This book annotates the Crystal Goblet, an article by the influential typographer Beatrice Warde, by pairing it with the Royal Academy of Farting by Benjamin Franklin.
In her writing, Warde proposes that typography should strive for invisibility at its finest, arguing against calling any printed piece "art." While I agree with her emphasis on the utility of typography, I would argue that there is merit to using typography as ornamentation to enhance the meaning of a written piece. By bringing in The Royal Academy of Farting, which argues for a drug to make farts smell pleasant, I hope to highlight the importance and delight in achieving above and beyond invisibility.
This book is formatted with the Crystal Goblet as the main text and the Royal Academy of Farting interrupting the reading in the middle of the text. The Royal Academy is a smaller book with a different visual language to create a unique and more lasting impression than the Crystal Goblet text with its more traditional layout.
