Whenever I need a stand-in piece of text or a concept around which to practice a new technique, I return to Cyrano de Bergerac, the 1897 French play by Edmond Rostand. The vivid script lends itself as beautifully to developing imagery as it does to practicing typography via calligraphy and hand-typesetting. The pieces on this page are a few examples of this ongoing practice.

Acte I From its opening, Cyrano de Bergerac—a play that swept France off its feet upon its premiere—is packed with intrigue and melodrama. As a nod to the late hours against which most of the story is set, I bound a scaled-down facsimile of the play's front matter and first act into a design that evokes the palette of evening lights: yellow and oranges (light), dark browns (shadows), and dark blues (evening sky). I adapted the cover design and lettering from elements of Cyrano's contemporaneous 19th-century promotional posters.

2024. Cotton embroidery floss, various calf and goat leathers, Hahnemühle Ingres paper, Permalife paper, toner, ink. 10.3 cm x 8 cm x 1.6 cm (closed)

Images of Acte I on a gray background are courtesy of the Guild of Book Workers.

Le Dénouement Calligraphic broadside of the final speech from Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, in the original French.

2017. Gouache on Hahnemühle Ingres paper. 24¾” x 18¾”

The Man from the Moon Letterpress-printed literary broadside from handset metal type (Van Dijck & Bulmer) and metal ornaments.

2017. Rubber-based ink, acrylic, and beeswax on Sakamoto paper; pochoir and stenciling. 7¼” x 9”

Fallen Gouache on indigo Cave paper.

2018. Limp paper case binding of proofs from The Man from the Moon.