The Typesetting of Pessoa’s The Transformation Book

This presentation is a review of the typesetting of Contra Mundum Press’s world premiere edition of Pessoa’s The Transformation Book, a multi-lingual and complex text with over a thousand handcrafted footnotes, transcription symbols, hundreds of headings in different but consistent styles, and taxonomies & markups at the service of the book design workflow.

This paper was presented on November 28, 2014, at 5ET Encontro de Tipografia, the 5th Meeting of Typography organized by the Design Department of the Superior School of Technology (EST) of the Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave (IPCA) and it was held in Barcelos, Portugal.
http://ipca.pt/5et/

The presentation outlines the typographic work — the “scaffolding” for the texts that when removed makes the typography almost invisible to the reader who is then free to spend mental energy to process the content alone and read without hindrance. Gerard Unger’s statement that it “is almost impossible to look and read at the same time” is relevant to the activity presented. It’s a discourse on typesetting performance and methods, just like fonts are performative tools, and it explores specification, art, and aesthetics, too. What was presented is a physical book in the end, and special attention was given to the design of facing pages and the related text flow.

As for the content, The Transformation Book — or Book of Tasks contains series of fragments written in English, Portuguese, and French. CMP believes that typography is situated at the intersection of language, culture, technology and aesthetics. Through the critical efforts of the editors, a fundamental project of Fernando Pessoa’s is now brought from the confines of the archive to the public in its most complete and accurate typographic form. Alexander Search, Pantaleão, Jean Seul de Méluret, and Charles James Search are the four “pre-heteronyms” to which the texts of The Transformation Book are attributed. Conceived by Pessoa in 1908, a year of great social and cultural transformation in Portugal, The Transformation Book was planned & written to reflect and advance social and cultural transformation in Portugal and beyond. Moving between a number of literary forms, all enhanced through crafted typesetting — poetry, fiction, and satire as well as essays on politics, philosophy, and psychiatry — The Transformation Book marks one of the fundamental stages in Pessoa’s elaboration of a new conception of literary space, one that he came to express as a “drama in people,” a space here rendered typographically with precise attention to details.

http://contramundum.net/the-transformation-book-or-book-of-tasks/

Transcript

1. 5thET, Barcelos, Portugal — November 28, 2014 — Alessandro Segalini
2. 0 — Introduction 1 — The Manuscript 2 — About the writing of The Transformation Book 3 — The Structure of the Book 3.1 — Proportions 3.2 — Stylesheet 3.3 — ToC and Information Architecture 3.4 — Multiple Headings 3.5 — Infratexts 4 — The Typesetting Machine 4.1 — Glyphs 4.2 — Footnote Flow 4.3 — Double Discretionary Ligatures 5 — The Wrap of the Book 5.1 — Page #ing starting from zero 5.2 — Title Spread 5.3 — Colophon 5.4 — Cover 6 — Conclusion isbn 978–1–9406250–4–1 www.contramundum.net
3. 0 The Transformation Book — or Book of Tasks [BNP/E, C – r] The Transformation Book — or Book of Tasks contains a series of texts written in English, Portuguese, & French. CMP believes that typography is situ- ated at the intersection of language, culture, technology & aesthetics. Through the critical efforts of the edi- tors, a fundamental project of Fernando Pessoa’s is now brought from the con- fines of the archive to the public in its most complete & accurate typographic form. It is difficult to elaborate on typeset- ting because it is both an intellectual & a physical performance that remains in- visible, or fixed once a book is printed ― often even underestimated, if not forgot- ten or overlooked by the general public.
