The Old Print Shop, at the southern end of Lexington Avenue in New York, is one of the city’s landmark places for print and art book lovers. Established in 1898, it is known primarily for its inventory of historic American prints, maps, books, objects, and ephemera.

Surprising is the first word that comes to mind on entering; after being completely enchanted by the now-famous annual Valentines Day window display on my visit yesterday, I was even more surprised by the modern and contemporary printed matter in the room off to the right of the main space.

As if caught in a magnetic field, I was immediately drawn to a large-format artist’s book by the legendary printmaker John Ross. Its title, Typopolis, reflects his concept of creating urban landscapes out of large-scale type forms. The accordion format, incredibly difficult to print and bind at this size (13 3/8 x 9 ¼ inches), makes the simple act of turning the pages a physical experience to remember. Ross created this masterpiece in collaboration with the Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione in the Veneto region of Italy; it was printed at Ross’s High Tide Press in 2002.

The Old Print Shop, 150 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY. Information.

02152012