Arnaldo Forni Editore

Arnaldo Forni Editore was an Italian publishing house based at Osteria Nuova di Sala Bolognese, near Bologna, specialising in anastatic reprints — exact photographic reproductions of rare, expensive or out-of-print books. It was founded in 1960 by Arnaldo Forni (1912–1983), an antiquarian bookseller who recognised that many scholars and collectors wanted access to old works that were becoming ever more costly, scarce or entirely absent from the market. By reproducing such works identically, the firm allowed readers to consult at home texts that had previously been reachable only through major libraries. Over the decades the catalogue grew to more than 3,000 titles. Its subject range was unusually broad, spanning art, heraldry, dialectology, folklore, bio-bibliography and gastronomy, but its core strengths lay in local history, numismatics and early music. This output was supported by continuous bibliographic research carried out in collaboration with university-level scholars, which gave the reprints scholarly apparatus and authority rather than being mere facsimiles. After the founder's death in 1983 the business was carried on by his two daughters and eventually reached a third generation of family management. The publishing house ceased operations in December 2017, closing a nearly six-decade run as a specialist supplier to historians, musicologists, numismatists and bibliophiles.

Arnaldo Forni Editore began in 1960, when its founder Arnaldo Forni (1912–1983), an accomplished antiquarian, had the intuition that the demand for antique books — which were becoming ever more expensive, rare or no longer available on the market — could be met by reproducing them identically. The anastatic reprint, a photographic reproduction technique, was the answer to this simple insight. Through it the firm republished a great many works that scholars could otherwise access only with difficulty, by consulting them in libraries. The catalogue eventually reached more than 3,000 titles. The subjects covered were extremely varied: from art to heraldry, from dialectology to folklore, from bio-bibliography to gastronomy. The fundamental areas, however, were local history, numismatics and early music. This vast production was sustained by constant bibliographic research carried out in collaboration with university-level teachers and scholars. After the founder's death in 1983, the activity was continued by his two daughters and eventually reached a third generation of the family. The publishing house closed its doors in December 2017.

• 2017

  The publishing house closes in December 2017.

• 1983

  Founder Arnaldo Forni dies; the business is continued by his two daughters.

• 1960

  Arnaldo Forni founds the publishing house, beginning anastatic reprints of rare and out-of-print books.

Specialist scholarly publisher of anastatic reprints, serving historians, musicologists, numismatists and bibliophiles with exact reproductions of rare and out-of-print works.

• Anastatic reprints of rare and out-of-print books

• Local history titles

• Numismatics titles

• Early music editions

• Art and heraldry books

• Dialectology and folklore books

• Bio-bibliography and gastronomy books

1. 1Arnaldo Forni Editore — Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org
2. 2Arnaldo Forni editore — Wikidatawikidata.org