4. 1 Charles James Search [BNP/E, C – r]  [BNP/E,  – v] [BNP/E,  – v] The ms. was a multi-lingual (English, French, & Portuguese) 322 page, A4, Word formatted .doc which included: Pages: 322 Words: 69,400 Characters: 350,000 Paragraphs: 4,700 Footnotes: 1,247 Images: 14
5. 1 Transcription Symbols   &    struck-out segment  h xxxxxx segment inserted above  i xxxxxx segment inserted below  g xxxxxx segment inserted on the right side  f xxxxxx segment inserted on the left side  /xxxxxx\ variant segment  underlined segment | | segment doubted by the author † illegible word £ empty ace left by the author [x |y] substitution by superposition, in the relation [substituted | substitute] |* | conje ural reading [] segment added by the editor […] absence of material support [damaged segment in the original material] Nacional-Casa da Moeda, ). Others were adapted or created for the purpose & ecificity of a general edition of Pessoa’s writings — these symbols will be used in future editions of Pessoa’s fragments. [C – r] The Transformation Book —  Book of Tasks F. Nogueira essôa. . e numbers in square brackets preceding the transcription of each se ion corre ond to the original numbers identifying those documents in e Pessoa Archive (E), kept at the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (BNP). e numbers always precede the transcriptions they belong to. [BNP/E3, 50A1 – 14r]  [BNP/E, A – r: detail of the fragment below] .   &   — “Pantaloon” was a critical chara er, usually a greedy merchant (and advisor) from Venice — and both criti- cism and instruction are elements that define Pantaleão, who is chara erized as a pessimistic pre-heteronym. He maintains a critical attitude towards life and his own epoch, as can be seen in an aphorism attributed to him : anta eão. Life is an evil worthy of being enjoyed. [A vida é um mal digno de ser gosado.] [BNP/E, H – r]   &   — “Pantaloon” was a critical chara er, usually a greedy merchant (and advisor) from Venice — and both criti- cism and instruction are elements that define Pantaleão, who is chara erized as a pessimistic pre-heteronym. He maintains a critical attitude towards life and his own epoch, as can be seen in an aphorism attributed to him : anta eão. Life is an evil worthy of being enjoyed. [A vida é um mal digno de ser gosado.] [BNP/E, H – r]
6. 2 The Transformation Book was conceived by Pessoa in 1908, a year of great social & cultural transformation in Portugal. It is the singular result of an intersection of Pes- soa’s personal intellectual trajectory with his hopes for fomenting transformation. It provides significant insight into the con- struction of Pessoa’s plural literary uni- verse, with texts written in three languages, and moves between poetry, fiction, & satire accompany essays on politics, philosophy, & psychiatry. The book marks one of the fundamental stages in Pessoa’s elaboration of a new con- ception of literary space, one that he came to express as a “drama in people.” Alexan- der Search, Pantaleão, J.S. de Méluret, & Charles James Search are the four “pre-het- eronyms” to which the texts are attributed. Source: Wikipedia (Lisbon_Regicide)
7. 3 Book size: 127 × 203 mm (5 × 8 in.) Text frame: 90 × 146 mm (3.54 × 5.75 in.) Text frame ratio: 1:1.6 Baseline grid: 15 pt Lines per page: 29 Font: Adobe Jenson Pro, 12 pt Characters per line ~: 50 Chars / words per page ~: 1540/250 # of pages: 512 Book spine width: 26.1 mm (1.03 in.) # of Master pages: 36 ( §s) ¶ styles: 21 Character styles: 16 Headings: 650, in 10 styles Navigation Header: 10 pt Small Caps 35 chars max. lenght (80% w.) Top margin: 26 mm / 1.02 in. Bottom margin: 31 mm / 1.22 in. Outside margin: 17 mm / 0.67 in. Inside margin: 20 mm / 0.79 in. Native .indd files: 3, 46.7 MB total | Press .pdf PDF: 7.7 MB
9. 3 Paragraph Styles Character Styles main text Adobe Jenson Pro, 12/15 pt main text indent 5 mm (14¼ pt) footnotes Adobe Jenson Pro, 10/12.5 pt, #s outdented infratext type size 11/15 pt, 8 mm (22½ pt) left/right indent (¬3) § heading ITC Legacy Sans, 14 pt ampersand Adobe Garamond Pro Italic Proportion Bar by William Adams (2005).
10. 3 Legacy Legacy Jenson Jenson Jenson, Contra Mundum’s house typeface, pairs nicely with the structure of a humanist sans serif like Legacy Sans. Such a text like Pessoa’s fragments requires clear, logical type treatment that legibly renders the critical apparatus (critical intro, footnotes, bibliography, etc.). The stylesheet was designed to produce a book that not only meets the parameters of the house style of the press, but also a book that meets the standards of Pessoa studies as well. The reason behind the use of the Jenson typeface for this book project have to be found in its archetypal roman structure & high legibility.
