New Altar Cards from Silverstream Priory

The monks of Silverstream Priory are no stranger to the pages of NLM. This new and vibrant Benedictine foundation in Ireland celebrates the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the monastic Divine Office in all of their traditional fullness.

I was delighted to learn that they have recently launched an online gift shop, which they intend to expand over time. For now, they are selling a beautiful new set of altar cards for the usus antiquior, designed by their own Dom Benedict Andersen and inspired by the so-called "Editio Lacensis” of the Missale Romanum published by the Abbey of Maria Laach in 1931. The set is available (unframed) from the Priory for €23 (including shipping in Ireland), €24 (with shipping in the UK), and €25 (shipping in the rest of the world). They have also made available their “Prayers at the Foot of the Altar” and a Litany for the Holy Father (which we featured here), printed on nice card stock.

In the near future other products will be added, such as Father Prior’s Way of the Cross for Priests, Dom Morin’s book The Ideal of the Monastic Life Found in the Apostolic Age, and various prayer cards. Please give their shop a visit and check it out from time to time.

Recent Typeface Design and Calligraphy from Daniel Mitsui

We have much work to do in the rebuilding of Catholic culture, and in this “slow evangelization” (as Stratford Caldecott called it), liturgy can be compared to the right hand, the fine arts to the left hand. I found myself thinking about this when looking at some magnificent calligraphic work by well-known Catholic artist Daniel Mitsui, and reading his superb lecture at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, “Invention and Exaltation.” (The text may be read here; a video of the lecture is available here. Highly recommended.) Daniel visited the university to open an exhibit of his artwork in the Gentile Gallery on September 14th.

Following up on my earlier post about the layouts and typography of Dom Benedict Andersen, I wanted to share with NLM readers some of Daniel Mitsui’s recent experiments with designing his own typefaces, a painstaking art form he is pursuing in order to work towards the publication of new illustrated fine press editions of late medieval books. Two of the pieces now on display in Steubenville are typographic broadsides, one of them prepared in anticipation of the Synod on the Family:

(To see these at the artist's website, go here and here.)

In toto, Daniel has designed four typefaces: Benedict, Victor, Adam, and Michaëla. The marriage and family texts above are written in Benedict; the Lord's Prayer in Victor. Here are samples of Adam and Michaëla:

 

Some time ago Daniel did this "Ecce quam bonum," which is a masterly example of the art of illuminating a text (we see again the Benedict font):

These are truly exquisite pieces of work, and we are all looking forward to many more from this extraordinary artist. Check out his website for a complete portfolio and items for sale.

The Art of Typesetting and Layout: A Gallery of Pages

As one who has made hundreds of booklets, pamphlets, "worship aids," prayer cards, signs, and posters over the years, I have invested a lot of time learning how to make these simple items look beautiful. Fonts, styles, images, colors, borders, ornaments are all taken into account, the moreso as the occasion is more solemn. My attitude is that of Eric Gill and others who considered nothing so pedestrian or trivial that it should not be dignified by attention to detail, care in presentation, creativity in approach, and permanence of quality. I would imagine that similar thoughts prevail among the readership of NLM.

It is therefore a special delight to be able to share with you some examples of the extremely fine typesetting work of Dom Benedict Andersen, O.S.B., of Silverstream Priory, whose "Litany for the Holy Father" I was able to present two weeks ago. Those who attended Sacra Liturgia in 2013 in Rome would have seen the remarkable black hardcover that contained the texts for all the liturgies (solemn Masses and Vespers) of the conference -- in parallel Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, German, and English translations! (A couple of pages from this book are below.) Dom Benedict's work is characterized by elegant lines, balanced elements, a judicious use of typographical variations, and, most of all, an eye for tiny details of punctuation and spacing. He truly offers us a model that can inspire our own efforts in this area.

When Dom Benedict and I were corresponding about the art of printing, he did specifically ask me to say that he is not available for commissions, as the routine work of producing materials for the monastery and for special occasions as requested by prelates is already keeping his hands quite full, and maybe overfull.

from the Sacra Liturgia 2013 book

also from Sacra Liturgia 2013

Sacra Liturgia 2013