ms//-^ ^viosANC[ifj^>. -UIFOff^ ^OFCAlIfOf, t- t-s 7^1 ^ i i ^'i- AKrU/r >t o _ 5' "^ s> J" C> K ~ ^1 i(iC vtK.^//^ Cs>-'"J^''^'"jHfi>V .0^,MIBKAHY/;^_ "«IIVtWy^/>_ ^^^|.OS>WI:lfj-^_ AMfl'NIVfPy/A A,\NtlllJKAKr£//-, 'A ^* fSffg)! SWfUNIVERy/A vvlOSANCEUr* ^OFCAllFOff^ ^OFCAJJFORfc " mi m\ ^AHvaan'^^ ^^^Anvaani^ ^5»EUNIVERS/4 ^lOSANCfliT;^ ^OFCAlIFOff^ ■^'TUDKVsoi'^ ^aiMNnjrt^^ ^&Aaviiani^ MitUNIVtKV/i. ^i'JUDNVSOl'^ OO "^^ONVSOl^ i = is' o S .^' 1^1 ir^i -^tUBKAKVC/; ^J^l•UBKAKt■t// 5 1 ir" ^ § 1 • *& " iw cO C? ^3 ci % ^ ^^^^!UNlv^^% ^lOSANCFifj-^ ^UIBKAKV(/r ^i lion, il^l 1(^1 ^OFCAIIFO?^ ^OFCAl i\©iiM: THE ESSENTIALS OF LETTERING ^ Published by the McGrei'w-Hill Bools^Conrnpaniy 5ucce5Sor.s io the Book DcptiHnionts of the McGraw Publishing Company Hill Publishing 0>mpany Publishers of Books for Electrical World TKe Engineering' and Mining Journal Engineering Record American Macniniit Electric Railway Journal Coal Age Metallurgical and ClKemical Engineering Power jwvrnrwsnnrjnrTTrj r iT T iT iT lT iT .HTiriTTmna THE ESSENTIALS OF LETTERING A MANUAL FOR STUDENTS AND DESIGNERS BY THOMAS E. FRENCH and ROBERT MEIKLEJOHN THE OHIO STATE UNIVEHSITY THIRD EDITION THIRD IMPRESSION McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY 2.i9 WEST 3'iTH STREET, NEW YORK 6 BOU\ERlE STREET. LONDON, E. C. 1912 Cdpyhicht, 1(109, I'.IKI, 1012, by Thomas E. Fuknch and Rdhkut MiuRi.iaoiiN Printi-i! and Ehxirolyped by The MapU Press i'otk. Pa. 6 b d u 7 ^^ e PREFACE There are two general classes of persons among those who are interested in the study of the subject of lettering, first, those who have to use letters to convey information on drawings, as engineering students and draftsmen, architects, etc.; second, those who use let- tering in design, as art students, artists, designers and craftsmen. The foundation is the same for both, whether the application be on a mechanical drawing or a poster. The first class may be concerned mainly with legibility and speed, and the second with beauty, but there can be no distinction in the principles of the subject. There is moreover a constant overlapping of the classes thus arbitrarily divided, as for example in the case of the architect, who has both to letter his office drawings and to design permanent inscriptions. One need only to recall on the one hand instances of the painful attempts of the engineering student to do something "artistic," and on the other the examples of designs made by otherwise competent art students, which have been ruined by inappropriate, ill-formed, childish lettering, to feel that there are some in both classes who have failed in the appreciation of lettering as an art. This book is designed as a general text-book on the subject. The draftsman may take up as much as is given in the first part, for the ordinary lettering in connection with drawing; the designer will need to go farther into the study of styles and composition as carried on in the later chapters. A student in an engineering course must be given training in lettering as a necessary requirement in the execution of technical drawing, but it is too often true that this lettering on account of its application is considered to be mechanical drawing. Let it be emphasized here at the outset that lettering is not mechanical drawing, but is design, based on accepted forms and developed freehand. Preface. We have taken a step farther in sayinjr that there is no engineers' lettering as distinguished from other lettering. There is simply the adaptation by each draftsman of the style suitable to his particular needs. The map draftsman, the architectural draftsman, the machine draftsman will each select appropriate letters for his kind of work. "Engineers' lettering," so- called, is kept in bad repute by those who persist in making such mechanical caricatures as geometrical letters, block letters, etc. As there are forms, however, for each branch of drawing which are particularly adapted to it, the sub- ject should be taught to engineers with reference to their chosen branch. The civil engineer, for example, will practice the Modern Roman and the stump letter, as these have become standard letters in map drawing and similar work. The architect, on the other hand, will have no use for the Modem Roman, but should study in detail the Old Roman of both the early and Renaissance periods. To the engineering student it may seem to be only of general interest, but to the architect, art student, and designer, some knowledge of the history of the alphabet and the different periods of its development is abso- lutely essential. It is not in our province to discuss the origin or derivation of the present alphabet, for this the student if interested is referred to the standard works on palaeography; but a short historical outline is given in the first chapter in order that subsecjuent references may be understood. It will be noticed that in the analytical plates the letters have been arranged in their family groups instead of in the usual alphabetical order. The assistance of Mr. Dard Hunter, Mr. W. A. Dwiggins, Mr. Ralph Fletcher Seymour, Dr. Rudolf von Larisch, Mr. Alfred Bartlctt, Mr. W. J. Norris, Mr. Cree Sheets, Messrs. Curtis and Cameron, John Wil- liams, Inc., the Century Company, and others who have made drawings for this book, or permitted the reproduction of their work, is gratefully acknowledged. CONTENTS Page Preface v CHAPTER I Historical Outline i CHAPTER n Letter Construction 4 General proportions — Optical illusions — The Roman letter — Rules for shading — Old Roman — Renaissance Roman — • Analysis of letter forms — Geometrical construction — Mod- ern Roman — Commercial gothic — Single stroke letters — Single stroke vertical capitals — Single stroke inclined capi- tals — Reinhardt letter — Inclined Roman — Stump letters. CHAPTER III Composition and Titles 32 Principles — Spacing — Titles, for machine drawings, for ar- chitectural drawings, for maps — Symmetrical composition — P'ull panel — Other title forms — Record strip. CH.A.PTER rV' Selection of Styles 30 For architectural work — Inscriptions and tablets — For map drawing — For signals and signs — For shop drawings. CHAPTER V Letters in Design 42 Importance — Old Roman in design — Freedom in composi- Page tion — Broad pen construction — Roman lower-case — -The Uncial— The Celtic— The Gothic, or "Text letter"— Steel and reed pens for Gothic writing — Italic and script — .Art nouveau. CH.APTER VI Design .and Composition 64 Principles — ^The period, purpose and material — Ornament — Legibility and beauty — Methods — Spacing — .Appropriate letters for different branches of applied design — Suggestions. CILAPTER VII M0N0GR.AMS, Ciphers and Marks 75 Definitions — Requirements — The period, purpose and material — Forms, superimposed, successive, continuous, reversible — Method of designing a monogram — De\nces and marks — Designs with separate letters. CH.APTER \1II Drawing for Reproduction 82 Photomechanical processes — Materials — Size — Methods of enlarging drawings — Color — Corrections — Effects gained through engraver's aid. CH.APTER IX Bibliography 85 Index gi CHAPTER I Historical Outline "If we set aside the still more wonderful invention of speech, the discovery of the aljthabet may fairly be accounted the most diflicult as well as the most fruitful of all the past achievements of the human intellect." For the general student of history, as well as the art student, the study of palaeography is an interesting one. Canon Taylor, from whom the above quotation is taken, has written a history of the alphabet* in two large volumes which is accepted as standard, although some of his theories are disputed by other palaeologists; and a bibliogra])hy of other works, both historical and practical, will be found at the end of this book. It is sufficient for us to say that our letters are the result of a long evolution probably from the Egyptian and through the Phcenician and Greek to the Roman. The forms of the letters of our present alphabet (with the excep- tion of j, u, w, y, and z) reached their full develop- ment about two thousand years ago, and have been presen'ed for us on the Roman inscriptions of that period. This early letter, which we now call Old Roman, is the parent of all the styles, however diver- sified, which are in use to-day, and curiously enough, instead of being archaic, is the most useful and artistic one for the designer. li^"2^ * The Alphabet, Its Origin and Development. Isaac Taylor, London. IMPCAESARlDlVl TRAIANOAVGCE MAXrMOTRI'SPOT Fig. I. — Portion of Inscription on tlie Trajan Coiumu. Historical Outline This monumental form was used in the earliest Latin manuscripts with such modifications as would naturally arise from the use of |he pen instead of the chisel. A variety known as rustic, although this name has nothing to do with its appearance, was in use also from the second to the fifth century. This form, however, is of no practical value to us. In the fourth century there was developed the uncial, a letter with beautiful curved outlines and of great value to the designer. In the evolution of this form, the Irish half-uncial, now known in design as Celtic, reached a degree of perfection and beauty never since sur- passed. The wonderful book of Kells (early eighth century) in the Dublin museum is perhaps the finest example of lettering and illuminating extant. It will be noted that up to this time there was not a separate alphabet of capitals and small letters; not until the latter part of the eighth century was this distinction made. This period marks an epoch in the history of writing. Charlemagne in 789 ordered the revision and rewriting of all the church books. In the activity in the monasteries which followed, Alcuin of York, the friend and advisor of Charlemagne, and who was Abbot of St. Martin's of Tours, developed an alphabet of lower case letters, which has been known ever since as the Caroline (Carlovingian) minuscule. Our present script writing is the direct descendant of this Caroline letter. Figure 2 is a reproduction of a ninth century manu- script, showing this letter written, it will be noted. ^emmixmen msmrabimufterauodrKmao facrtc MtCauaBimuf indu^ae • uxprtyruo itl rgno^2rt? im» (iuato.munuf hooaaoimuLtaf {jtr^jimuf uolwraca iT> TuLLi cicen^oNis AJoheiLENNij LiBeit pRjfnus e.xpLiciT- )ncij>it iiBeiL secuN OuSv Fig. 2. — From a Ninth Century Manuscript. with a slanted pen. This full round letter gradually became more compressed as parchment became more expensive, and is known from the eleventh century on as Gothic. During all this time, the old Roman capitals were in constant use as initial letters. This Historical Outline Gothic reached its extreme limit of angularity and compression in the fourteenth and lifteenth centuries, when the curves had given place entirely to angles. When the letter is so much compressed that the black strokes are wider than the white spaces between, it is known as blackletter. The form commonly known as Old English is an English Gothic of this period. The Italians, who never followed the extreme angu- larity of the English and German Gothic, went back in the period of the Italian Renaissance (fifteenth century) to the Caroline minuscule as a model, and designed the Roman small letters, the letter of our books of today. The architects of the same period in their revival of classic architecture remodeled the old Roman capital letters for monumental use. At the invention of printing in the middle of the fifteenth century, the first types were cut in imitation of the Gothic writing of that period, but soon after- wards (1468) type was cut on Roman lower rase. Throughout the next century books were printed both in Roman and Gothic. The Roman finally replaced the Gothic entirely, except in Germany, whose modern German text is the sole survivor of the mediaeval form. In the sixteenth century, the Italic was designed. The graceful French script, the letter of the period of the Louis' followed. In the eighteenth century the modifications which resulted in the modern Roman occurred. In the nineteenth century was begun the use of the bold letter, which we call Commercial Gothic. The present century is witnessing a most extensive revival of good lettering. The leaders in this movement are the German secessionists and the varieties of letters which they are producing may be classified under the general term of Art Nouveau. CHAPTER II Letter Construction General