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PRÉ AM BULE 5 Heir to a centuries old tradition, in April 2014 the The Atelier occupies an area of 2,500 square The following trades are links in this Imprimerie Nationale’s Atelier du Livre d’art et de metres, specifically devoted to the production typographic production line: l’Estampe moved out of Paris to the Imprimerie of artist’s books and works for bibliophiles. Nationale’s premises in Flers-en-Escrebieux, near Douai. It is one of last typographic production lines – Type designer Since then, the Atelier du Livre proper as well as the in the world still in operation. It is for this – Punch cutter Imprimerie Nationale’s historic collections, including reason that all the specialist trades involved – Type founder the 35,000 volumes in its historic library and some in making books by the most traditional – Typesetter 700,000 engraved items, the oldest of which date methods are to be found here. The people – Printer/typographer from the mid 16th century, have been together who work in this studio are often the last – Copperplate engraver/printer in one place. who possess skills and knowledge that the Imprimerie Nationale’s strategy is to preserve and pass on, not only for their heritage value but also to ensure that the Atelier continues to be a living production studio. This concentration of skills is, of course, very These expressions of interest and other visible in France, and in other countries too. requests for courses have convinced us of It is for this reason that it attracts the necessity to become a training provider considerable interest in both its heritage and in order to respond to such requests that skills, whose unique nature prompts are all part of the effort to revitalise numerous requests for introductory visits, typography as a printing process, whether tours of discovery to learn about our trades this relates to the knowledge and skills THE REQUESTS CONCERNED FALL INTO – SPECIALIST COURSES: and, even more, for training courses. The associated with this technique or to its THREE BROAD CATEGORIES: Imprimerie Nationale is now in a position use. This resurgence of interest is occurring, These courses concern the practical skills and cover the creation of types, to meet these needs and can accommodate oddly, at a time when digital is becoming – VISITS AND INTRODUCTORY TOURS: groups at its new atelier premises, in omnipresent. punchcutting, type casting, copperplate a space of over 2,500 square metres These courses are for those working in book engraving and printing, typesetting supplemented by an educational area. related occupations: curators, librarians, and proof reading. At the archivists and students who have studied Imprimerie Nationale these trades are on courses related to these occupations. served by master craftsmen and artisans These short (one day) courses offer the who are often the last possessors of opportunity to discover the listed heritage these skills and who hand them on. of the Imprimerie Nationale (historic library These courses are primarily designed and cabinet des Poinçons, the room where for designers, artists and typographers the punches are stored), a discovery that in France and abroad. helps to develop an understanding of the techniques employed in making a book. – WORKSHOPS: In our view, this whole scheme is such as to make the Atelier of the Imprimerie In this arrangement, the Atelier makes its Nationale a reference organisation for tools, knowledge and skills and its technical training courses designed to preserve facilities available to groups of students standards of excellence in knowledge and who work on a project in collaboration with skills that can only be passed on by those their teacher. The project includes an who still possess them today. In the course introduction to the different trades and of 2016 it will be supplemented by a techniques. It takes place over a period of museum space open to the public where the 5 days. These workshops are designed for Imprimerie Nationale collections will be put all schools of graphic arts and applied arts on display through temporary exhibitions. and cater for groups of 10 to 15 students. So in the space of two years the Imprimerie They may also be organised for individuals, Nationale will have created the place of professional artists or amateurs, who would reference for typography, like to make a small edition of their incorporating its history, the Imprimerie creative work. Nationale’s collections and a production workshop based on living and transmissible knowledge and expertise. VISI TES 15 THE ATELIER AND ITS HERITAGE Following the masterpieces produced since its creation (Cabinet du Roi, Description The Atelier possesses 7 exclusive historic de l’Égypte, Histoire naturelle by Buffon, types, from Garamont to Gauthier, as well as Parallèlement by Verlaine illustrated by Oriental type faces created or acquired over Bonnard…), the Atelier continues to produce the centuries, the most