One of the great things about being an artist is getting to trade with other artists whose work you admire. Book artist Angela Liguori of Edizioni Almenodue contacted me about trading a couple of prints for her amazing new book and boy was I excited. I’ve posted another one of their books before here. This book which translates from Italian to The Fruits, Herbs and Vegtables of Italy was written by Giacomo Castelvetro back in 1614. I like the way Giacomo writes about cooking all these greens- “Next come the peas. They are the noblest of vegetables…” It’s like a very well-written cookbook with tips and instructions. Of course I am more excited about the design and illustration. For this limited editon of 80 copies, they have printed the text in both English and Italian in the typeset Galliard donated by the designer. The very sweet illustrations are done by Rita Ravaioli and offset printed onto beautiful paper. The illustrations are really perfect in their simple handrawn rough lines. I always love when the color is off registered in illustrations. The end pages are a thin whispy paper and the cover is rough with tiny ripped up letters mixed into the pulp. For more information about the specific paper types, the author and lots of other book related posts check out Angela’s new blog here. Also for more information about Angela’s and Edizioni Almenodue’s work check out her site here. Thanks Angela- keep up the wonderful work! (I look forward to many more trades!)

© Julia Rothman 2007