Proportions. — Before combining letters into words we must be familiar in detail with the forms and peculiarities of each letter. Letters vary in their proportion of width to height. Not only are the widths of the different letters in the same alphabet very uncriual, but different alphabets vary in their "measure," some being tall and narrow, others short and wide. There is a certain proportion or appear- ance as in the ordinary printed or drawn letters which may be called normal or standard. The styles whose widths are less than these in propor- tion are called compressed or condensed, and those whose widths are greater are known as expanded or extended. There is also in the different styles a wide variation in the proportion of the thickness of the stem or stroke of the letters to their height, ranging all the way from 1/3 to 1/16. Letters with heavy stems are called Bold Face or Black Face, and those with thin stems, Light Face. There is an optical illusion well known to all design- ers, in which a horizontal line drawn across the middle of a rectangle appears to be below the middle. In order that the divisions may seem to be symmetrical such a line must be drawn above the middle. In the construction of letters this illusion must be provided for in what may be called the "rule of stability." In order to give the appearance of stability such letters as the B E K S X and Z, with the figures 3 and 8 must be drawn smaller at the top than the bottom. To see the effect of this illusion turn a printed page uj)side down and notice the letters mentioned. Another optical illusion which must be provided for in large carefully drawn letters is that a round letter of the same height as an adjacent square letter will appear smaller, as it touches the guide line at only one Lettkr Construction point. In order to give the appearance of equal height, the round letters must be extended a trifle over the guide line on top and bottom. This is also true in regard/to the pointed ends of the angular letters. A letter corning to a sharp point at the guide line will appear smaller than its companions. The point may either be extended over the line, or cut off as in Fig. 14. These are delicate refinements and any exaggeration of them is much worse than not observing them at all. A letter drawn in outline will not appear to have the same proportion of stem to height as one of the same width of stem made solid, because in the first instance the eye sees the enclosed area and in the second sees the outside. On this account a letter which is to be filled in solid should be outlined in ink so that the outside edge of the ink line touches the penciled outline. These general proportions and peculiarities arc true of all styles. In this chapter we shall consider the two fundamental styles, the Roman Capitals and the Commercial Gothic. THE ROMAN LETTER The Roman is the foundation letter. Although there are countless variations of it, there may be said to be three general forms, the early or classic, the renaissance, and the modern. The classic and the renaissance are very similar in effect, and the general term Old Roman is given to both. Type based on this form is called by the printers "Roman Oldstyle," and that based on the modern form, simply "Roman." With the newer faces of type, however, this distinction is not so significant. The Roman letter is composed of two weights of lines, corresponding to the down stroke and the up stroke of the broad reed pen with which it was origi- nally written; and from this we can formulate a rule which will prevent the inexcusable fault of shading a letter incorrectly. With twenty centuries of established form as precedent, it is, from the standpoint of design, as bad to shade a letter on the wrong stroke as it is to reverse it or to misspell the word in which it occurs. To determine the accented lines, we have then simply to draw the letter in one stroke and note which lines were made downward. AMNUVWYZORSX Fig. .5. Letter Construction It will be noticed that all the inclined shaded strokes with the exception of Z arc downward from left to right (\) which makes a secondary or supplementary rule applicable to X and Y. RULES FOR SHADING ROMAN LETTERS (i) Heavy Lines — all down strokes. This includes all vertical lines (except as noted above in M, N, and U), and all lines slanting downward, left to right. (2) Light Lines — all horizontal strokes. All strokes upward from left to right (except Z) In the Roman letter the heavy line (a) is called the stem or body mark, the light line (b) the hair line, the cross stroke (c) which finishes all free ends the serif, and the cur\'es (d) connecting the serifs with the stem, brackets or fillets. THE OLD ROMAN Of the many existing inscriptions of the early Roman period, that at the base of the Trajan Column at Rome (114 A. D.) may be taken as a typical example. Fig. I is a photograph of a portion of the inscription, and Fig. 5 an alphabet drawn carefully from this great classic example. d.. Fig. 4. ABCDE FGILM NOPRS T'OyX Fig. 5. — Classic Roman. Drawn from the Trajan Column. OLD ROMAN (renaissance) ITALIAN 1315 TOMB OF HENRY VII N 11 ITALIAN 1455 MAR,SVPPIN1 MONVMENT Fig. 6. — Two Examples of Renaissance Roman. 7 Letter Construction At the time of the ItaHan Renaissance the architects went to the old Roman models for their letters, modify- ing and retming them. Fig. 6 illustrates two famous examples of Mediaeval Roman, differing widely in appearance, the Henry VII having the largest serifs that would ever be used, and the Marsuppini very small ones. The Old Roman is a light face letter, the body stroke being one-eighth to one-tenth of the height of the letter, and the hair line from two-fifths to two-thirds of the width of the body stroke. In the proportion of width to height the Old Roman alphabet may be divided into two parts, the wide letters and the narrow letters, and it is the combination of these that gives the variety and beauty to this style. The division is as follows: A CD GH MNO Q_TVW Z B EF IJKL PRS XY Fig. 7. In the Renaissance Old Roman the narrow letters are sometimes wider in projiortion than those of the early period, but the above division is still very evident. J, U, Y, and Z arc letters of a later period than the rest of our alphabet. J was not diilerentiated from I until the sixteenth century, and hence in designing strictly classical inscriptions I is sometimes used for J. Similarly, the curved U is of later introduction, the sharp V being used for it until comparatively recent times. In careful Old Roman lettering, therefore, it is entirely in keeping to use V for U if the legibility is not affected. Its indiscriminate use however, as for example on office drawings should be avoided. Such use is often pure affectation. Some in order to pre- serve legibility without using the U form, adopt the manuscript form u, as in Figs. 99 and loi. The beauty of the Roman letters depends not a little upon the appearance of the serifs and spurs which terminate every free end. These originated, probably, from a chisel cut made across the end to prevent over- cutting, and were copied by the penmen on account of the finished appearance which they gave. They are connected to the stems by small curved fillets or brackets, and great care must be observed in drawing these curves. If made even a trifle too large, the appearance of the letter is badly marred. Fig. 8 shows in detail several forms of these terminals. Letter Construction (a) is the serif of the classical Old Roman. (b) a longer serif as found on some renaissance examples. (c) the serif on the hair line of the A, M, and N. (d) top and bottom spurs on horizontal lines, such as E and T. The requirements for proficiency in lettering are, first, an intimate and critical knowledge of the <— ' letter forms, second, and more important, the feel- ing for composition, which can be gained only by continued observa- tion and practice. Although difficult of execution both in individual form and in composition, the Old Roman as the foundation letter must be studied first by those who are interested in lettering as an art. Those who wish only to acquire the ability to letter a shop drawing legibly and correctly may use the time available with the single stroke letters of pages 23 and Fig. S.— Serifs 26 alone, but with such, even a slight knowledge of the historical forms will greatly increase the power of appreciation of the beautiful in lettering. It is assumed that the student is familiar with the use of the ordinary drawing instruments. While lettering is not mechanical drawing, a T square, tri- angle and dividers are necessary adjuncts. In penciling, a very light free sketchy line should be employed, and the use of a very hard pencil avoided. The beginner's usual mistake is in cutting into the paper with hard wiry lines that cannot be erased and that hinder the motion of the pen. A 2H pencil sharpened to a long conical point is in general the best. Figs. 9 and 10 contain a carefully drawn Renaissance Roman alphabet. The stems are one-ninth of the height of the letter, and the hair lines one-half the width of the stems. The width of each letter is given in units, the unit being one-ninth of the height of the letter. A scale should be made by dividing the height into nine parts and marking these divisions on the edge of a strip of paper or a card. The fine-line circles and geometrical construction shown on this plate are given for use in drawing the I'lG. g. — Roman Alphabet (lirst hallj, with a Method of Geometrical Construclion ior Large Letters. 10 Fig. io. — Roman Alphabet (second half) with a Method of Geometrical Construction for Large Letters. 11 Letter Construction letters to large size for architectural, and other purposes and will be described later. In studying this alphabet, top and bottom guide lines and a center or waist-line should be drawn, making the letters not less than one inch high, prefer- ably much larger, and the letters drawn in outline, freehand, fixing the proportion and characteristics of each letter firmly in the mind. The letters on this plate are given in their alphabet- ical order for convenience, but in studying them it is well to take them in their family order as given in Fig. 13, and learn the relationships. jr. ju -5. -S_l 13^4 Fig. II. — Typical Order and Direction of StroUes. The widths should be marked off from the paper scale and the letters sketched, keeping the stems of uniform width, following the general order and direc- tion of strokes outlined in Fig. 11, always drawing the outlines of the main strokes of the letter first, then the serifs, and finally the fillets. The analyzed H is typical for all the straight letters. The letters with inclined sides should have the outside lines made first as in the A of Fig. 11. In the O family the outside curves of the O, Q, C, and D are circles and when done freehand should be drawn in two strokes as shown in Fig. 1 1. The inside curve is an ellipse, usually tilted at an angle as indicated. Fig. 12. — Stages of Construction. The narrow curved letters B, P and R are sketched by first drawing the main stem, then starting the horizontal lines, then marking the extreme points of the curve. The inside lines of the curved strokes may be made before the outside, as the beauty of these letters depends largely on the shape of the enclosed space of the background. In inking the Old Roman as a solid freehand letter, a rather coarse writing pen should be used, and it is 12 OLD ROMAN r -^' Fig. 18. — Spurred Commercial Gothic. 20 COMMERCIAL. GOTHIC V O Q C G P P UT^ Usi-I U51-I U54-I U5-J 01 2 3 4 5 6 R B S 8 3 2 U5-1 UaJ u^iJ Iai^ UaiA v-Al^ 6 9 5 7 & U5J U^U L^iJ Uj-J UiJ k5i-^ Flc. 19. — Spurred Commercial Gothic. 