“The Plaque Découpée Universelle or Universal Stencil Plate was created by the engineer Jonathan A. David in 1876 and sold at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1878, hence the French name. This lettering stencil was designed to draw all upper and lower case letters as well as all possible ornaments one can imagine using its numerous lines.
I had the pleasure of discovering this item while reading the amazing book On Letters, in which Prem Kirshnamurthy discusses and examines On Kawara’s lettering in his famous Date Painting series. While Krishnamurthy begins by admitting that in his youth he despised Kawara’s lettering skills, thinking that anyone could do better now with computer software, he goes on to write letters to the late artist, comparing his lettering to several different fonts that might have influenced his date lettering, including the one that can be drawn with the Plaque Découpée Universelle.
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I realised that it would be quite easy to cut copies with a laser and thought it would make an edition that graphic design enthusiasts would love. Then I thought that the object should be accompanied by some explanation. My solution was to reprint the original broadsheet with which it was sold, trying to recreate the entire typographic composition with today’s means. The plates I cut out are made from cardboard scraps left over from previous projects, their sizes therefore depend on the pieces I come across.”
A printed-on envelop (20 x 13 cm containing a reprinted vintage broadside (66,5 x 47,5 cm unfolded / 18,5 x 12 cm folded) with many letters and designs that can be produced with the cardboard stencil card (18 x 10,5 cm); a rare treasure for type and graphic design enthusiasts, text in French, (Paris) 2023
