Alphabet Stories

Alphabet Storties traces Zapf's education in 1930s Germany, to his work on forefront of computer-aided typesetting (1970s), to the triumphant design of a complex calligraphic font-Zapfino (1990).

Written as an anecdotal first-person account, the reader is treated to famed German calligrapher and typographer Hermann Zapf's personal recollections of technical breakthroughs. Zapf reveals milestones tracing his education in 1930s Germany, to his work on forefront of computer-aided typesetting in the 1970s, to the tour de force design of a complex calligraphic font-Zapfino in the late '90s. Vivid reproductions of Zapf's calligraphy, production proofs, typographic specimens, and photographs complete the portrait of one of the most prolific designers of our time.

After a complete sell-out of the American edition, RIT Press is releasing a second edition of Alphabet Stories: A Chronicle of Technical Developments. This new edition is enhanced by the addition of a letterpress-printed broadside designed by Zapf. The insert was typeset and printed at the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection using itscollection of rare metal "Virtuosa" type - Zapf's elegant script face originally released by Stempel Typefounders in 1952. This book is the first Hermann Zapf monograph to be typeset in the new Palatino Nova and Palatino Sans digital typefaces issued by Linotype.