famous of which are magnificent works combining beauty of type the Grecs du Roi, cut by Claude Garamont, with beauty of illustration, by famous artists and the Buis du Régent, Chinese types such as Barcelo, Dorny, Buraglio and Garache engraved on wood from 1715. Hieroglyphs, or young artists and designers, the most cuneiform characters, Hebrew, Aramaic, recent being Fanette Mellier. thirteen styles of Arabic type, Tifinagh, Brahmi, Maya, and so on, more than 60 world scripts, each in several styles and sizes. TOUR OF THE ATELIER & THE HERITAGE copper plates, vignettes, lettering tools and wood blocks, a total of almost 700,000 items), the range of The atelier of the Imprimerie Nationale is the only craft trades that make up the history of printing and its facility of its kind in the world that encapsulates the techniques. history of the printed book and shows the craft The creation of printing types, punchcutting, type techniques involved; it combines the exceptional casting, manual and mechanical typesetting in Latin heritage of its collections, the earliest of which date and Oriental type, typographic printing and back to the reign of François I (punches, matrices, copperplate engraving and printing, all these trades are still alive at the Imprimerie Nationale. TYPEFACE DESIGN. The Imprimerie Natio- COPPERPLATE ENGRAVING AND nale’s 7 historic Latin types, Garamont or PRINTING. The different engraving techniques Romain de l’Université, Grandjean or Romain (dry point, graver, mezzotint, etching, du Roi, Luce or Type poëtique, Didot aquatint). Printing after inking the plate in millimétrique or Romain de l’Empereur, which only the engraved lines retain the ink. Marcellin-Legrand, Jaugeon and Gauthier, each embodying the mark of a reign or the LITHOGRAPHY. Planographic printing style of an era; Oriental typefaces; process using a porous limestone based on digitisation of historic typefaces; Creation of the principle that the water absorbed by the new typefaces. stone repels the oil-based ink placed on it. TYPOGRAPHICAL PUNCH CUTTING. Cutting COLLOTYPE. Printing process using oil-based a letter, a sign or vignette on the tip of a steel ink by means of bichromatic gelatine on rod, in relief and back to front, using the a glass plate, producing continuous-tone process perfected by Gutenberg. images, faithful to the originals, without any loss of detail. STRIKING MATRICES AND TYPE CASTING. Striking the matrix in copper within which CABINET DES POINÇONS (PUNCH ROOM). the type is cast, formerly in a hand mould An Imprimerie Nationale jewel and a listed and since the 19th century on a mechanical Historic Monument, where some 700,000 casting machine. items are kept, punches, copperplates, wood blocks and MACHINE TYPE SETTING: LINOTYPE AND vignettes, created since the reign of MONOTYPE. Setting and casting machines François I. emblematic of industrial production (19-20th centuries). STUDY OF A FEW EMBLEMATIC BOOKS. Works by Robert Estienne, the Cabinet du LATIN AND ORIENTAL TYPESETTING. Learning Roi, the Voyage of La Pérouse, the Ceremony about the cases of letters and the method of the Coronation of the Emperor Napoléon, of typesetting. Description de l’Égypte, Dictionnaire chinois, français et latin by De Guignes, Oriental TYPOGRAPHIC PRINTING. By inking the type collection, Mission de Phénicie by Ernest matter placed in a form, then by pressure on Renan, Paris sans fin by Giacometti, etc. the paper presented sheet by sheet. Le cabinet des Poinçons À la fois théorique et pratique, cette visite accorde une place majeure à l’analyse des poinçons typographiques. Chaque étape sera pratiquée à partir des pièces originales du cabinet des Poinçons. Les livres les plus représentatifs de la bibliothèque hi}orique, composés avec les cara{ères issus des poinçons, seront présentés en parallèle. Des démon}rations à l’Atelier permettront de comprendre le processus complet de la chaîne typographique : la gravure de la fonte des cara{ères au moule à arçon. Les participants pourront s’initier à la gravure de poinçons et découvrir les secrets de la gravure, notamment ceux des accents po}iches. Cette session technique se poursuivra par une visite approfondie de la colle{ion hi}orique qui n’est pas ouverte au public. Les trésors du cabinet des Poinçons seront ainsi dévoilés : les 7 cara{ères exclusifs de l’Imprimerie nationale, poinçons et matrices du corps 4 au corps 120, en Garamont ou Romain de l’Université, Grandjean ou Romain du Roi, Luce ou Type poëtique, Didot millimétrique ou Romain de l’Empereur, Marcellin–Legrand, Jaugeon, Gauthier ; les cuivres de la commission Jaugeon, études pour la création d’un cara{ère mathématiquement parfait ; les vignettes typographiques de Luce ; la colle{ion de cara{ères orientaux, Grecs du Roi de Claude Garamont, hiéroglyphes, arabes d’Avicenne, d’Euclide, des Quatre Évangiles, gravés par Robert Granjon, cunéiforme tibétain, siamois, mandchou, et les remarquables Buis du Régent, cara{ères chinois gravés sur bois à partir de 1715.