About a J-shaped tilde: investigations on the status and form of the tilde in Portuguese grammar and typography

A versão original deste artigo foi originalmente apresentada no congresso internacional Las Edades del Libro, e publicada nos anais do evento (Farias 2012).

Abstract

A booklet entitled Relação da entrada que fez [...], printed by Antonio Isidoro da Fonseca in 1747, is considered the first book printed in Brazil. A comma used as a cedilla and a J-shaped tilde used over the ‘o’ in the first line of its front cover immediately call the attention of anyone familiar with the rules of Portuguese grammar. Most people believe they might be consequences of Fonseca’s lack of typographic competence or poor literacy. However, as this paper will demonstrate, an investigation on eighteenth century Portuguese grammar and European Baroque typeforms shows that the typography of this booklet should be understood within a more complex and interesting context.

Such an understanding demands a certain familiarity with the many variations in the form of the tilde that have antecedents in French Renaissance and Baroque typefaces. In what regard J- shaped tildes, italics attributed to Claude Garamont (author of the typefaces that later came to be known as Garamond) and Robert Granjon are key examples. It also demands awareness of the debate on the status of the tilde as a letter or a diacritical mark, as carried on by early Portuguese grammarians. Finally, it requires some knowledge about the ambiguities regarding the correct location of the tilde in certain diphthongs, as exemplified in many Portuguese and early Brazilian prints up to the nineteenth century.

By elucidating such aspects of Portuguese and Brazilian printing traditions, and departing from careful observation of typographic details, this paper intends to contribute to a fairer and more comprehensive history of the book and of graphic design in Latin America.

Introduction

Printing with movable type officially started in Brazil in 1808, following the transfer of the Portuguese court and the establishment of Impressão Régia (the Royal printing shop) in Rio de Janeiro. This was, however, not without precedent: a booklet entitled Relação da entrada que fez o excellentissimo, e reverendissimo senhor D. Fr. Antonio do Desterro Malheyro bispo do Rio de Janeiro [...], the only one issued by Portuguese typographer Antonio Isidoro da Fonseca in Brazil before being deported, in 1747, is considered the first book printed in country (figure 1). This book can be considered a curiosity for various reasons. For those interested in typography and familiar with modern rules of Portuguese grammar, the comma used as a cedilla and the J-shaped tilde used over the ‘o’ in the first line of the front

cover of this booklet immediately call attention.27 Most people will disregard such details, believing they might be consequences of Isidoro da Fonseca’s lack of typographic competence or poor literacy. However, as this paper will demonstrate, an investigation on eighteenth century Portuguese grammar and on European Baroque typeforms shows that Relação da entrada que fez [...] and other similar examples should be understood within a more complex and interesting context.

Such an understanding demands a certain familiarity with the many variations in the form of the tilde, which might be found not only in Portuguese, but also in Spanish manuscripts and prints, and have antecedents in French Renaissance and Baroque typefaces. It also demands awareness of the debate on the status of the tilde as a letter or a diacritical mark, as carried on by early Portuguese grammarians. Finally, it requires some knowledge about the ambiguities regarding the correct location of the tilde in certain diphthongs, as exemplified in Portuguese and early Brazilian printed books up to the nineteenth century.

Based on the observation of typographic details in Portuguese and Brazilian books printed between the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries, this paper aims to contribute to a fairer and more comprehensive understanding of the history of the book and of typography in Latin America.

In what regards the general intention of understanding and describing typeforms from earlier eras, the research presented here is similar to the works of by Updike (1922), Mosley (1984) and Vervliet (2009, 2010), and takes into account the methodology described by the former author in his most recent book. The focus on typographic detail makes its approach closer to the works of Weiss (1990), Burnhill (2003) and Cruickshank (2004). In what regards the more specific aim of contributing to a history of typography in Latin America from a graphic design perspective, it is close to the efforts of Garone (2002, 2010, 2011), Henestrosa (2005), and Ares (2011).

The methodological procedures adopted here are similar to the ones described in Farias, Aragão & Cunha Lima (2012), and include the use of transparency and layering of digital images for data analysis and comparison. Access to facsimile versions of rare books was obtained from Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (http://purl.pt), Brasiliana Digital (http://www.brasiliana.usp.br/bbd), GoogleBooks (http://books.google.com), Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) and Open Library (http://openlibrary.org) websites.

Digital facsimile versions of 65 books printed in Portugal and Brazil between the mid sixteenth and the early nineteenth century were examined, including 20 books printed by Pedro Craesbeeck and 8 by Arco do Cego printing shops in Lisbon (Portugal), 20 printed by Impressão Régia in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and 16 books by other Portuguese printers (including 6 dictionaries and grammars).28 In most of the books published until 1819 it was possible to find variations in the position of the tilde, and in 57 books, published from 1540

27. In modern Portuguese orthography, the tilde is always placed over the first vowel of nasal diphthongs; therefore the correct spelling would be RELAÇÃO, and not RELAÇAÕ.

28. Books by the following printers and printing offices were examined: Antonio Isidoro da Fonseca, Filippe da Silva e Azevedo, Germão Galharde, Joaõ Procopio Correa da Silva, Joseph da Costa Coimbra, Lourenço Craesbeeck, Lourenço de Anveres, Ludovicum Rotorigum, Manoel Soares, Miguel Rodrigues, Pedro Craesbeeck, Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, Collegio das Artes da Companhia de Jesu, Impressão Regia, Officina Patriarcal, Oficina Tipográfica do Arco do Cego.

to 1821, it was possible to find also variations in the shape of the tilde, including the J- shaped tildes that are the focus of this paper.

Figure 1. Title page of the booklet Relação da entrada que fez […], printed by Antonio Isidoro da Fonseca, Rio de Janeiro, 1747.