The Visual History of Type: A Visual Survey of 320 Typefaces

I'll keep it brief: this is one of the most beautiful *and* interesting books I've ever bought. I'm relatively new to typography, but this book would make a wonderful gift for anyone interested in the history of books as physical objects. The illustrations are lavish, full-size, and beautifully reproduced in colour. The text is neat, highly informative, and expertly researched; and the history contained within these pages, coupled with the experience of reading from them, is quite simply magical.

Absolute tour de force. The book is in chronological order starting with Gutenberg in 1450 up to 2015. Every page is beautifully laid out with tonnes of info. Not seemingly cheap but if you're paying by the kilo definitely value for money, I'm sure this is one of the biggest books I own. The notes covering Comic Sans are lovely. Reinforce the coffee table and buy it.

Really happy with this - arrived in perfection condition

This is quite a book - beautifully produced and wonderful to get lost in. Every fount is illustrated with a large photo of an early example, often as specimen pages, along with concise tables of information and historical description.

This book is a pleasure for the eyes. It's really well made from every point of view. I'm learning a lot of interesting facts about fonts thanks to this book. It is really well printed or good quality paper as well.

Great resource to have, use it all the time.

Well written and really interesting history

Best book ever on the story of Type. Great for Graphic design professionals and students. A very, very big book, and heavy. But just great.

El libro es excelente. Es una pieza fundamental que debe estar en tu biblioteca si te dedicas a cualquier área relacionada con el diseño gráfico. El autor hace una recopilación de las tipografías más importantes a lo largo de la historia, las define y las relaciona entre ellas. Aprenderás mucho acerca de los tipos de letras y sus familias, pero además te resultará muy útil para decidir qué tipo de letra encaja mejor en este proyecto que tienes entre manos. La encuadernación también merece una mención por su magnífica calidad, lo mismo que ocurre con la impresión y la calidad del papel. Por lo que respecta al envío del libro, lamentablemente, hay que destacar lo descuidado que ha sido. Como consecuencia de un embalaje negligente, el libro ha llegado marcado en su portada y manchado en la parte inferior de las páginas. Afortunadamente, el contenido está indemne.

I've wanted this book for a long time, I finally managed to get it! It doesn't disappoint, excellent quality! Book to have on your side.

Sto libro è un vero e proprio gigante della tipografia! Nel senso che è veramente grosso: 3 chili e 600+ pagine. Ma io adoro i libroni giganti che per sfogliare devi far posto sulla scrivania, sono l'unico? E questo, con oltre 320 tipi di carattere presentati nel dettaglio, questo è davvero una festa per gli occhi. È una risorsa indispensabile per chiunque sia appassionato di design, storia o semplicemente della bellezza dei caratteri tipografici. Su Instagram mi hanno chiesto di consigliare un libro sui caratteri tipografici e questo è sicuramente la mia prima scelta.

O livro é enorme, com acabamento excelente. Em cada família tipográfica temos uma grande imagem com um uso real. É possível entender a evolução e as peculiaridades das letras. Um ótimo livro para quem quer se aprofundar em tipografia e desenho de letras.

If you are into Typefaces just buy this book. It is stunning. Perfectly designed and superbly crafted, this huuuuge book will gratify any typeface lover. The chronological presentation is so simple and yet so effective: more than 300 typefaces presented in their original specimens or early applications. The notes that present each typeface are quite succinct – too short, perhaps? – but highly informative. A synoptical chart alongside the glossary is the only thing that I missed in this absolutely monumental opus. There is little question on the fact that this publication will get reference status pretty soon. An absolute must-have for anyone with a love for typefaces. I wish I could have an extra star.