21 Letter Construction BB letter is in general similar to the Roman already given, as may be seen from the typical examples analyzed in Fig. 21. In the practice of this letter, guide lines as shown in the upper line of Fig. 14 should be drawn. It will be noticed that O is made a trifle "full" to avoid the /ncorrecr bull's-eye effect of the exactly Fig. 20. circular shape. This is just the opposite of the rhomboidal shape of the Roman O of Fig. 16. SINGLE STROKE LETTERS By far the greatest amount of lettering on draw- ings is done in "single stroke" or "one stroke" let- ters, either vertical or inclined, and every engineer must have absolute command of these styles. The ability to letter well and rapidly can be acquired by any draftsman, but it requires much careful practice with strict attention from the outset to the form and proportion of each letter, to the sequence of strokes. and to the rules for composition. The term "single stroke" does not mean that the entire letter is made without lifting the pen, but that the width of the stroke of the pen is the width of the stem of the letter. For the desired height, therefore, a pen must be selected which will give \^\ Fig. :i. — Typical Order and Direction of Strokes. the necessary width, and for Gothic letters one which will also make the same width of line when drawn horizontally, obliquely or vertically. Leonardt's ball point 506F or 516F will make a line of sufficient width for letters 1/4" high, which is as large as would be used on an ordinary working draw- ing. For 3/16" letters 516EF or Gillott's 1032 are suitable, for smaller sizes Hunt's shot points, Gillott's 1050, 404 and 604 may be used. For single stroke letters larger than 1/4", the Pay- zant pens and Shepard pens are useful. The ruling pen should never be used for lettering. A coarse letter- ing pen may be made from an old ruling pen by rubbing 22 UPRIGHT SINGLE STROKE GOTHIC |i iH' L W E T N'- N' iK M M' j^ V W X V Z *l 0>Q>C;GOUyL P a e s s; h 3 2 €> 6 a S i f/ u— /' £>,--' >>—/■-' v'^^ "'^—#'2 i!!=r 'v^' ->-•'' 3>. THE ABILITY TO LEITTEIR NA/ELL CAN BE ACQUIRED ONLV BV PERSISTENT AND CARE- FUL PRACTICE ON WORKING DRAWINGS THE! STYLE! OF LETTERS IS USUALLY OF THE SIMPLEST CHARACTER, T H El '^COMMERCIAL GOTHIC"bE- ING USED MORE THAN ANY OTHER STYLE LETTERS IN WORDS SHOULD BE CLOSE TOGETHER, BUT WORDS WELL SEPARATED. THE LETTERS llvl rsiOTES OM DF=!/=V\A'- IMSS SHOULD MOT BE LESS TMAM OME SIXTEENITM MOF=? Is/10F^E TI-I>^M OME EIGHTH OF^ /XM irvlCH IM HEIC3HT THEiSE l_e:-i — rE:i=?s /^p?e n/I/t^de ii^ /^ SOtvlEWH/CO- EXTEMCDECS FORrvl Fig. 22.^ — Analysis and Composition of Upright Gothic. 23 Letti'.r Construction its points very blunt and grinding a smooth ball end on them. Some draftsmen prepare a new writing pen by drop- ping it in alcohol, or by holding it in a match iiame for two or three seconds, and some break it in fur- ther by writing a word or two lightly, on a hard Arkan- sas oil stone. Single Stroke Vertical Caps. — The upright single stroke "commercial gothic" letter shown in Fig. 22 Fig. 2J. — Position for Single Stroke Lettering. is a standard letter for working drawings of all de- scriptions. It is the letter of Figs. 18 and 19 with lighter face. The analyzed letters of Fig. 22 are drawn to such proportion that roughly each fills a square space. In the proportion of width to height a general rule is that the smaller the letters the more extended they should be. A low extended letter is more legible than a high compressed one and at the same time makes a better appearance. This letter is seldom used in compressed form. Before commencing the practice of this alphabet, some time should be spent in preliminary practice to gain control of the pen. It should be held easily as in writing, the strokes drawn with a steady, even motion, and a slight uniform pressure on the paper, not enough to spread the ^EE. /////\\\\\CCC3DD Fig. 24. — Practice Strokes. nibs of the pen. For the first practice, draw in pencil the top and bottom guide lines for 1/4" letters and with a 516F ball pointed pen make directly in ink a series of vertical lines, drawing the pen down with a finger riioy^ment in the position shown in Fig. 23. This one stroke must be practised until the beginner can get lines vertical and of equal weight. 24 Lettkr Construction Remember that it is drawing, not writing, and that all the flourish movements of the penman must be avoided. It may be found difficult to keep the lines vertical, if so, direction lines may be drawn, as in Fig. 23, an inch or so apart to aid the eye. It is ruinous to the appearance of upright letters to allow them to slant forward. A slight backward slant is not so objectionable, but the aim should be to have them vertical. When this stroke has been mastered, the succeeding strokes of Fig. 24 should be taken up. These strokes are the elements of which the single stroke letters are composed. After sufficient prac- tice with them, they should be combined into letters in the order of Fig. 22, penciling in one pattern letter and numbering its strokes, then drawing directly in ink several beside it. p- 11 Ik yl K I \ A/ f / Care must be taken to C PI M IN YV \ L. 1 11 1 J • Fig. 2=;. — Too much Ink. keep all angles and m- ^ tersections clean and sharp; getting too much ink on the pen is responsible for appearances of the kind shown in Fig. 25. Single Stroke Inclined Capitals. — The single stroke letter inclined to a slope of between Go and 70° is preferred by perhaps a majority of draftsmen. Professor Follows in his dictionary* says: "The writer believes that for mechanical drawing, sloping lettering is better than vertical. An argument used by those who favor vertical lettering is that there is only one vertical as against any number of slopes, and that it should therefore be easier to teach and get uniformity with the vertical lettering. But as a matter of fact, it is probably easier to get a suffi- ciently uniform slope than a sufficiently exact vertical, because a very slight deviation from the vertical is noticeable. In the average mechanical drawing there are so many truly vertical lines to compare with that the eye more readily detects a deviation from the vertical than from any given slope. Then, again, the sloping lettering stands out more clearly by contrast with the vertical and the horizontal lines of the drawing." The order and direction of strokes for the capitals of this form are the same as in the upright form, but these letters are usually not extended. A common slope for the inclined letters is to the proportion of 2 to 5, giving an angle of 68° -|-, which may be made by laying off two units on a horizontal line and five on a vertical line. Triangles of 67 1/2° * Universal Dictionary of Mechanical Drawing. G. H. Follows. 1906. 25 INCLINED SINGLE STROKE GOTHIC Order and d'fVCf'On of sfrvi'es used Ib^ 'ef'e rs^ or higher II ML EF TMiN/'KmhMhAW ^ ^ / i j" '^ I '-air ' "^ WtMumvmMwimx/wyff^'z O/zfer arrd dtnec/ion ofsfrokes for smaller /effers jiMiLE'P TMMKmf-mmywx yzm o> o c Compressed /br^r? ^ AmCDEF6HIJKLMNOP0RSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Fig. 27. — Analysis of Strokes for Single Stroke Inclined Caps and Lower-case. 26 Letter Construction are sold by the dealers and are very convenient. In rapid lettering some find it easier to use a somewhat greater slant (as much as 60°). If a rectangle containing a flexible O should be inclined, the cur\'e would take the form illustrated in Fig. 26, sharp in the upper right-hand and lower left-hand corners, and stretched flat in the other two corners. It is the observance of this characteristic that is the secret of success with the inclined letters. D 6 9 Fig. 28. — Relationships. Fig. 28 illustrates this principle with the curs-es used in the S family, showing the directions of the major axes of the ellipses formed. The close relationship of the B , S, 8 and 3 should be noted. The second line of Fig. 28 shows the relationship of the o, 6, and 9. The cipher it will be noted is narrower than the O, and the back-bone of the 6 and 9 are made of the same ciu-\-es. Fig. 29. — Practice Strokes, witii Direction Lines. INCLINED GOTHIC CAPITALS ARE USED BY MANY DRAFTSMEN IN PREFERENCE TO THE UPRIGHT SINGLE STROKE CAPITALS. KEEP THE LETTERS CLOSE TO- GETHER AND THE STROKES UNI- FORM IN SLANT AND THICKNESS. Fig. 30. — Composition. In practising the inclined letters the top and bottom guide lines should be drawn, and a sufficient number 27 Lettkr Construction of direction lines at the given angle to keep the letters to a uniform slope. This slope must be observed with particular care in the case of the letters with sloping sides as ^4, 11', etc., whose lines must make ecjual angles on each side of the direction line, as shown in Figs. 27 and 29. Fig. 30 illustrates the appearance of this letter in paragra]:ih composition. Single Stroke Inclined Lower-case. — Thus far our discussion has been entirely on capital letters. The minuscule or lower case letters of the Roman and upright gothic are very rarely used on working drawings because of the difficulty of execution. It is desirable, however, to have a lower-case letter for notes on drawings on account of the increased legibility, as we read words by their word-shapes and are more familiar with these shapes in lower-case letters. Paragraphs printed entirely in capital, letters are monotonous in form and hard to read. The one letter to use for this purjiosc is the single stroke in- clined letter, called the Reinhardt letter in honor of Mr. Charles W. I^einhardt of the Engineering News whose work has for a generation been admired by draftsmen, and who first reduced the style to a system in his well-known book "Lettering for Engineers." This letter is the minuscule reduced to its lowest terms, omitting all unnecessary hooks and appendages. It is very legible, and after its swing has been mastered can be written very fast. These letters are used with the inclined gothic capitals and are made with bodies two-thirds the height of the capitals, the ascending letters hdfltkll extending to the height of the capitals and the descenders gjpqy dropping the same distance below. Fig. 31. — Basis of Reinhardt Letter. All the letters of the Reinhardt alphabet are based on two elements — the straight line, and the ellipse whose conjugate axes are the slope line and the horizontal line, and consequently whose major axis is about 45°. Fig. 31. The general direction of strokes is always downward or from left to right, and their order is given in the last three lines of Fig. 27. The effect of this letter depends almost entirely 28 Design and Composition on the uniformity of slope, and constant care must be the sharp extremities. Then take up the letters as given in Fig. 27, noticing the order and direction of strokes, and swinging them to a mental count of one, two, one, two. Fig. 34. — Fractions. As soon as the shapes of the letters have been learned in this way the entire practice should be devoted to their composition into words and sentences. In this the one rule must be remembered — Keep llie letters close together, and with full, uniform bodies. The beginner's invariable mistake is to observed to keep the strokes parallel. BeginnersVardcssMisUkes ahedfhopquvN xys ^c Fig. 32. Draw top and bottom guide lines, and slope lines, and practice the O as the basis of the curved letters, 7776' ''Reinhardf letter is used for notes on working drawings, and can be made very rapidly. It is of especial value on drawings made for photo - reproduction. When necessary, on account of restricted space, it may be very much compressed and still be held clear and distinct Fig. ^i. — Composition (Drawn by C. W. Reinhardt). until a certain rhythm and swing has been acquired, the pen moving faster in the middle of the stroke than at cramp the letters and space them too far apart. Fig. 32. Words ^ should be separated to a distance about equal to the height of the letter. Paragraphs are always indented. wu Fig. Fig. Ovi IS an example of spacing of letters, words and lines. Special attention should be paid to the practice of the numerals, getting them round and full-bodied. Fractions are made with a horizontal line and extend- ing over the guide lines as shown in Fig. 34. 