museum, Berlin, guided by Ms. Kerstin Walbach. This museum holds an extensive collection of H. Berthold's holdings.
Original draws of Otto Eckmann from Eckmann Schrift ligatures and Eckmann Initials; and Rudolf Wolf from Memphis.
Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main.
Visit to the last type foundry active in Germany kept active by Mr. Rainer Gerstenberg. Below a pantograph used to make scaled matrices, different types of matrices used to reproduce newspaper pages. At last, a manual type cast process made by me.
Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Department for type casting, typesetting and printing processes.
The locations visited can be checked on this map.
Host institution:
Johannes Gutenberg University - JGU, Mainz
Archives and libraries researched:
Gutenberg Museum Library, Mainz;
Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum, Leipzig;
Deutschen Nationalbibliothek, Leipzig;
Museum für Drukkunst, Leipzig;
Deutsch Technisches Museum, Berlin;
Klingspor Museum Library, Offenbach am Main.
Museums with collections specialized in typography and printing techniques:
Gutenberg Museum Library, Mainz;
Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum, Leipzig;
Museum für Drukkunst, Leipzig;
Deutsch Teknisches Museum, Berlin;
Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Abteilung für Schriftguss, Satz und Druckverfahren
Klingspor Museum Library, Offenbach am Main.
Dissemination of results and experiences
Lecture to present the results of researches developed in Brazil and Germany at JGU University on May 3, 2022.
Further papers published will be listed here.
References:
Aragão, I. (2016). Tipos móveis de metal da Funtimod: contribuições para a história tipográfica brasileira. Tese de Doutorado. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo.
Bauer, F. (1928). Chronik der Schriftgießereien in Deutschland und den deutschsprachigen Nachbarländern. Offenbach am Main: Klingspor Museum. Mit Ergänzungen und Nachträgen von Hans Reichardt. Frankfurt am Main, 2011.
Bringhurst, R. (2018). Elementos do Estilo Tipográfico. São Paulo: Ubu, v. 4.0.
Farias, P. & Braga, M. C. Dez ensaios sobre memória gráfica. São Paulo: Blucher, 2018.
Faulmann, K. (1882). Illustrirte Geschichte der Buchdruckerkunst. Wien, Pest, Leipzig: A. Hartlebens Verlag.
H. Berthold. (n.d.). Messinglinienfabrik und Schriftgiesserei A. G. Schriften und Ornamente: Messing-Universalblatt und Vignetten. Spezial-Kataloge: Über messing-erzeugnisse, sowie russische, griechische und orientalische schriften stehen interessenten zu diensten. Berlin. Collection: Hennies Family.
Heller, S. & Fili, L. (1999). Typology. Type design from the Victorian era to the digital age. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Hennies & Cia. (no date). Specimen de tipos, vinhetas, etc. São Paulo: Tipografia, Encadernação, Pautação, Hennies & Cia. Collection: Hennies Family.
Jong, C., Purvis, A. & Tholenaar, J. (2009). Type, A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles. Vol. 1. Köln: Taschen.
Kinross, R. (2004). Modern typography: an essay in critical history. 2nd. ed. Hyphen Press, London; reprinted in 2010.
Mcneil, P. (2017). The Visual History of Type. Londres: Laurence King Publishing.
Meggs, P. & Purvis, A. (2009). História do Design Gráfico. São Paulo: Cosac Naify.
Olocco, R. (2019). A new method of analysing printed type: the case of 15th-century Venetian romans. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Typography & Graphic Communication. Reading: University of Reading.
Piaia, Jade S. & Farias, Priscila L. (2021). Identificando a origem de fontes tipográficas a partir de um catálogo de tipos: o repertório do Specimen de Tipos da Tipografia Hennies Irmãos. In: Estudos em Design. Journal (online). Rio de Janeiro: v. 29, n. 2, p. 6-26. Biannual. DOI:10.35522/eed.v29i2.1207
Reynolds, D. (2019). Schriftkünstler. A historiographic examination of the relationship between handcraft and art regarding the design and making of printers’ type in Germany between 1871 and 1914. PhD Thesis. Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Braunschweig.
Verein Der Schriftgiessereien. (no date). VdS Kartei Teil A-Z. Frankfurt am Main: Klingspor Museum.
Weichselbaumer. N. (2013). Die Entwicklung typographischer Schriftproben. In: Jahresbericht der Erlanger Buchwissenschaft 4, p. 38–44.