Between Harlem and Heaven – JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers
From Macmillan:
In two of the most renowned and historic venues in Harlem, Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson created a unique take on the Afro-Asian-American flavor profile. Their foundation was a collective three decades of traveling the African diaspora, meeting and eating with chefs of color, and researching the wide reach of a truly global cuisine; their inspiration was how African, Asian, and African-American influences criss-crossed cuisines all around the world. They present here for the first time over 100 recipes that go beyond just one place, taking you, as noted by The New Yorker, “somewhere between Harlem and heaven.”
The book was designed by Roberto deVicq, with photography by Beatriz da Costa and food styling by Roscoe Betsill. The cover pairs two elegant monolinear typeface revivals from Commercial Type. Tanja (2016) is a dotted variant of Marian 1554, a rendering of the underlying skeleton of Robert Granjon’s Paragon Italic (Granjon). Its dots subtly vary in weight, corresponding with the stroke stress in the Renaissance original. DeVicq applied a range of bright colors to the dots, adding spark and connecting type and background.
All other type on the cover is set in Marian 1800’s Regular and Italic style – another member of the Marian collection (2012), based on “Bodoni’s latter modern style (…). Whilst some revivals of Bodoni tend towards the static and simplifed; Marian 1800 retains the warmth of Bodoni’s first modern. This can be particularly seen in the elegant italic, which retains an element of script.” [Marian collection specimen].
In the interior, Tanja is complemented by another typeface family with roots in New York City: Jubilat (2008) by Darden Studio is used for headings and other medium-sized elements. The text typeface is Cassia by Hoftype.
Winner of the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook.
Endpapers with stacked and interlocked Tanja, featuring (terminal) swash forms, interlinear ligatures, and custom extensions.
Title page. The dotted letterforms of Tanja Italic dissolve into a starry night (or a pinch of salt?). Names are set in Jubilat.
Table of contents. “Contents” was integrated into the image showing a crate of ladies’ fingers.
Opening spread for “The Kingdom of Rice”. Extralarge Tanja Roman is combined with Jubilat featuring its feathered arrow (➸).
“A Feast Rich in History” showcases Tanja Italic’s swash A and its discretionary ligature for st.
“Flavors upon flavors upon flavors”, with a drop cap from Tanja and a pull quote in light italic Jubilat.
“Cocktails” in multicolored Tanja Italic with swash alternates and a custom nested Co pair.
A stacked and staggered arrangement combining Tanja Roman and Jubilat in all caps.
“Fish” in Tanja Italic with swash cap F, discretionary is ligature, and hyper-extended dotted lines.
Recipe for Harlem Market Salad, with headings in various styles from Jubilat.
Back cover with testimonials set in reversed Jubilat.
1 Comment on “Between Harlem and Heaven – JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers”
Dieter’s fonts as a whole are not used enough. His worst font is far better than many other designers’ best. The Cassia used here as a text font is a godsend for every magazine.