29 ITALICIZED ROMAN A.ND STUMP LETTERS IHLFE TNKMAVW XYZ14 O Q CGD UJPR BS83220695577& abc defgh ijklnnn opqrst uvwxyz -^ 1234567800 The stump letter is a sim- plified form of the printer s italic, and is much used in map drawing, patent office drawing and similar work. Fig. 36. — Inclined Roman, with Stump Letters for Lower-case. 30 Letter Construction A variation of the Reinhardt letter, known as the "pumpkin seed" letter is preferred by some draftsmen. In it the curves of abdgpq are pointed instead of elliptical, as in Fig. 35. The remainder of the alphabet is the same as the Reinhardt. INCLINED ROMAN CAPITALS The inclined or italicized form of Roman capitals, as shown in Fig. 36, is used for water features on maps and as capitals for the stump letters which follow. It is made with a fine flexible pen, the very small sizes in one stroke, springing the pen for the shaded lines, the large sizes by making two strokes for the stems and following the same orders as in Figs. 14 and 15. In letters less than 1/4" high, brackets on the serifs of the body marks should not be attempted. Alternate forms of the numerals, 2, 5 and 7 are shown. STUMP LETTERS The stump letter is a simplified form of the printer's italic, and is much used in map drawing, patent office drawing, and other careful work. It is more difficult than the single stroke letter of Fig. 27 and requires much more time for its execution, consequently it should not be chosen except for display work. A^ fine flexible pen should be selected — for letters from 1-20" to i-io" high, the Gillott 290 and 291, i-io" to 2-10" Gillott 170, for larger ones, Giilcm_303,. / Except for the smallest letters, two strokeriKould be/ used for the shaded lines. In this, as in all tht slant letters, the first requirement is uniformity of slope and width of line. The hafi- lines may be made either with. the same stroke as the body, or added with a quick down stroke. This second method is pre- ferred by some draftsmen as it prevents the blur in the angle which sometimes occurs with a sharp pen and paper whose fibre is apt to catch. The strokes of Fig. 37 should be mastered before attempting to draw the letters. mill uiillo I a %i( l,U^ U U U4 Fig. 37. — Practice Strokes for Stump Letters. 31 CHAPTER III Composition and Titles After becoming familiar with the forms of the individual letters we are ready to compose them into words and the words into sentences, and, as one reads an entire word or even a group of several words at a glance, the necessity for proper spacing of the letters and words is evidently of just as much importance as the correct formation of the letters. LETTERING In this we shall have to notice (i) the spacing of letters in words, (2) the spacing of words, (3) the spacing of lines, all of which are design problems in the disposition of white and black, and their suc- cessful solution depends on the artistic perception of the draftsman more than on any rules which might be given. In spacing letters in words uniformity of effect is gained not by spacing the letters at equal dis- tances apart, but so that the areas of white space between the letters are approximately equal. This makes it necessary to consider the shape of each letter in connection with the following letter. Take, for example, the word LETTERING. In Fig. 38 the letters have been spaced so that the clear dis- LETTERING Fig. 39. tances between them are equal. The eflect, how- ever, is not uniform; the first letters appear much farther apart than the last ones. But if the word be spaced taking the shapes of the letters into con- sideration, the L, E and T would be set closer to- gether because of the amount of white space in- cluded between them, the two T's still closer as they have a maximum of white space under them. 32 Composition and Titles while between the vertical stems I and N would be left the widest space, and the G would be set a little closer than the IN as its stroke cun'es away from the line of the N. Thus while no two of the letters are the same distance apart, the word appears to be uniformly spaced. A word or line should be sketched in very lightly with all the details of the letters omitted, the effect studied and the letters shifted until the appearance is uniform. When this is satisfactory, the lino should be penciled more carefully and the details added. In single stroke lettering, the letters must be kept close together. The snap and "swing" of the pro- fessional draftsman's work comes largely from two things — keeping the letters full and round and close together, and the strokes to a uniform slope. The beginner's invariable mistake of cramping the letters and spacing them too far apart has already been mentioned. Words should be spaced so as to be read easily and naturally. The clear distance between words (except in compressed lettering) should never be less than a space equal to the height of the letter nor more than twice this space. For the spacing of lines, no fixed rules can be given. In the Old Roman the lines are frequently drawn very close together, sometimes closer than those in Fig. 6. The clear distance between lines of Old Roman may vary from one-third to one and one-half times the height of the letter. In inscription lettering, it is usually less than the height. For single stroke caps the space may be from three-fourths to one and three-fourths, and for sin- gle stroke lower case and stump letters two to three times the height of the body. The appearance of notes with several lines is improved by keeping the right edge as straight as possible, as well as the left. (See Figs. 30 and ^;}.) Paragraphs should always be indented. TITLES Every drawing should have a title, giving the necessary information concerning it in a style that conforms to its character. This information will, of course, vary for different classes of drawings, but two items are alwavs necessarv, the names and the 33 Composition and Titles date. Even the merest sketch should always be dated. In general, the title of a machine or structural drawing should contain: (i) Name of machine or structure. (2) General name of parts (or simply "details"). (3) Name of purchaser, if special machine. (4) Manufacturer; company or tirm name and address. (5) Date; usually date of completion of tracing. (6) Scale or scales; desirable on general drawings, • often omitted from fully dimensioned detail drawings. (7) Drafting room record; names, initials or marks of the draftsman, tracer, checker, approval of chief draftsman, engineer or superintendent. (8) Numbers; of the drawing, of the order. The filing number is often repeated in the upper left hand corner upside down, for convenience in case the drawing should be reversed in the drawer. An architectural drawing would have part or all of the following: (i) Kind of view — elevation, plan, perspective (sometimes put on different part of sheet). (2) Name and location of building. (3) Name and address of client or owner. (4) Date. (5) Scale. (6) Name and address of architect. (7) Number (in the set). (8) Key to materials. (9) Office record. (10) Signed approval of trustees or commission for public buildings. A map title would contain as many as necessary of the following items: (i) Kind— "Map of," etc. (2) Name. (3) Location of tract. (4) Purpose, if special features are represented. (5) For whom made. (6) Engineer in charge. (7) Date (of survey). (8) Scale — stated and drawn. (9) Authorities. (10) Legend or key to symbols. (11) North point. (12) Certilication. 34 Composition and Titles In each case these items must be "displayed" according to their relative importance judged from the point of view of the persons who would use the drawing, the more important lines being made prom- inent by the size and arrangement of the letters. a^ A*toC. /» \Ca l.S'oo Fis. 40. The position and shape of the title will depend on the space provided or left for it. The lower right hand corner of the sheet is from long custom and on account of convenience in filing, the usual loca- tion, and in laying out a drawing this corner is reserved if possible. The shape is a matter of design. The commonest form is that of the symmetrical title which is balanced or "justified" from a center line, and of elliptical or oval outline, as Fig. 42. Some- times the wording necessitates a pyTamid or inverted pyramid form. 1 I AW or 'f I 1 1 1 1 I 1! I 1/ lAi!. OlHIIiq [ lAfi Al 111 ({)lllh IK'IIIK [.J M M. ^ ^^ cq )S f' rii lUi i|Kij«, o I ^^ aasoo. 12 Fig. 41. In designing a symmetrical title one would first write out the arrangement on a piece of paper and count the letters in each line, counting a space be- 35 Composition and Titles tween words as a letter, and, after making allowance for letters of different widths, as I and W, marking the middle of each line. Fig. 40 illustrates the first layout for the title of Fig. 42. A vertical center MAP OF CENTRAL OHIO SHOWING GAS AND OIL FIELDS U. S. G. & F. CO. COLUMBUS. O. SCALE 62500 1912 Fig. 42. — Symmetrical TiUe. line is then drawn, and guide lines for letters of appropriate size for each line. The most impor- tant line is then sketched in very lightly, commenc- ing on the center line and working to the right, making the last half of the line first and drawing ■ only enough of the letter to show the space it will occupy. The length of this half should then be transferred to the other side and the first half sketched in. Some prefer to work this half backward from the center line, but after a little practice the first FRONT -ELEVATION TER DM CiARLEJ-P-WCDDJ • •ARClilTE.CT 67^) WILLIAMJONBV1LDING--CLEVEIAMD Fig. 43.— a Full-panel Title. method will be found preferable. After this most important line is satisfactory in size and spacing, the other lines may be executed in the same way, and the work at this stage will be as in Fig. 41. The effect should then be studied, lines or letters shifted if necessary and the title completed in pencil. As a rule, all letters should be inked entirely free- ,3a Composition and Titles hand. Sometimes, on highly finished maps or draw- ings for reproduction the straight lines are ruled and the curves drawn freehand, or, for "large letters, the curves may be drawn with the compass or French curve. To avoid blotting, the strokes should not be filled in solid until after the drawing has been finished. The general rule, never combine vertical and slant letters in the same title, should be observed. DETAL OP BEAVER .STREET ELEV\T10N 5CALE J INCH = 1 p-OOT OFFICE BUILDING POR AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK CITY KIRBY PETIT "•" GREEN ARCHITECTS 37 WtiT 34.".5T NYC. Fig. 44. — "Left Edge" Composition. The full panel title, a variation of the symmetrical form, often used in architectural work, is made by spacing the letters so that the lines are of equal length, no matter how many letters each contains. Fig. 43 is an example. The Old Roman is the only letter that permits of this wide letter spacing. Another form often used in architectural and other work is illustrated in Fig. 44. This form has a dis- tinct advantage in not requiring careful preliminary penciling, and is therefore of value for quick sketches- Space fillers are sometimes added to give balance, but they must be handled carefully for artistic effect. Formerly titles were often made with cun-ed lines and much elaborate ornamentation. These forms are, happily, obsolete, and any decoration or orna- RtSIDCliCC rOR DD.WD.PORim BUILDING /io. 179 5CALE: OMcmnAn, OHIO. 5ID£ ELEVATION SHEET Alo. 5 DATE 3-13-09 HOWELL &■ THOMAS ARCHITECTS COL-SAV. & TRUST - BLD6. COLVMBUO, OHIO. Fig. 45. — Boxed Tide. ment is now considered as bad form. Letters should not be drawn or shaded in an attempt to make them appear to have thickness or to stand out from the paper. Punctuation marks are not necessary in a title except in case of abbreviations. The title on a working drawing is usually boxed ^07 Z^ Composition and Titles off from the drawing as illustrated in Fig. 45. In large offices the parts of this kind of title which are common to all drawings are often printed on the tracing cloth in order to save time in the drafting room. Fig. 46 is the blank form of a well-known company. The originals of Figs. 45 and 46 are about five inches long, on sheets from 18 to 30 inches. A form of title which is growing in favor is the "record strip," a narrow strip marked off entirely across the lower part of the sheet, containing the information reciuircd in the title, and space for record of orders, changes, etc. The general arrangement of such a title is shown in Fig. 47. In shop draw- ings it is often printed in blank on the paper or cloth to be used. The lettering on all such titles is done very quickly in single stroke, often without preliminary penciling. The Jeffrey Mfg. Co. COLUMBUS, OHIO. U. S. A. Engineering DepBTtment, CONVEriHG ANO ILEVATINQ MACHINEHY. ' DIRECTED .. DRAWN TRACED ... DATE CHECKED .. CORRECT .. „ „ I'lG. 46. — A printed Title Form. 2365 I THE MERIT AUTOMOBILE CO.. CAMDEN. N.U. Scale 6=1' DRAWN 5-26-^9 TRACCO S'SO-'09 S.O. 1 6^4 5 © Changed from /O' 7-3-'aa @ Chanpea fi-om I ' 7-S-b3 CAR A-6'e0-09 DETA/L. C-YI-INDBRS 5j X 5" Fig. 47. — K Record Strip. 