Pineider :: Italian Stationery & Leather goods

I've been doing a lot of research  lately - a lot of that is focused on European companies that have been in business for 100's of years.  These are the true bastions of commerce in my opinion.  I'm fascinated by them.  I mentioned this company Pineider a little while back.  It's been open since 1774 - a pioneer in bringing moveable type to Italy.  "Francesco Pineider was the first man in Italy to introduce printed letters drawn from the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic tradition, and his avant-garde equipment made it possible to produce perfect, spotless lithographic and copper-plate prints"  Everything hand engraved -  the photos above are the engraving blocks and tools - the fourth photo showing how they make the watermark that gets impressed on the sheets of paper.  This is truly all such an artform - You can visit today located in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy.  Everything they sell is handmade in Italy by some of the finest craftspeople in the world.  Love it.