Nuts!

Lately I've had reason to think about the past with ponderings directing my attentions towards, amongst other things, Fortunato Depero's "Bolted Book" (Depero Futurista to give it it's proper title). 

Not my favourite Futurist (that would be his mate Giacomo Balla) Depero nevertheless played a significant role in my early career. Back then the isms of the early twentieth century were very "in" and encouraged by much ism-chat I sought out further info on them all. This naturally brought me into contact with Depero, whose illustrative advertising work for people like Campari inspired experimental designs for the cover of a stationery catalogue I was working on. At the same time of course, I read about his remarkable book although it's only recently that I've actually seen inside pages.

The book was published in 1927, with text printed letterpress on different papers, bound between stiff covers and fastened together with two dirty-great stainless steel bolts (the first time this had been done). Those Futurists loved a bit of machinery and they loved to stir it up a bit too so the effect was two-fold: the book was a celebration of technological advancement and it was annoyingly difficult to file away or stack on a shelf.

Flagrant self-publicists, the Futurists also saw greater potential in commercial art rather than fine art and thought advertising a more promising platform for their cause. Hard proof of this belief, Depero's book is basically an eighty page catalogue of his advertising designs.

A thousand copies were printed and there's talk of a few special editions: some with metal sheet covers and one or two in special presentation boxes the Futurist designed himself. Needless to say, you're not going to find one of these on ebay and I gather that if a copy ever does come up for public sale I'd have to re-mortgage my house or sell my first-born.

Comments

[Daniel Neville]

I don't think you're getting your priorities straight. It's just your first-born. Consider it a sacrifice to the type god.