3S CHAPTER IV Selection of Styles In lettering a drawing the style selected and the amount of time spent in its execution must be appro- priate to the kind of drawing. A carefully rendered map or display drawing will require careful lettering and will permit of time for its execution, while a shop detail requires only legibility and demands speed. For Architectural Work. — There are two dis- tinct divisions in the architect's use of letters, the first, Office Lettering, including all the titles, and notes put on drawings for information; the second. Design Lettering, covering drawings of letters to be executed in stone or bronze or other material in connection with design. The Old Roman is the architect's one general pur- pose letter, which serves him, with few exceptions, for all his work in both divisions. Its characteristics have been fully discussed and illustrated in Chapter II. For titles on finished architectural drawings the Old Roman is usually drawn in outline, as in Fig. 13. Sometimes emphasis is given by running a center line in each stroke as in Fig. 48 giving it the appearance of being incised. For smaller titles and lettering on working drawings, a single stroke Old Roman, Fig. 49, based on the INCISED -EFFECT IS -OBTAINED -BY USING-THIRD-LINE Z J'R Fig. 48.— An Effective Roman Letter. center line of the regular letter is much used and is very effective. It can be made rapidly and may be given much of the variety and beauty of its parent. A good deal of freedom may be taken with this 39 Selection of Styles letter if it is done with a real regard and feeling for its beauty. For notes on architectural drawings the Reinhardt letter is well adapted, as it is simple and legible. The key to good form is simplicity. The day of the wild letter on which the architects allowed their fancy free rein is passed. There is an individuality in lettering often as marked as in handwriting, but there must be ABCDEFGHIJKLAAN OPQR5TUVWXYZI; Fig. 49. — Single Stroke Roman. no grossncss of exaggeration, nor riot of flourishes, nor wandering of free lines. JModificatifns »f the proportions, whli^aare legiti- mate and sometimes ])lcasing, are often m^B, such as the "high-waistecl'lletters of Fig. 50. The architect slrould not attempt to desi, tions for permanent structures until he is mscrip- 'loroughly familiar with lette^lt their construction ajig spacing, and knows the character and limitations pf^e material to be used. Letters on stone are generally incised, or sunk, in V form, and depend for their effect not on the outline but on the shadows cast by the sides. Consec^uently the strokes must be wider than for the same effect when drawn on paper. This is also true for "scjuare-sunk," and indeed for all letters which depend on shadow instead of difference in color. /X\6CDErQ11!JKl/AriI10 PQR5T0VV/WXY.^ ^& ABCbcrotijjriLnno P ClRoSTU W AYZlfc: Fig. 50. — Free Modifications. The construction of Figs. 9 and 10 may be used for accurate drawings for this purpose, keeping the diam- eters of fillets and curves as given, but increasing the width of the strokes. If far above the eye the letters will be made taller in proportion to their width and with much wider hori- 4U Selection of Styles zontal lines than the standard form, to allow for foreshortening. In designing lettering for large inscriptions, to be cut on public buildings for example, the architects will often draw the letters to full size, each on a separate sheet, and tack them up on a wall to study the spacing. In very careful work model letters are sometimes made in plaster and studied in place. One rule must be remembered — Never crowd Old Roman. Bronze tablets are usually made with raised letters, either flat-top or modeled round. The body strokes of the letters on the tablet illustrated in Fig. 96 are 1:7 1/2, and the hair lines 2/3 of this width. In making full size design drawings for cast bronze work, a shrinkage of 1/8" in 10" should be allowed. The architect should be familiar with the Uncial and Gothic letters as given in the succeeding chapter, for use with the appropriate architectural styles. For Map Drawing. — The style of lettering on a map will depend upon the purpose for which the map is made. If for constructive purposes, such as a rail- road or sewer map, the single stroke Gothic for titles and the Rcinhardt for notes, are to be preferred. For a finished map, vertical modern Roman for land features, and inclined Roman and stump letters for water features should be used. The well-known maps of the Geological Survey contain good examples of this kind of lettering. For signals, signs or other lettering designed to be painted in connection with railway or other engineer- ing, legibility is the first requirement, and no letter but the upright commercial gothic should be permitted. For Shop Drawings. — On working drawings of any kind no time may be wasted on lettering. It must be legible and uniform, sized and placed well, but executed rapidly. The single stroke capitals, either upright or inclined, for titles, and the Reinhardt for notes should be used exclusively. Roman letters, stump letters, "geometrical" letters, and shipping clerks' marking letters are all out of plac%. On patent office drawings the lettering is generally done in stump letters. Any draftsman who has occasion to make patent drawings should send to the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C, request- ing a copy of the " Rules of Practice," which gives all the requirements for drawing and lettering. 41 CHAPTER V Letters in Design The preceding chapters were written for those students and draftsmen who use lettering only as an adjunct to the "graj)hical language" of their office drawings. Lettering in design is a far wider field. Here the designer uses lettering not only to make a statement — to convey information by the written words — but for its own inherent beauty of line and composition. He uses it with his ornament, he uses it as ornament, to break a space or to fill a back- ground. The artist or decorative designer must then not only be familiar with the fundamental forms explained in the previous chapters and the rules ui)<)n which they are based but must have at his command other historical and modern alphabets and know the appropriateness of each for its place. In this chapter the principles and peculiarities of the useful letters of different styles and periods will be considered. THE OLD ROMAN Referring to the historical outline of Chapter I it is remembered that the Old Roman is the parent of all the styles, and beyond all comparison the most useful letter for the designer. It will be used oftener than all other styles together, and it is safe to recommend that the student when in doubt use Old Roman. The Old Roman letters have been discussed and aiialyzx'd in Chapter II and it will be the first duty of the designer to become thoroughly familiar with these forms. An early form is shown in Figs, i and 5, and some Renaissance forms in Figs. 6, g and 10. These are monumental forms of classic beauty and dignity. As a pen-drawn letter the Old Roman admits of much freer treatment, and in composition not only the position, but the size and shape of each letter is considered with reference to the adjoining letters. They must not be tortured out of shape nor driven to do things they do not want to do, but once the artist has that real feeling of personal acquaintance and familiarity, the letters can be coaxed into doing almost anything he wishes them to do. The lower limb of a letter may be extended and the following letter, a vowel usually, perched on it, the swash lines of the 42 Letters in Design R and Q may extend almost indefmitely, the top of a T may reach above the guide line and allow letters to play under it, two letters may have a common stroke , round letters may be linked together, serifs may run into each other, and feet may be shortened or length- ened, all easily and naturally if the designer be on sufficiently intimate terms with the family; but the Roman in its dignity resents any such familiarity from 0,UFbD0UBTv5 -AR^ -Tl^AfToRS - •A^D•MAKi -US -LP^E'TE-QOOD • WE-OFT-MIGHT-WIN-BY- FEARING. •TO -ATTEMPT- - -^HAJ^PEARi^ Fig. 51. — Freedom in Composition. a stranger. To make a letter larger or smaller than its fellows with no more apparent reason than the desire for oddity is pure affectation. Fig. 51 illustrates something of the freedom referred to. Old Roman letters should not be stretched out in extended form, but the spaces between the letters may be increased indefinitely. They may however be condensed if lack of space demands it. In condensing, the straight line letters and narrow letters may be compressed up to the limit before the O family have (D\PRSEDRQM^ V5INGJVCNORAM-6 (PNJOMDMEI^ WH-SQEFRIKDM Fig. 52. been squeezed out of round. The expedient of using common strokes in monogram-combinations, and of linking the round letters will often save the required space. Fig. 52 is an extreme example. For careful work in design the Roman is to be re- garded as a draivn letter, to be outlined and finished 43 Letters in Design as has been described. It may however be ivrillcn effectively, after the manner of the old scribes, in single stroke with a broad pen, such as those of Fig. 72, tilted at a slight angle as shown in Fig. 53 and turned for the thin lines of M N W, etc. The figure shows also the little extra stroke used to form the fillet. IIBCE EM //AAFIB Fig. 5j. — Broiid Pen Roman Construction. After the forms of the letters have been learned it is surprising how they almost shape themselves when done in single stroke with the broad pen. Larger letters are built up of two strokes for the body mark, and for very large ones the full stroke of the pen may be made for the thin lines. If a reed pen is used it may be cut either scjuare across or at a slant, to fit the hand of the writer. Its corner may be used for such touches as serifs on horizontal lines, etc. Large Roman letters may be made easily and rapidly in single stroke with a flat sable brush held in the same position as the pen. roman -written- in single-stroke- with tie;- pen -turned- for thin-l1ne5 - bgj qvxy Fig. 54. — Broad Pen Roman. ROMAN LOWER-CASE. The so-called Classic forms of the Old Roman consist only of capital letters, and in titles, inscriptions, and designs calling for stateliness or dignity of compo- sition capitals would be used throughout. A para- graph or page of solid caps, however, is not easily read, as we read words by their shapes and are accus- tomed to these shapes in lower-case letter combina- tions, hence in longer sentences, quotations and the 44 Letters in Design like, a less formal effect and at the same time greater legibility is secured by using caps and lower case. m^^^mi so^^^^ from which M^^M *° *^^^ examples of ^^^ithis perfected Ro- man type^ to wit, the works of the great Venetian printers of the fifteenth century, of whom Nicholas Jenson produced the completest and most Roman characters from 1470 to 1476, —W. MORRIS. Fig. 55. — Jenson Type. Referring again to the history, the Roman lower- case letter was the final step in the evolution from the Caroline, and reached its definite form after the in- vention of printing, so for models to combine with our Roman capitals we go back to the type forms of Jenson and the master printers of the fifteenth centurs". Type degenerated so steadily after that period that William Morris once exclaimed, "There has not been a decent book printed since the sixteenth centun,-." But we have the same freedom in our pen-drawn small letters as in the capitals, not being limited by the daLccideefg^nijklmn (®pqrisstuvwxyzo Fig. 70. — Gothic Page by Albrecht Diirer, 1515. 52 Letters in Design displaced by the Roman, and by the seventeenth cen- tury Germany was the only country still using Gothic. As is well known that country now uses Roman for scientific publications, but adheres to the illegible ©erman ^ractur as the popular type. The letter generally known as Wih lEngltsI) is to the ordinary reader the most familiar style of Gothic. Its bristling angularity shows it to be a late form. The capitals of these later forms become more compKcated and weak in design, and their only advantage is that in such work as engrossing they may be made without changing the direction of the pen. For all good design the stronger Uncial caps should be used with the Gothic lower-case. One absolute rule must be obsen-ed — Never use all caps in Gothic, The Gothic is ^Titten with a broad pen tilted about 45°. Either a reed pen or a steel "round-writing" pen may be used. The steel pens, of which the "Sonnecken" are the best, are usually sold in sets of eleven numbered in half sizes from i to 6. When used alone they will only carry sufhcient ink without riiiiiiii!iriiiiriWiPitiTi !iiiiiiyiii!i.aii!iTi.iiii»i ai fMinin'ii^^^ K UMiULiNtfliiiiuii inii iairiiiTilTi^^ Fig. 71. — A German Bronze, 1514. (Weimar.) 