Travel to Turkey and Egypt

Travel to Turkey and Egypt We published Jan Nepomucen Potocki for the first time in 2015. We prepared the book based on the Polish edition, which was published in the translation by Jan Ursyn Niemcewicz in Drukarnia Wolna in Warsaw in 1789

The 1780s were an era of dynamic revolution in European typography, evidenced by the abandonment of the "long s". The first attempts appeared in the late 1750s, and in the 1770s the process gained momentum. Joaquín Ibarra (1725–1785) published his books in Madrid without the "long s"; in Italy Giambattista Bodoni began printing in this way around 1778, and in France François-Ambroise Didot abandoned the "long s" in 1780. Even in conservative England, the fonts cut for John Bell and William Bulmer in the second half of the 1780s no longer had the "long s". Although it must be admitted that in that country this symbol survived for a long time, until the early 19th century. "Vellum" paper, i.e. simply smooth paper, was also increasingly used, replacing the previously common laid paper. The first books on such paper appeared in Great Britain in the second half of the 1750s, and in France a little later, around 1780.

We can be sure that Potocki, who was keen on all sorts of novelties and regularly corresponded with Firmin Didot, was aware of the changes taking place in European typography. Although he himself, in his Free Printing House, did not introduce them.

Letters once again

So when it came time to re-release Travel to Turkey and Egypt the idea of ​​republishing it with a "long s" was rejected out of hand. Instead, we decided to try fonts that were fashionable in the 1780s. Our first impulse was to reach for fonts based on Didot's fonts. To tell the truth, the attempts were not particularly encouraging. So we decided on Bodoni's fonts, which was all the easier because the master from Parma had one work printed in Polish: The Temple of Venus at Knidos , published in 1807.

As illustrations, we used the works of Louis François Cassas (1756–1827), a French traveler and illustrator contemporary to Potocki. Although his travels did not coincide with the story contained in Travels… Jan Nepomucen Potocki, nevertheless it beautifully reflects the world that Potocki also saw in 1784.

In a word, we hope that this edition will be reminiscent of the tastes of Count Jan's era.

The book was published in an edition of 25 copies on Fabriano Tiepolo cotton paper, 8vo (160×250 mm), 112 pp. and set with the Bodoni font. Hand-bound. With a slipcase.