Claude Mediavilla sends his best wishes for 2007 to all the visitors to his new site, and wishes to thank you all for your encouragements and your kind, and pertinent, comments.

May the coming year bring you all wisdom and creativity.

To celebrate the publication of his latest book in French, “A History of French Calligraphy”, the publisher, Albin Michel, and the store le Comptoir des Écritures are organising a booksigning and cocktail with Claude Mediavilla, Thursday December 14th, 2006, from 5 p.m at the store “Le Comptoir des Écritures”, 35 rue Quincampoix, 75004 Paris, France.

The French magazine ‘étapes’ étapes features a multi-page spread on the life and career of master calligrapher Claude Mediavilla in the December 2006 issue, from the pen of the well-known expert on typography and design, Peter Gabor. Once Claude’s latest book was finally finished and being printed, Peter and Claude sat down and chatted about the book, of course, but also about Claude’s multiple careers, in design and advertising, in calligraphy, paleography and typography, but also about Claude’s painting — an integral part of his calligraphic approach. This is published as a multi-page spread in the issue of the French graphic arts and design magazine, ‘étapes’, that will be on sale early December 2006.

This information concerns the original French edition. In this highly detailed researched volume, readers will find the first attempt to present a comprehensive overview of the History of French Calligraphy. From the Roman capital to Copperplate script, passing through Onciales, the Carolingian minuscule or Blackletter, we discover the metamorphoses that the latin letterforms adopted throughout the history of France. For each script, the author provides the context that lead to its appearance and describes its beginnings, establishes the principal letter forms and has also lettered samples exclusively for this book.

You will also find, closing certain chapters, the biographies of sixty master calligraphers. This makes for lively reading that show, not only what they brought to the art of calligraphy, but also uncovers vast panoramas of French history. The book contains more than 300 marvellous illustrations, often previously unpublished, coming from the world’s best-known Libraries. This is rich and learned book, but still a rich source for detailed references on the art of calligraphy and paleography. In that, it is that unique creation, a most beautiful art book, but one that remains highly practical.

A Histoiry of French Calligraphy is published in France by Albin Michel.