53 Letters in Design blotting for one or two strokes. A brass clip is sometimes sold with them, l)ut a more satisfactory ink holder may be made of a rubber band added as shown in Fig. 72. The ink is JiUed behind the rubber on the under side of the pen. Fig. 72. — Steel and Reed Pens, with Ink Holders. The reed pen is much more comfortable, as well as better artistically. It is cut to shape with a sharp penknife or narrow blade surgeon's scalpel and an ink holder of annealed watch spring bent and in- serted as in Fig. 72. English or Japanese reeds are the most satisfactory, although those from India are thicker and harder. Quill pens made from the wing feathers of turkey or goose are sometimes used for smaller writing, but the average student has more trouble cutting a (|uill than a reed. The pen is held as illustrated in Fig. 73, and the whole secret is to maintain this position and angle Fig. 73. — Position for Gothic Writing. throughout, whatever the direction of the stroke. The first practice should be the drawing of the ele- ments in Fig. 74. When these are mastered letter- ing in Gothic will be found to be easy and interest- 54 Letters in Design ing. Select a pen as large as No. i 1/2, rule guide lines three-eighths of an inch apart (ordinary ruled writing paper will serve very well), add some vertical direction lines and practice stroke i until it can be made confidently, always vertical and with its ends cut off clean at 45°. Fig. 74. — Practice Strokes for Gothic Writing. When this motion has been mastered, practise the strokes numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, a'nd 7, which are the elements of which the small letters are composed, then combine them into letters as shown in Fig. 75. The terminal blocks on the lower end of such letters as the "i" are squares, made by lifting the pressure from the pen, and setting it back as shown in Fig. 74, and the spikes of the angles, if used, may be made with a little side slip of the pen while the stroke is being made. In combining these letters into words the one re- quirement is to keep the letters close together, the * ♦ space between letters wherever possible being just the same as the space between strokes of the letters, which in turn should not be much if any more than the width of the stroke. A printed page of text letters is al- ways unsatisfactory, because the letters cannot be set l^fi|fl)p|fte dose tD0flbfp Fig. 75. — Analyzed Gotliic Lower-case. sufficiently close, and because of the machine-made exactness. It lacks the irregularity and spontaneity of the written page. An alphabet of round forms similar to those used in Fig. 70 is given in Fig. 76. The order of strokes will 55 Letters in Design be evident after practicing the angular. On account of the variety in combination this letter makes a more interesting page than the angular form. The uncial capitals have already been recommended for use with the Gothic lower-case, as being much stronger in design than the Gothic capitals, but sev- eral forms of the latter. are given in Figs. 79, 80 and 81 and the order of strokes for the typical letters is shown in Fig. 77. They may be made with the same I ' Fig. 76. — Gothic Alphabet. (After Durer.) pen as the small letters, making the small letters three-fifths to two-thirds the height of the capitals. If the capitals are arranged in their family groups, their forms, which appear complicated, can be remem- bered without trouble. In the O family the C is the foundation letter, and from it the G, O, Q, T, and one form of E, U and W are developed as shown in Fig. 78. Similarly B, H, I, K, L and R are closely related, all having the same beginning strokes. The alphabet of Fig. 79 is a usual form of Old English. In this th^ spikes, hairlines and flourishes '3- -3' 3 Fig. 77. — Typical Gothic Capitals Analyzed. j are added with a line pen after the page has been writ- ten, p'ig. 80 is a simpler form, written without re- touching, and suitable for rapid engrossing and similar work. Fig. 7S. — Family Groups. Fig. 81, adapted from the tomb of Richard II, is a letter of much beauty, and popular among designers, although not so well known and consequently not so legible to the general reader. 56 Letters in Design Fig. 82 is an old form of Fractur or " German Text," which may be of occasipnal value. The paramount desii^' in the use of Gothic in design is for blackness, i.e., richness and "color," in effect. Words should be separated only enough for legibility, <-r/^ (rf{ qr'^ rrfj -T^^lV ^'^ /Vl\ Words should be separated only enough tor legibili i^mmlUiiiPllili^'iiti' ^^^ jj^^^ ^^^ ^p^^g^ ^jdely. Short lines are often ^ ^ filled out with space fillers of spots or running figures Tff^'fl '^ "t O 1^ /t ^li'7'0 ClfT *° ^^'°'^'^ ^">' ^^'^'^'^ "holes" on the page. int M^ l/!Jv ♦vPi'O'^U Flourishes on the ' ascenders and descenders are >5J characteristic of the later Gothic, and may be used Fig. 79.— "Ofd English." judiciously with good effect. 57 Letters in Design The Gothic is essentially a letter for ecclesiastical and other serious work, and its misplaced or inappro- priate use is a grave mistake. UIDIi Fig. 8i. — English Gothic. (Westminster Abbey, 1400.) Although Gothic is easier than Roman, it is worse maltreated by amateurs and inexpert designers, and impossible things in initials and designs are accepted as good or allowed to pass, where equally poor Roman would be immediately condemned. The beautiful letters of Albrechl Diircr, Fig. 70, are worth careful study. In the original, which is twice m^^^^^ Fig. 82.— Old "German Te.\t." the size of this reproduction, the initial and the two lines just above it are in red, as are also the spacing lines. ITALIC AND SCRIPT Thus far all the letters considered in this chapter have been ujiright forms. In the period of the Italian 58 Letters in Design Renaissance some of the historians and scribes, prob- ably from the habit of writing fast, acquired a slanted writing, which became much the fashion. When Aldus Manutius in the sixteenth century cut the first font of inclined type he selected a carefully written manuscript of Petrarch from which to model it. In ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO PQRSTUVWXYZ& abcdefglnjklmnopqrstuvwxyz Fig. 83.— Italic. its stiff est form now Italic is simply an inclined Roman, such as Fig. 36. Script, in lettering, is a freer inclined or sometimes vertical letter showing its origin from the cursive or written form. For the designer the so-called French Script of the period of the Louis, a letter full of quaint- ness and grace is most interesting and valuable, as it admits of a freedom of treatment that gives individual- ity to work in perhaps greater degree than any other. Its effect is the e.xact opposite of Gothic, giving light- ness for blackness and caprice for dignity. The free ends of the unaccented strokes in the capitals become aa 'e/^m/KL mnop grsiuiiMxyx^ &S-&0 Fig. 84. — French Script. swash lines which often tie up with each other and with the ascenders and descenders of the small letters; but the curves must be spontaneous. A labored effect is fatal. A general rule has been stated that styles of different slopes should not be used together. The notable 59 Letters in Design exception to this rule is in the case of Old Roman and Script used in combination in what is sometimes called Colonial Composition, when the Roman is used for the display words and Italic or Script for the less important words and lines. Fig. 97 by Mr. Seymour, is an artistic example. abcdaf^nvj^Imnopgrs/t Fig. S5. — Script, by RudoLf Koch. Italic and Script may be used in all caps or caps and lower-case. In practising inclined letters such as Figs. 83, 84 and 85, slant direction lines should always be drawn as explained on page 27. The angle of slant varies widely both in historical and modern examples and is a matter of individuality. Some are only a few degrees ofT the perpendicular, others are nearly 30 degrees. The 2 to 5 slojje mentioned on page 25 is a pleasing average. If the Roman has been well mastered, the le forma fe SSonfieif eines ^uc6jfaben bei denkbar gunjiigjjem ^nfc6faJJ an ^einen TlacHbar im ^ori= und Satjbifd giebt den ^afifiab fur den (cunflferfc/ien ^ert einer Scfirifi, die dabei afs Qanzes kfar und uberfichtfidj zu fefen fein muf. Fig. S6. — Script, by Heinrich Wieynk. (Larisch.) italic letter will not be difficult, but the script will require much practice, probably with discouraging results before the curves will come smoothly. ' The heights of the lower case letters are made in the same proportion as the upright lower case, but their widths are somewhat narrower. There must be careful discrimination and restraint in order that the flourishing shall not be overdone. 60 Letters in Design Fig. 103 is an appropriate and clever example of script in design. "ART NOUVEAU" Under this general head we have classified all those variations which have been developed in the modern (^ \> {IIWOPQI Fig. 87. — A Stencil Form. school of "secessionists," particularly in Germany. Using the old forms as a basis a new life has been given them in their adaptation in the characteristic style of those artists, who appreciate so thoroughly the value of letters as ornament. The apparently free or formless character must not be taken as a license for carelessness. The lines of the letters have been studied with the same seriousness as the apparently free lines of the characteristic orna- :VWXY Fig. 88.— .\ Stencil Form, (.\fter Gras.set.) ment of this school, which have their "points of inter- est" and rules of composition definitely established. In range these modern letters e.xtend from forms but slightly modified from the historical, through forms of good design but not so easily legible because of their newness and one's consequent lack of familiarity with Gl Letters in Design them, tp weird conceptions inspired only by tlie wild desire for novelty. C7yXTnP:6(ITe nBERO ;sYMPHoi)Y;av;mTfiy KeiiVfiR!Wf.liBYHMn m m RlD0tJFQ;rflRPi;Z18KHI Fig. 89. — An Uncial Adaptation. (After Otto Hupp.) ^BCPCFGHIJ r IG. 90. — A Free Uncial Adaptation. The modern forms of real value are all designed with an intimate acquaintance and regard for the |lmigun^ettccr3)cnkcr m^t Fig. 91. — Gothic, by Rudolf Koch. (Larisch.) TT.GcoK^cyXuuiol. EUtJ esX 0'\m se%^- meIt^fn.\ncItcnlCll^mo^eKne ct poascOc une iiw>i\>i<)iu\lilc hic5 inM'quec. Lcs lijjncs inleKKompues <^utflnel^Icn^ dc bcMicoup ccfef feT f e $t $t le ^ Fio. 92. — In the Style of George Auriol. <9^ <0^ ®A tf)^ *" V ^w ^w ^\> 02 Letters in Design historical forms. Figs. 87 and 88 are modern adapta- tions of Roman in stencil form, Figs. 89 and 90 show their derivation from the Uncial, 91 is a modern Gothic and 92 a cursive or script form. Fig. 93, an original alphabet by Mr. Hunter of East Aurora, is strongly Viennese. It is shown in composition in Fig. 98. The tall letter of Fig. 94 is a good practical form which works well in monograms and marks. 