Show HN: Garden of Flowers – an archive of pictorial typography before ASCII art
The 'Garden of Flowers' project unveils a vast, meticulously curated archive of pictorial typography, showcasing art forms created with metal type and ornaments long before digital ASCII art. This eight-year labor of love by Heikki Lotvonen fills a historical gap in text-based art, highlighting the intricate craft of letterpress. It resonates with Hacker News' audience for its unique blend of historical research, technical artistry, and a passionate, independent 'Show HN' endeavor.
The Lowdown
Heikki Lotvonen presents "Garden of Flowers," a remarkable online archive dedicated to pictorial typography, a form of art created using metal type, ornaments, and rules in printing. Originating from his 2015 BA thesis on Amiga ASCII art, the project addresses the overlooked history of text art that predates digital forms, particularly focusing on letterpress.
- Extensive Collection: The archive contains approximately 2,500 images, with some pieces dating back to the 1600s, gathered over eight years of dedicated research.
- Historical Focus: It highlights the sophisticated artistry involved in constructing images solely from printing elements, challenging the common attribution of precursors to typewriter art and visual poetry.
- Collaborative Effort: The project's public website, designed by Adel Faure, allows users to browse the extensive collection.
- Sourcing & Openness: Images are primarily sourced from public digital collections for educational purposes, with the author inviting corrections, new leads, and acknowledging potential errors or misattributions.
- Discoverability: The site offers robust filtering options by location, year, person, subject, genre, font style, technology, type, script, time period, publication, and company, making the diverse collection easily explorable.
- Further Reading: A companion essay is available, detailing the inception and journey of the archive.
This archive serves as an invaluable resource for understanding the rich, often forgotten, history of typographic art, demonstrating the ingenuity of printers and designers across centuries in creating complex imagery with limited tools.