11. 3 Introdu ion by Nuno Ribeiro & Cláudia Souza  Images  THE TRANSFORMATION BOOK OR BOOK OF TASKS  Alexander Search  e Portuguese Regicide and the Political Situation in Portugal  e Philosophy of Rationalism  e Mental Disorder of Jesus  Delirium  Agony  Pantaleão  A Psychose Adeantativa  As Visões do Sñr. Pantaleão  A Nossa Administração Colonial  Jean Seul de Méluret  Des Cas d’Exhibitionnisme  La France en  — Satire  Messieurs les Souteneurs — Satire  Charles James Search — Fragments of Translations  Anthero de Quental’s ‘Complete Sonnets’  Sonnets (chosen) of Camoens  Guerra Junqueiro — Choice  Table of Contents I — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — ADDENDA  Biographical Texts Concerning Alexander Search  Further Fragments Concerning the Insanity of Jesus  Proje s and Lists of Poems Concerning Delirium  Fragments and Other Poems Related to Delirium  A List Concerning Agony  Note from a Diary  Biographical Texts Concerning Pantaleão  Proje s Concerning As Visões do Sñr. Pantaleão  Further Writings Concerning A Nossa Administração Colonial  Biographical Texts Concerning Jean Seul de Méluret  Further Fragments Concerning Exhibitionism  Further Fragments Concerning La France en   Further Fragments Concerning Messieurs les Souteneurs  Fragments of e Student of Salamanca signed by Alexander Search  Bibliography  II — . — . — . — .. — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — Most ToC are not read but used — flipped through & scanned.
12. 3           1.0 — Alexander Search [C – r] [r] Alexander earch. Delirium omed . Introdu ion. II. . Chapter on : Fallacies Flashes of Madness. . :   [r] e irium Flashes of Madness. II. When thou seeëst me end hours Holding in a feverish glance y mouth or teeth, or thy hand, And notest how my soul devours With a sleepness like to trance e commonest things that stand, And askest what in them I see at into each my irit delves As if each had a mystery, ou err’st in thy conje urings, For what ever obsesses me Is not things in their weary selves But the being there of things. Alexander earc February . . el[irium] . feverish /htoo-local \ glance . As if it heach had a mystery, . Is not things in their weary /hmany \ selves And hBut the common soul h being here /ibeing there\ /such\ of things . :  [r] e irium Flashes of Madness. II. When thou seeëst me end hours Holding in a feverish glance y mouth or teeth, or thy hand, And notest how my soul devours With a sleepness like to trance e commonest things that stand, And askest what in them I see at into each my irit delves As if each had a mystery, ou err’st in thy conje urings, For what ever obsesses me
13. 4    . :     £ the old bourgeoisie of the wrong rationalism, from poor old omas Paine, who £ to Mr. J.M. Robertson, . . who di ossessed God of infinity in favour of that universal interval called ace. It is brilliant to [the] point of nauseousness … But the rationalist makes no confli with any man’s opinions. He admits the possibility of the existence of God & the possibility of that God being the wood idol of the African wilds. Like Baudelaire, he would say to the disgusted sailor who wanted to throw that idol into a corner, “Et si c’était le vrai Dieu ?” Religion is an emotional need of mankind. e ratio- nalist may not want it, but he has to admit that other people may. Itis emotional but it is also a need. enuine in hakes eare [CFP, –] ; e aconian eres [CFP, –] ; harles radlau h [CFP, –] ; e namics o eli ion [CFP, –] ; e axon and the elt [CFP, –] ; e roblem o “ amlet” [CFP, –] ; “ amlet” Once ore [CFP, –] ; esus and udas [CFP, –] ; e volution o tates [CFP, –] ; e istorical esus [CFP, –] ; illiam rcher as ationalist [CFP, –], a collection of writings edit- ed by Robertson ; e hiloso hical orks o rancis acon, ed. with an introduction by Robertson [CFP, –]. . disposses[s]ed . Baude[al|la]ire, he would say to the h disgusted sailor who wanted to throw that idol into a corner, in disgust, . It is an emotional need It  |We may conceive the total of mankind as the pas- sengers and crew of a ship of fools, left helmless on an uncharted ocean. ey will make games last while life endures, and have death for a certainty, with some expec- tation of being saved, for there may be a better map for a ship coming on their way.