Lo Jura di duemoenne. Patoises lattres, 1896–1914
A bilingual volume of text containing historical readers’ letters in Jura patois along with new French translations presents the dry material very attractively, thanks to a small number of well-considered design decisions. The letters of varying length from various, often anonymous or pseudonymous contributors were published between 1896 and 1914 in the Sunday supplement of a Jura newspaper and are one of the rare written documentations of the patois. In the book they are continually sequenced, always arranged on the left-hand page in a single-column page layout and a serif font in a special green colour. In parallel, on the right-hand page, are the French translations in a special red colour. The uncommon use of colours as the most important means of hierarchical arrangement and design is both efficient and appealing. The typography is meticulous throughout; and because a short list of notable words stands at the end of each translation on the right-hand side, the result is generous areas of white at the corresponding height on the left-hand page. The two colours also appear on the light-beige cover, which displays a letter excerpt in both languages, one below the other. The only text in black anywhere in the book is the embossed title – a subtle detail.
