New York Observer (6/2/97)

[Sherwood, Harrison]

>From: 	davemarc Subject: 	Re: New York Observer (6/2/97)
>
>Ms. Jaramillo, one of the very few Henry Holt employees who interacted
>personally with Mr. Pynchon, said he was cordial and, "He's obviously
>someone who cares about book covers."

Ms. Jaramillo, manifestly a talented graphic designer, has the patience
and forebearance of a saint, and is the object of the green-eyed
vein-popping jealousy of at least one list member.
>
>  Mr. Pynchon, a kind of ampersand zealot, 

No _kiddin'_. There are four people on the explored planet for whom I
would sit still for a lecture on ampersands. Thomas Pynchon is one of
them. The other three are Jan Tschichold, Eric Gill, and William Caslon.
And they're all dead.

>They had lengthy talks, she said, discussing details like "how far up the
>ligature of the ampersand the curlicue should go" before Mr. Pynchon
>finally found the one he was after, in a tawny old manuscript he'd come
>across in his research.  He photocopied it and sent it to Ms. Jaramillo,
>who made it the centerpiece of the cover design.  Mr. Pynchon
>enthusiastically approved.

A "tawny old _manuscript_"?

And there's no...ligature...oh, never mind.

>----------
>And From: 	Chris Sweet

>I'm not sure I would call it elusive. It's almost exactly like & in the
>'goudy old style' font when in italic form. 
>
Almost but _not_ exactly, and that's the point. It's also almost but not
exactly like the ampersand in Granjon Italic, Kennerly and Plantin Light
Italic. 

The fact that Raquel (She won't mind if I call her Raquel, I'm sure!
*glimmer*) had such a hard time finding that amp in her type books tells
me it isn't in any normal commercially available face. Furthermore, the
fact that Pynchon found it in an old publication hints that it's from a
proprietary cut that is no longer with us.

If it's me and not Raquel (_lovely_ name!) doing that cover, I'm telling
Tom to be happy with Caslon Antique. And sticking to my guns, too! 

Harrison