| [r] ationalism. … dreary as a languid gorgeousness, like that of [the] aeri ueene, which not even Edmund Spenser ever dared to read through in all the entirety there is of it. £ the old bourgeoisie of the wrong rationalism, from poor old omas Paine, who £ to Mr. J.M. Robertson, . [w|c]oming . of h the wrong rationalism, . John Mackinnon Robertson (–) was a member of the English rationalist movement that emerged in the United Kingdom between the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX century. In Pessoa’s Private Library, there are twenty- three of Robertson’s books : ioneer umanists [CFP, –] ; a an rists [CFP, –] ; rownin and enn son as eac - ers [CFP, –] ; hort istor o reet ou t [CFP, –] ; ristianit an t o o [CFP, –] ; ssa s on o- cio o [CFP, –] ; riticisms [CFP, –] ; ssa s in t ics [CFP, –] ; odern umanists [CFP, –] ; hort is- tor o ristianit [CFP, –] ; x orations [CFP, –] ; e   . :    £ the old bourgeoisie of the wrong rationalism, from poor old omas Paine, who £ to Mr. J.M. Robertson, . . who di ossessed God of infinity in favour of that universal interval called ace. It is brilliant to [the] point of nauseousness … But the rationalist makes no confli with any man’s opinions. He admits the possibility of the existence of God & the possibility of that God being the wood idol of the African wilds. Like Baudelaire, he would say to the disgusted sailor who wanted to throw that idol into a corner, “Et si c’était le vrai Dieu ?” Religion is an emotional need of mankind. e ratio- nalist may not want it, but he has to admit that other people may. Itis emotional but it is also a need. enuine in hakes eare [CFP, –] ; e aconian eres [CFP, –] ; harles radlau h [CFP, –] ; e namics o eli ion [CFP, –] ; e axon and the elt [CFP, –] ; e roblem o “ amlet” [CFP, –] ; “ amlet” Once ore [CFP, –] ; esus and udas [CFP, –] ; e volution o mankind as the pas- s, left helmless on an games last while life nty, with some expec- y be a better map for ss, like that of [the] dmund Spenser ever ntirety there is of it. g rationalism, from Mr. J.M. Robertson, ) was a member of t emerged in the United X and the beginning of universal i It is bril But the opinions. H God & th of the Afr the disgust a corner, Religion nalist may people may enuine [CFP, – eli ion e rob [CFP, – tates [C rcher as ed by Ro ed. with a . disposse endures, and have death for a certainty, with some expec- tation of being saved, for there may be a better map for a ship coming on their way.| [r] ationalism. … dreary as a languid gorgeousness, like that of [the] aeri ueene, which not even Edmund Spenser ever dared to read through in all the entirety there is of it. £ the old bourgeoisie of the wrong rationalism, from poor old omas Paine, who £ to Mr. J.M. Robertson, . [w|c]oming . of h the wrong rationalism, . John Mackinnon Robertson (–) was a member of the English rationalist movement that emerged in the United Kingdom between the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX century. In Pessoa’s Private Library, there are twenty- three of Robertson’s books : ioneer umanists [CFP, –] ; a an rists [CFP, –] ; rownin and enn son as eac - ers [CFP, –] ; hort istor o reet ou t [CFP, –] ; ristianit an t o o [CFP, –] ; ssa s on o-
14. 4 . a i ugly .·.—·.· .·.—·.· decay. [. Ha, . h pur /hcomme\ intelle ual phenomenon g of these being † a † thing is en £ classes a part [/,  – , r] of the just higher . & ft/h celled \ f amg g fools to /i in\ obs £ £ £ cure, . God Humanists [,  – ]; h is �¶ £ & man & man Sñr. Sñr. f x Weird g x heading g [/ –  – r] A[nt ero e] Q[uental] . all iunknown h mose & doubt  and ∞ ( ? ) [/ – ,  – ] El-Rei † † † a † † thing () () () . .  ............ Sleeper. x x January ✓ ✓ (dewness) –– –. Mlle en Madame nd M & Mme, Mlle e rans ormation oo ............ Sleeper. x x January ✓ ✓ (dewness) –– –. Mlle en Madame nd M & Mme, Mlle e rans ormation oo (BNP) (E) / id est Alexander Search. [BNP/E,  – v] BNP/E, C – r. BNP/E, C – . — H dialogue = H . a i ugly .·.—·.· .·.—·.· decay. [. Ha, . h pur /hcomme\ intelle ual phenomenon g of these being † a † thing is en £ classes a part [/,  – , r] of the just higher . & ft/h celled \ f amg g fools to /i in\ obs £ £ £ cure, . God Humanists [,  – ]; h is �¶ £ & man & man Sñr. Sñr. f x Weird g x heading g [/ –  – r] A[nt ero e] Q[uental] . all iunknown h mose & doubt  and ∞ ( ? ) [/ – ,  – ] El-Rei † † † a † † thing () () () . .  ............ Sleeper. x x January ✓ ✓ (dewness) –– –. Mlle en Madame nd M & Mme, Mlle e rans ormation oo “Typography is two-dimensional architecture, based on experience & imagination, & guided by rules and readability. And this is the purpose of typography: The arrangement of design elements within a given structure should allow the reader to easily focus on the mes- sage, without slowing down the speed of reading.” —Hermann Zapf
