Lettera, 4 Bde., Bd.1

Anyone entranced by the magic of fonts will want to add these ultra-cool, mid-century reprints from the archives of Swiss publisher Niggli to their library. The now-classic Lettera series was a sensation when this book first appeared in 1954, curated by Swiss photographer bookbinder-papermaker Armin Haab with typographer Alex Stocker. Volume 1 of the four-volume font library contains 62 alphabets and 190 examples of words, the majority designed by Stocker. They range from classic serif and sans-serif faces to mind-bending retro display faces that are almost totally forgotten today. The Index lists faces by name and designer.