The Art Fund helps British Library acquire Futurist metal book 100 years after the founding of Futurism

A rare metal book, Parole in Libertà…, produced in 1932 by Italian avant-garde artists Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944) and Tullio D'Albisola (1899-1971) has been bought by the British Library with help of independent charity The Art Fund. Its acquisition comes 100 years after Marinetti provocatively called for the destruction of museums, libraries and academies in artistic movement Futurism's founding manifesto. The Art Fund, which is funded by its 80,000 members and donations, gave the British Library £18,000 towards the £83,000 cost for Parole in Libertà. Friends of the British Library gave £5,000. Parole in Libertà Futuriste Olfattive Tattili Termiche (Words in Futurist, Olfactory, Tactile, Thermal Freedom) is made from tin and consists of 27 lithographed pages filled with words, poetic phrases and brightly coloured graphic images. It captures the dynamism and energy of Futurism - launched by Marinetti in a manifesto published on the front page of French newspaper Le Figaro on 20 February 1909 - which urged artists to rid themselves of the past and embrace aggression, speed and technology