15. 4 . :     What is  said, more limitedly, of opinion, can be said, more £ of sentiment, all nationality supposes an a ive colle ive  chara er, colle ive sentiment, when this grows proportionate, the individual begins to totter. e expression of the popular will is the govern- ment : that is the highest manifestation of the integrat- ing tendency (just as the brain is the highest integration of the organism). e individual, ua in ivi ua , is, in the state, the expression of the disintegration tendency. e government representing the will of the people (we have been eaking, of course, of an internally free country) and the “will of the people” representing the integrating tendency in the state, that which gives it, though composed of a large number of elements, its unity ; if the government (in the exa sense of the gov- erning, not of the overnors) be consistently incapable, troubled, incoherent, the conclusion to be drawn is that the a ivity of disintegration is becoming greater in the state than the contrary force of a ivity, and that the country is in decay. e death of the state — it is hardly necessary to add — were where everyone should do as . All nationality supposes What is . hactive collective . hinternally free . hexact sense of the governing, not of the overnors) be hconsistently incapable, . hin the state than [a] colle ive chara er, colle ive sentiment, when this grows proportionate, the individual begins to totter. e expression of the popular will is the govern- ment : that is the highest manifestation of the integrat- ing tendency (just as the brain is the highest integration of the organism). e individual, ua in ivi ua , is, in the state, the expression of the disintegration tendency. e government representing the will of the people (we have been eaking, of course, of an internally free country) and the “will of the people” representing the integrating tendency in the state, that which gives it, though composed of a large number of elements, its unity ; if the government (in the exa sense of the gov- erning, not of the overnors) be consistently incapable, troubled, incoherent, the conclusion to be drawn is that the a ivity of disintegration is becoming greater in the state than the contrary force of a ivity, and that the country is in decay. e death of the state — it is hardly necessary to add — were where everyone should do as . All nationality supposes What is . hactive collective . hinternally free . hexact sense of the governing, not of the overnors) be hconsistently incapable, [a] What is  said, more limitedly, of opinion, can be said, more £ of sentiment, all nationality supposes an a ive colle ive  chara er, colle ive sentiment, when this grows proportionate, the individual begins to totter. e expression of the popular will is the govern- ment : that is the highest manifestation of the integrat- ing tendency (just as the brain is the highest integration of the organism). e individual, ua in ivi ua , is, in the state, the expression of the disintegration tendency. e government representing the will of the people (we have been eaking, of course, of an internally free country) and the “will of the people” representing the integrating tendency in the state, that which gives it, though composed of a large number of elements, its unity ; if the government (in the exa sense of the gov- erning, not of the overnors) be consistently incapable, troubled, incoherent, the conclusion to be drawn is that the a ivity of disintegration is becoming greater in the state than the contrary force of a ivity, and that the country is in decay. e death of the state — it is hardly necessary to add — were where everyone should do as . All nationality supposes What is . hactive collective [a] When transcribing the manu- script, editors Ribeiro & Souza retained the first version of a word or sentence whenever it had variants. ¶ Footnotes also contain crossed out words, phrases, etc. as well as any other changes Pessoa made to his text. Through this philological work, the editors present Pessoa’s compositional process to the reader while simultaneously providing Pessoa scholars with a vital critical apparatus. The challenge was to present this material elegantly so as to keep it from resembling a textbook, or to keep it from being too potentially chaotic or visually distracting to the general reader.
