Jaroslav Benda (1882–1970): Typographic Designs and Letterforms

Jaroslav Benda is one of the extraordinary figures in the history of Czech type design. His extensive lifelong work is based on a strong and distinctive manuscript of original letterforms. Many of his works became crucial touchstones for Czech Cubism and the Art Deco movement. His involvement in building the visual identity of the First Czechoslovak Republic is equally important. Unfortunately, Benda’s work fell into oblivion for many decades and a comprehensive biography of Benda has never been published. Nearly half a century after his death, this book celebrates Benda, relocates him in type design history, and shares the breadth of his design practice. A first section outlines Benda's personal and artisitic development, while the second section presents a thorough overview of his work based on numerous examples of his handwritten letterings and classifies it on the basis of dominant similarities with typographic categories into four main groups: sans-serif letterforms, serif letterf