1234^ iWXYZi 6789 The "new art" letter naturally suggests itself for application in modern craft work in metals or leather, in carding, stenciling or needlework, and in posters and advertising, but its adoption in any design must be considered carefully. An inappropriate use will be offensive, and sometimes even a correct and appropriate use will be criticized by persons who although pos- sibly incapable of judging, feel that they are being imposed upon. Fig. 93. — By Dard Hunter. Fig. 94. — A Compressed Form. 63 CHAPTER VI Design and Composition For the general designer or decorative artist the designing of lettering does not mean the invention of new shapes for the letters, it means simply the selec- tion of suitable styles and their composition into pleasing form. The general shapes were designed long ago, and it would be inordinate presumption for an artist to create a new alphabet and through his design to say to the public: "This is my letter, you must learn to read it." Mr. Lewis F. Day, the English designer and author, said:* "There are two conditions on which the artist may be permitted to tamper with the alphabet: what- ever he docs ought, in the hrst place, to make reading run smoother, and, in the second, to make writing satisfactory to the eye." No real letter shapes are ever invented, they are all evolutions. The new work of the continental artists shows a freshness and variety and beauty of line, and an originality of design that may in some cases almost ♦Alphabets Old and New. be called invention, but as has been said these men are working with an intimate knowledge of the his- torical forms. It is but natural that in the attempt at novelty some designs miss the requirement of legibility, and others that of beauty, some both; but such forms are not to be taken seriously. It is scarcely necessary to add here that lettering is essentially flat ornament, and that all the misguided attempts to make letters appear solid by adding shad- ows, by drawing them in perspective, or by making them of cobble stones or branches of trees like porch furniture, are eminently bad. The designer's problem is then to select the appro- priate combinations and by arrangement and spacing to make a pleasing effect. In this there should be considered (i) the period, (2) the purpose, (3) the material. The period or general historical style of the other parts of the design or ornament must be noted, and the lettering must first of all be appropriate. Gothic 64 Design and Composition letters for example would of course be out of place in a Renaissance or Barocco design. Similarly, if the Fig. 95. — "Religion," by E. A. Abbey. CopyriHht 1908, E. A. Abbey From a Copley Print, Copyright 190S, by Curtis & Cameron. lettering is predominant the ornament must fit the letter selected even if the ornament be only a border. 1 tvj i'umc zLKincL >3© a ■■-■■" F-aTl^InIC/-? riiG'rinLnjUL - rOS QENStC^JJS i£CA.C/ CO; -i iji.'.'-:.- Ra-TJj lis BV HJS i/J7£ CrLr.klXyTIL fAGi aMI> ^i!S I>AJiC.rlT£R-J5/-i;ii -' In! GJJLAJTL'iJi •K£COG>JrrJO>i 1 1 . -a I --•—-■-■■ a ^_GI PI All 'J Fig. 96.— Bronze Tablet, by T. E. F, 65 Design and Composition On page 72 the letters discussed in Chapter V, and some of their appropriate uses have been set forth in tabular form and may be studied with profit in connec- tion with the choice of letter combinations. The purpose of the inscription is again an important consideration in the selection of the style. E.xamjjles will readily suggest themselves, but the key-word again is appropriateness. Clearness and legibility are of course fundamental conditions, but these are relative terms; they do not necessarily mean the property of being read at a glance, what Dr. v. Larisch calls brutal legibility. The leg- ibility of a sign or advertisement is not necessary nor even desirable in lettering used as ornament. Beauti- fully designed ornament assumes that the observer has time to examine it and enjoy its detail. An extreme example is shown in Fig. 95, a reproduction of one of the late Edwin A. Abbey's four medallions (Art, Science, Justice and Religion), in the Penn- sylvania State Capitol. Mr. Abbey, one of the great- est of modern painters was at the same time the great- est master of lettering in decoration. Not since Albrecht Durcr has there been a great master so familiar with the details and the beauties of lettering. Ons SKINNER! Tf^ES ENTinC FRANCESCAI D^ RIMINI \ WITH AK.'APPIiECIATIOT^ By LYMAN BGLOVER. IRALPH FLETCHER. SEYMOUR ITublisher CHICAGO MDCCCCI 66 Fig. 97.— Title Page, by Ralph Fletcher Seymour. Design and Composition The backgrounds of these medallions have not the legibility of an advertisement, indeed at first sight of the originals one does not notice the lettering at all. EIME : TRR^^ENE : in iEIMEM i HM Fig. 98.— By Dard Hunter. HE IS WISEST WHO HAS THE MOST CAUTION • HE ONLY WINS WHO GOES FAR ENOUGH' Fig. 99. — Roman, by \V. A. Dwiggins. The material upon which the lettering is to be done must of course be considered. In stone it is the shadow and not the outline that defines the letter (page 40); the same is true to a lesser extent in wood or bronze, or other materials where the surface of the letter is the same color as the background. Stubborn mater- ials such as beaten silver or copper, or cast metals, cannot have the same delicacy of design as engraved Fig. 100. — By Rudolf Melichar. (Larisch.) metals. Rough paper demands bolder treatment than smooth paper. Letters for needlework, or leather, or stenciling must be designed strictly with reference to the surface and te.xture of the materials used. When these three points have been considered the designer will begin his problem. After deciding upon the general form of the space to be used he will write 67 Design and Composition Fig. ioi. — Title Page, by Ralph Fletcher Seymour. out the inscription roughly, selecting the important words or lines for emphasis by size or position, and will li^. iOMMEMOKATETHhVlC 'QUN? ENTOF.WHICH ^TRIOTISM-OF ll?AdrEDT>-Ti^i5 Fig. I02. — Bronze Tablet, designed by McKim, Mead & White, Archts. Courtesy of Jno. Williams. Inc., N. Y. make a number of miniature sketches, not more than an inch or two in height, for composition. This arrangement of the relation of white and black is the 68 Design and Composition important step, and the full size drawing cannot be started until a satisfactory scheme of composition has been determined. '^IJn^^dA Fig. 103. — Cover Desigt^of "An Unofficwl Lo\'e Story." Published by the Century Co. . N. Y. When the design in the little sketch seems to be balanced and harmonious the final drawing should be laid out carefully in the same proportion, penciling top and bottom guide lines for each line of letters very lightly. If the design is symmetrical the method of procedure will be as given under the head of title designing on pages 35 and 36, working from the center line, and shifting letters and lines until the desired effect is obtained. If the design is unsym- metrical or massed, suitable treatment will suggest it- FlDM far awa^we come to )ou, t^e snow in the stRcet: & the win J on the door. Xjo tdi ofgReat-tidings strange and tRue — • MinstRcZs er maids, stand toRth on the floor. Fig. 104.— By \\\ .\. Dwiggins. self, but in every case the copy should be \\Tittcn down in the adopted arrangement and the letters counted for the approximate spacing. The artist using letters in design is assumed to know the laws of design and will follow the same principles in the lettermg as in any other part of the design. It is, however, more difficult to bring letters under these laws than landscape or figure composition. When one has become a master of the letters he may 69 Design and Composition use them to form ornament, but it is safer for the amateur to preserve the historical forms and put his ornament on the background. On account of the varying widths of Roman letters it is sometimes difficult to space a word to a given length by counting letters from a center line. Fig. 105 illustrates a method of spacing, on the old principle of similar triangles. Suppose it is reqiyred to put the word PROBLEM on the line and to the length ab. A line ac is drawn from a at any angle, another line ilc drawn parallel to it and the word sketched in this space, starting at a and spacing each letter with reference to the one before it, allowing the word to end where it will. The end of the last letter (at c) is connected with b and lines parallel to cb drawn from each letter, thus dividing ab proportionately. The proportionate height of bf is obtained from ce by the construction shown, after which the word can be sketched in its final position. After one has become familiar with the letters the line ac only need be drawn and the proportionate widths marked on it starting at a as in the word "SPACING." The final adjustment will be secured only after Fig. 105. — Method of Spacing to Given Length. "0 Design and Composition each letter has been adapted perfectly to its surround- ings, with the areas of space so balanced that no gaping whites nor spots of black mar the effect. Do not hesitate to erase a whole line if it is felt that shifting it even a sixteenth of an inch would improve the design. At this stage the trained designer can see clearly the exact appearance of the finished drawing; the beginner is often surprised at the difference in effect when the letters are inked, and solid black has taken the place of the gray pencil outline. This part of designing cannot be taught, it is gained only by experience. If the work is a drawing for reproduction, a printed cover page for example, a full size sketch on paper of the same color and texture as that to be used in the printing is a great aid in studying the effect before making the final enlarged drawing for the engraver. Suggestions on drawing for reproduction will be found in Chapter VIII. Book covers in cloth are printed with brass stamps, and the drawing, made to fmished size in color on smooth binder's cloth, of the selected shade, is often sent for the die-cutter to work from. Designs for execution in stone or bronze are made full size in pencil only, on detail paper or tracing paper and from this transferred to the material. Fig. 1 06 is an alphabet designed with Japanese characters (there is no real alphabet in that language), for which occasional appropriate use may be found in Fig. 106. — .\ Japanese Suggestion, connection with Japanese design. It may be used in vertical panels. The two fillers on the last line are the well-known symbols, or words, for "good luck" and "long life." ' The following page gives a summary, in tabular The Letters and Their Uses (Propriety) (Sincerity) (nignity) (I.cEil.ility) (Boldness) (ironotony) (Novelty) OLD ROMAN miamii ® m (Caprice) ^-rre/pc/) /cr(pl6^^ Roman lower-case COMMERCIAL GOTHIC MODERN ROMAN ART MQa^EAU ^m — The "general purpose letter." P"or classic and renaissance design. All caps for architectural inscriptions, corner stones, tablets, signs, titles on drawings, initials. All caps or caps and lower-case for posters, book covers, book plates, etc. Permits of wide letter-spacing. — All caps, or caps and Gothic lower-case. For ecclesiastical work or with anv Gothic design. Initials, versals, illuminating, monograms, etc. Lines close together. — Never all caps. Ecclesiastical work, inscriptions, illuminating, engrossing, work in medieval design; book covers of appropriate titles. May be etched or engraved on metal. Letters must be kept close together. — .Ml caps, or better caps and lower-case. For graceful, fanciful, quaint effects. Louis XV, XVI, &c., design. Book covers, ciphers, etc. With Old Roman for posters, titles, headings, etc. Colonial style. — Less formal than Roman cai)itals. A subordinate letter, but words more legible than all caj)s, hence should be used for sentences, paragraphs or solid pages. • — All caps. Effect crude. Single letters readable at a greater distance than any other style. For bold brush-work, titles on working drawings, signs, inscriptions on stone, etc. Letters may be much compressed or extended but not widely spaced. — For map w'ork — titles and important features, all caps, less important land features, caps and lower-case. Water features inclined. Used by sign writers and engravers. Inartistic and useless in design. — For all work in the "moderne stil." Etching, stenciling, saw-piercing, arts and crafts work in general. Monograms, marks, posters, etc. 72 Design and Composition form, of the letters used in design, with suggestions as to the appropriate uses for each style. The character- istic designation given to each may seem fanciful, but it is simply an effort to " personify " the styles and to aid in giving that sympathetic acquaintance which the successful designer must feel. To attempt to go into detail in any of the branches of design in which lettering is used would carry us past r$Sil%mtuVoi Fig. 107. — By R. F. Seymour. the limits of this book. The lettering on a book-plate for example is really the most important part of it, but the design of ex libris is a subject in itself. Fig. 108 is a book-plate in which letters have been used as design. Another special subject into which we cannot enter is the art of illuminating, which may be defined as the brightening of a page by the use of colors and gold and silver. As an art it flourished throughout the Middle Ages, and naturally declined ^after the invention of printing. In the present revival of lettering, when the beauty of the hand-written page is appreciated more than at any time since printing was invented, the " Art of Illuminating" is coming again to a rightful place among the arts. Beautiful things may be done easily by the student of lettering, on vellum, parchment, Japan papers or even "cover papers," by designing a page of writing, usually in Gothic or Roman lower-case and illuminat- ing the initials and border. In the simplest design it would mean only the boxing of the initials as in Figs. 55 and 65. Real illuminating always implies the application of metals in addition to color. Pure gold, burnished, should be used, either in the form of shell gold, or leaf. Gold and silver bronzes are useful only for temporar}' work. The student wishing to go into illuminating is referred to the books mentioned in the last chapter, particularly to " Writing and Illuminating and Letter- ing," by Edward Johnston. It is recommended that the student in practicing lettering for application in any branch of design do not simply copy alphabets, but that he set a delinite prob- Design and Composition lem, as a book cover or title page, and gain from it not only knowledge of the letter forms, but experience in the far more important part, the composition. The figures in this chapter are given to illustrate good design and composition in a variety of subjects, and should have careful study. l''iG. loS. — Book Plate by Thomas Moring. From " One Hundred Book Plates." 