The Owner of the Bow

I have just recently worked on the miniature version of the Owner of the bow,
a limited edition book with text by Gotthold Lessing (Germany 1729-1781), that Edizioni Almenodue had issued this winter. The miniature edition presents the text in Italian only, but the full accordion book has the text set in three lines, in German, English and Italian. The illustration is by Guido Scarabottolo and the book was offset printed in a edition of 60 copies. Mirabelle Mignone, the typeface donated
for the edition, is by Alessandro Colizzi, from Rome, now teaching typography at the University of Quebec, Montreal.
The miniature accordion book in soft cover, with a red and white baker twine closure, measure 4 x 21 inches, when opened. The full size hard-cover accordion book, presents Kyosei-shi paper on the cover and Fedrigoni Savile Row on the inside and measure 8 1/2 x 39 inches, when opened. Here below, the short story by Gotthold Lessing. Once there were a man who owned a wonderful bow made of ebony, with which he could shoot his arrow very far and very accurately, and of which he was very fond. But one day, while he was looking at it very carefully, he exclaimed:" The only thing is, you're just a bit too plain! You've only been given a little polishing. What a shame!" He decided to rectify matters:" I'll go to the best artist and ask him to engrave something on the bow." And that's exactly what he did. The artist engraved an entire hunting scene on the bow, and what could be better that a hunting scene? The man was so happy. " You really deserve these decorations, my dear bow!"
He decides to try it out, so he draws the bow, and it...breaks!



Miniature book of The Owner of the Bow.
Below, more illustrations by Guido Scarabottolo.