Examples of Tuscan typography (in four images arranged as a composite)

Lubalin Lecture: TUSCANS (Some intriguing questions over this singular ornamental type style)

Date: 25 November 2024
Time: 5:30 pm
Online via Zoom
Third-party event
Examples of Tuscan typography, demonstrated in four images as a composite.

Tuscan letterforms can be subtle or extravagant, sumptuous or delicate, but in an inexplicable way this very singular genre populates streets and typographic catalogs of all times. A product of decorative ingenuity, Tuscan vernaculars dress the street signs of Mexico as much as the stained glass windows of Paris, the “porteño” filleting of Buenos Aires signs or the hulls of fishing boats in the waters of the Amazon. But where do Tuscan letters come from? Are they just another expressive addition to the decorative sections in type founders and printers’ catalogs? Is it possible that they were born from a mischievous interpretation of Roman inscriptions engraved in stone? These and other questions will be raised but not necessarily answered! We will also be delighted with some images of Tuscan vernaculars of certain places.