16. 4 st ſt ffi fi ffl ff fl ct sp st ſh ſi ſl ſt ſſ ffi fi Th ffj ffl ff fj fl structure g stru ure g stru ure discretionary ligatures discretionary ligatures activated only one discretionary ligature per word normal ligatures “two ligatures in one word GREP search” \w*(ct|sp|st|fh|and)\w*?(ct|sp|st|fh|and)\ w* e first pre-heteronym one encounters in e rans- ormation oo is Alexander Search, and Pessoa’s cre- ation of him has a very intricate stru ure and history. He appears at the crossroads of the definition of other literary pre-heteronyms — and even, of Pessoa himself. e first pre-heteronym one encounters in e rans- ormation oo is Alexander Search, and Pessoa’s cre- ation of him has a very intricate stru ure and history. He appears at the crossroads of the definition of other literary pre-heteronyms — and even, of Pessoa himself. st ſt ffi fi ffl ff fl ct sp st ſh ſi ſl ſt ſſ ffi fi Th ffj ffl ff fj fl structure g stru ure g stru ure discretionary ligatures discretionary ligatures activated only one discretionary ligature per word normal ligatures “two ligatures in one word GREP search” \w*(ct|sp|st|fh|and)\w*?(ct|sp|st|fh|and)\ w* e first pre-heteronym one encounters in e rans- ormation oo is Alexander Search, and Pessoa’s cre- ation of him has a very intricate stru ure and history. He appears at the crossroads of the definition of other literary pre-heteronyms — and even, of Pessoa himself. e first pre-heteronym one encounters in e rans- ormation oo is Alexander Search, and Pessoa’s cre- ation of him has a very intricate stru ure and history. He appears at the crossroads of the definition of other literary pre-heteronyms — and even, of Pessoa himself. #BetterUIforBetterTypography
17. 5 In Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, Charles Seife outlines the genealogy of the number 0, noting its exclusion by the Greeks (there is no void hence there is no zero), how medieval scholars branded it as evil, how the Holy Roman Empire utilized it to condemn heretics, how it threatens the foundations of modern physics, how the number persists in the core of black holes & the flickers of the Big Bang, et cetera. As Seife points out, even though the number 0 continues to be ignored, it is embedded in our culture: the first hour of the day starts at zero seconds past midnight, not at 1 am; although we count with ordinal numbers, we mark time with cardinal ones; and when a child is born, technically it is 0 years old, only becoming one after having lived for 12 months. Spurred by Seife’s text, and in opposition to the con- tinuing eschewal of the number zero in the pagination of books, Rainer J. Hanshe, the publisher & editor of Contra Mundum Press, decided to reinstitute the heretical # & to have all CMP books begin with 0. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 …
18. 5 T T B — or the Book of Tasks, edited by Nuno Ribeiro & Cláudia Souza L L   T — ou Livre des Tâches, édité par Nuno Ribeiro & Cláudia Souza O L  T — ou Livr o das Tarefas, editado por Nuno Ribeiro & Cláudia Souza T T B — or the Book of Tasks, edited by Nuno Ribeiro & Cláudia Souza L L   T — ou Livre des Tâches, édité par Nuno Ribeiro & Cláudia Souza O L  T — ou Livro das Tarefas, editado pela Nuno Ribeiro & Cláudia Souza exan er earc ernan o essoa C ar es ames earc ean eu é uret anta eão THE TRANSFORMATION BOOK Edition Notes Introduction Nuno Ribeiro & Cláudia Souza Fernando Pessoa The title spread image was generated using a “Tile” filter to achieve a sort of parallax effect with the layered text, & to give a hint of the many heteronyms possibles by Pessoa — all the rectan- gles, the spaces in which now Alexander Search, Pantaleão, Jean Seul de Méluret, & Charles James Search sit.
19. 5 COLOPHON THE TRANSFORMATION BOOK was typeset in InDesign. e text and page numbers are set in Adobe enson Pro. e titles are set in e ac ans. Book design & typesetting: Alessandro Segalini Cover design: Contra Mundum Press Cover image: Giuseppe Arcimboldo, i iote arien, ca. . Oil on canvas,  x  cm. Skoklosters Slott, Bålsta, Sweden. THE TRANSFORMATION BOOK is published by Contra Mundum Press and printed by Lightning Source, which has received Chain of Custody certification from: e Forest Stewardship Council, e Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, and e Sustainable Forestry Initiative. While many if not most presses offer no typesetting information & give no credit within their books to their typographers, CMP has reinstituted the colophon to give such due recognition.
21. 6 This project was assessed by the publisher & by the editors, & by two anonymous readers enlisted by CMP. Recently (July 2014), the prestigious Casa F. Pessoa held a 3-day conference on Pessoa and one entire panel was devoted to our edition, while other lectures were given on the book as well. From its multilingual texts to each of its scholarly and philo- logical apparatuses, typesetting Pessoa’s TB in a logical and precise manner that would also be pleasing to the general reader presented numerous challenges. Nobly accommodating the textual data included harmoniously uniting multiple headings, copy, footnotes, archival references, etc. The abundance of transcription symbols that pepper the book also led me to devise elegant and lucid solutions so that the book would remain an object of beauty and not resemble an overly dense, information-packed textbook. In being presented with the task of typesetting a world pre- miere edition of a book by Fernando Pessoa, often considered the Dante of Portugal, I was inspired to develop a multiplicity of solutions that would serve & honor such a significant text.