Join the waiting list to become a bibliopegist; that is, a collector of rare and remarkable book bindings. On October 18, Kickstarter will offer the opportunity to support the publication of a facsimile edition of the celebrated Futurist classic Depero Futurista (Depero the Futurist). http://www.boltedbook.com/fact-sheet/

Although Depero’s book has beautiful typography and a modernist emphasis on commercial advertising, it is the unusual binding that attracts most collectors. Dinamo-Azari bound the pages in printed pliant blue boards drilled and fastened with two 1.6-cm. aluminum bolts with nuts secured by cotter pins, with legend “rilegatura dinamo creazione Azari” printed between them on upper board. We call it the libro bullonato or the bolt book.

The 1927 edition was planned to be 1,000 copies published simultaneously in New York, Paris, Berlin, and Milan. Not a particularly limited edition. Princeton University’s Marquand Library holds copy no. 369, signed: Fortunato Depero 1928 (SAX NX600.F8 D47 1927q).

The proposed facsimile edition is thanks to a partnership with The Center for Italian Modern Art in New York, the Mart, Museum of modern and contemporary art of Trento and Rovereto, Italy (which houses the Depero archives), and Designers & Books (New York). They have also posted digital images of the entire volume: http://www.boltedbook.com/page-by-page/

The Kickstarter website will launch on October 18, 2016, but you can join a mailing list at www.boltedbook.com now to receive early information on the project.

This video was mounted in 2014 in conjunction with the exhibition Fortunato Depero at the Center for Italian Modern Art. Raffaele Bedarida introduces Depero Futurista and places it into context of the art and design movement we now call Futurism.

Fortunato Depero (1892-1960), Depero Futurista (Milano; New York; Paris; Berlin: Edizione italiana Dinamo Azari, [1927]). Also called Depero futurista 1913-1927. Illustrated throughout with typographical compositions and reproductions of paintings, drawings and photos; includes sections “Cuscini Depero” and “Pubblicità Depero,” with original relief prints, e.g. advertisements for the liqueur Campari. Marquand SAX NX 600.F8 D47 1927Q