Engraving of Nicolas Jenson. Typography. Brussel-Smith

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A Wood Engraving by Bernard Brussel-Smith

Portrait of Typographer Nicolas Jenson

Printed ca. 1947

In an Old Matte

Image Size: 6 x 4.25 inches (plus margins)

Engraved Text Above: "This portrait of Nicolas Jenson, 15th century printer and designer, was cut for The Type House by B. Brussel-Smith."

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Detail: Nicolas Jenson holds a letter "C"

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In a Old Matte.

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In an Old Matte. Glued-Down at Top Margin.  (But Now Detached from the Glue)

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In an Old Matte. Glued-Down at Top Margin.  (But Now Detached from the Glue)

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Nicolas Jenson: A Leading European Typographer

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Bernard Brussel-Smith:

Bernard Brussel-Smith (born 1914 - died 1989) was one of the leading American wood engravers of the 20th century.

Bernard Brussel-Smith was born in Greenwich Village, New York City, and worked in the city for much of his career. He studied art in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and in New York, at the New School for Social Research.  In the 1950s, he studied in Paris with Stanley William Hayter, where he developed a unique form of etching inspired by William Blake.

In New York, Brussel-Smith also studied under the wood engraver Fritz Eichenberg, at the New School for Social Research in New York City.  Brussel-Smith's wood engravings are also evocative of the engravings of Rockwell Kent and Lynd Ward.

Brussel-Smith taught at the Brooklyn Museum, Cooper Union, City College, and the National Academy. In 1973 he became a member of the National Academy. Brussel-Smith is well known for his 1950s / 1960s poster art for the New York Auto Show. in 1957-58 he studied with Stanley William Hayter in Paris, developing a form of relief etching inspired by the process used by William Blake.

Brussel-Smith has had one-man exhibitions of his work around the world, including:  the Galerie St. Jacques in Collongesola-Rouge, France;  the Musée Ernest-Rupin, in Brive, France; the Olthuysen Ateliers, in Rotterdam, Holland; the Maison de la Sirène in Collonges-la-Rouge; the Katonah Library in New York; the Desert Museum in Palm Springs, California; the Galerie Maas in Rotterdam, The Netherland; the Bethesda Art Gallery, in Bethesda, Maryland; the Susan Teler Gallery in New York City, etc.

In 1983 the Fairleigh Dickinson University Library in Madison, New Jersey held a retrospective of his work. In 1988 the Sterling Library of Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, exhibited his work to commemorate his donation of an archive of prints and printing blocks.  

Major collections of works by Brussel-Smith are at the Fairleigh Dickinson University Library, the Sterling Library of Yale University, the Boston Museum, the New York Historical Society, the New York Public Library, the National Academy of Design, the National Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minnesota, the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine, the Philadephia Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Free Library, the Oklahoma City Museum, the Boymans Museum in Rotterdam; and the Lenin Library, in Moscow, Russia.

In addition to living in New York, Brussel-Smith and his family also spent much time in Collonges-la-Rouge, France.

(Much of my biographical information is published in "Bernard Brussel-Smith, 1914-1989: A Memorial Exhibition." Susan Teller Gallery, 1989.)

Nicolas Jenson:

Nicolas Jenson  / Nicolas Janson, Nicholas Jenson, or Nicolaus Jenson.(born 1420 - died 1480) was a French engraver, letterpress printer and typographer who did most of his work in Venice.

Jenson was born in Sommevoire, France.  He is considered the creator of the first model "roman" typeface. His printing press typeface inspired Garamond and Aldus.

Jenson was  Master of the French royal mint at Tours, before relocated to Mainz by order of King Charles VII, and then to Venice, Italy.

Jenson's typefaces were were used by the Aldine Press, and were the basis for numerous fonts, including "Centaur" by  Bruce Rogers, "Cloister Old Style" by Morris Fuller Benton, etc. He also was an influence on the Kelmscott Press of William Morris.

Note: I am not certain of the exact nature or history of this print.  While many of Brussel-Smith's wood engravings are signed in pencil, in numbered editions, this one is not.  I purchased it here in Pennsylvania.

Condition: Very Nice Condition.  No library or institution markings. The print's top margin was glued to the matte, but that glue no longer fastens the print to the matte.  The glue at the top margin of the print has left a brown mark on the reverse side of the print, in the top margin.  The engraving has a crease to the top right corner. The engraving's top margin has a small piece of old, clear tape. Very nice condition throughout.                                                                                                                                                           

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