74 CHAPTER VII Monograms, Ciphers and Marks One of the severe tests of a designer's skill and originality is in the design of letter combinations in monogram or cipher. It requires not only knowledge of the laws of design, and intimate and sympathetic acquaintance with the letter-forms, but a certain ingenuity and inventive ability — a power to devise combinations where none are evident. A monogram, strictly speaking, is a combination of two or more letters in which a part of each letter forms part of another. It is common to speak of any com- bination of interwoven or superimposed letters as a monogram, but if each letter is separate and complete such devices are not really monograms, but ciphers; and although usage and even some dictionary defini- tions have sanctioned the broader use of the word, we shall make the distinction, mainly for convenience in reference. As a rule the designing of a monogram requires more ingenuity than a cipher, and is consequently more interesting as a problem, hut the result is often not as pleasing as a well designed cipher. A mongrel combination of the two, in three letter designs, in which two of the letters are monogram and the third a separate letter is, however, to be avoided if at all pos- sible. It should be pure monogram or pure cipher. In this distinction it should not be understood that a monogram is better than a cipher as a design. The device is for ornament, indeed is ornament and an essential requirement is beauty. It is very often true that a given combination of letters cannot be made into anything but an ugly monogram, it is very seldom the case that the same combination cannot be combined into satisfactory, if not beautiful, cipher. The laws of unity, balance, symmetry, etc., will of course apply in this as in any other branch of design. Absolute symmetry about a central axis is not at all necessary, but balance must be maintained. The period, purpose, and material must again be considered. The period or style must be appropriate, and the letters must all belong to the same stvle. It Monograms, Ciphers and Marks is absolutely intolerable to mix styles. The desire should be for simplicity and purity of line and com- position. The florid "Louis XV" designs sometimes used by engravers are of no value to craftsmen. Ex- cessive ornamentation is an acknowledgment of weak- ness. The important letter (the last, in initials of persons) is to be prominent by position, size or strength. The monogram to be perfect must read in the correct order. The purpose will again determine the legibility. A trademark or commercial device must read easily, while a private mark may be decipherable with diffi- culty but both must be decorative, and hence good design. The material on which the device is to be executed will influence the style of letter, the amount of orna- ment and the character of the background. Monograms and ciphers may be either superimposed, successive or condnuous. In the superimposed design the prominent letter will be emphasized by its size, by the quality of line composing it or by its position on top. The successive and continuous designs will read naturally from left to right, the continuous being formed in one stroke and therefore having only two free ends. Sometimes in the successive form the last letter is made much larger than the others and placed in the middle. Care must be taken, especially in three-letter com- binations, not to get an "accidental" letter, as such an event will destroy the value of the design however good it may be. It is permissible to reverse any letter but the last. The device of the Rookwood Pottery, Fig. 117, is a well-known example. Many of these are found in the French designs of the seventeenth century, when per- fect symmetry about the vertical axis was particularly sought for. In comparatively rare cases a reversible monogram reading either from top or bottom can be made. These are of particular value in applied design in craft work. Fig. 109 illustrates possibilities with all the letters of the alphabet. In attacking the problem the shape of the space is the first consideration. If the monogram is to be enclosed in a circle or other geometrical outline it must be arranged to fit the space, and even if to be used as free ornament its proportions must be designed for the place it is to occupy. 76 Monograms, Ciphers and Marks a? Fig. log. — Reversible Monograms and Ciphers. The letters to be combined should be set down and studied. A H I M O T U V W X Y are symmetrical, and several of them reversible (upside down) along with N S and Z. If the given letters are included in this group it is evident that the first form, a symmetrical superimposed device, is an easy solution. Fig. no. Fig. no. — Superimposed Forms. Pairs such as CD, CO, GD, EB (script) and doubles as HH, DC, QD, etc., balance left and right and suggest the possibility of symmetrical arrangement in either the first, or second, the successive, form. Fig. 1 1 1. This form is possible oftener than the first, and is usually more legible. 77 Monograms, Ciphers and Marks If strict monogram is being striven for, a careful study should be made to find common strokes. Thus in M R L, Fig. 112, the M has four possible lines for use as stems for the R and L. Evidently using the first stem would give a faulty result, as in (i), reading RM L. Fig. III. — Successive Forms. The free ends of each letter should be studied with reference to the possibility of connecting them into continuous monogram, Fig. 113. Sometimes free ends may be improvised as in E B. A vertical script is a useful letter for continuous forms. Fig. 115. For autograph monograms the continuous device is par- ticularly good. After analyzing the letters in this way the designer should try the different styles of letter in little sketches, beginning with the Roman. This letter does not per- FiG. 113. — Continuous Monograms. mit of many liberties, it is not flexible, but when one does get a good design in Old Roman it is sure to have dignity and character. If after a half dozen trials no 78 Monograms, Ciphers and Marks possibilities seem to suggest themselves pass on to the Uncial, which on account of its admitting of more variation is much more amenable to treatment; and probably with the given letters there will be several Fig. 114. — O. S. U. Uncial and Gothic. suggested Uncial combinations, in both monogram and cipher, Fig. 114. Gothic may be tried next. Old English capitals are themselves sufficiently complicated as not to invite further complication, but the simpler forms can often be worked into acceptable design in either monogram or cipher. The next form, script, is the favorite letter of the Fig. 115. — Script, Designed by \. .\. Turbayne. engravers. It combines much more easily into cipher than into monogram, and allows such freedom that it is safe to say that any combination may be done pass- ably in it. I'lG. 116. — J. R. C. Various Treatments of the Same Monogram. The modern, "new art," letters offer the most at- tractive field for the ingenious monogram designer. The variations of form which they present, and the 79 Monograms, Ciphers and Marks possibilities for originality and individuality make them the most interesting of all to play with. This style naturally suggests itself for use in the art-crafts, in etched, pierced, and stenciled work. Striking effects are secured by cutting the letters from a black background. Often a pleasing device, although not a It may be a monogram, or initial, or even a device without letters; it need not be legible but it must be distinctive. The possession of such marks is very common among the literary and artistic people of France and Germany. M. George Auriol is the acknowledged master of WiLUAM (74j OVTON jesu hominum Salvatop The Studio" Fig. 117. — Various Historical and other Devices. real monogram may be made by using separated letters enclosed with good composition in some shape, Fig. 118. The modern cachet or mark bears much the same relation to an individual that a trade-mark does to a business house, being the stamp of individuality with which he may mark his productions or possessions. I'lG. iiS. — Designs with Separate Letters. this decoration, and his published drawings of these designs form two most fascinating little books. Fig. 1 19 shows examples of his style, the lirst device being his own characteristic signature. The illustrations of this chapter are selected from monograms designed by the authors (except as cred- SO Monograms, Ciphers and Marks ited), and, with some exceptions, are in actual use; and while some unite easily and others with difficulty, a it may be said for the benefit of the beginner who may satisfactory monogram or cipher in some style is pos- think his initials are impossible of combination, that sible with any two or three letter combination. J.O. JR. '" H B. Fig. 119. — Designs by George Auriol. 81 CHAPTER VIII Drawing for Reproduction As the greatest amount of designed lettering done is for reproduction the student should make himself familiar with the modern graphic processes and the requirements necessary in drawing for them. Line drawings are usually reproduced by the jjhoto-mcchan- ical process known as zinc etching, in which the draw- ing is photographed on a process plate, generally with some reduction in size, the negative film reversed and printed so as to give a positive on a sensitized zinc plate (when a particularly fine result is desired a copper plate is used), which is etched with acid leaving the lines in relief, and giving, when mounted type-high on a wood base, a printing block which can be used along with type on an ordinary jirinting press. Wash drawings and jihotographs are reproduced in a similar way on copper by what is known as the half-tone pro- cess, in which the negative is made through a ruled "screen" in front of the plate, which breaks up the tints into a series of dots of varying size. Drawings for zinc etching should be made on com- paratively smooth white paper (Bristol board is generally used, and tracing cloth works very success- fully), in black drawing ink, and preferably larger than the required reproduction. If it is desired to preserve the hand-drawn character and quality of the original the reduction should be very slight, but if a very smooth effect is wanted the drawing may be as much as three or four times as large as the cut. The best general size is one and one-half times, linear. A reducing glass, a concave lens mounted like a reading glass, is sometimes used to aid in judging the effect of the drawing on reduction. If lines are drawn too close together the space between them will choke in the rej^roduction and mar the effect. As suggested on page 71 a sketch the size of the finished cut should usually be made to work from. The proj)ortions of this sketch may be enlarged to the desired size by proportional dividers, or by making a paper scale, or by diagonals as illustrated in Fig. 120. If a diagonal ab across the original sketch afbg be S2 Drawing for Reproduction f 'W^ Fig. 1 20. — Method of Enlarging a Drawing. extended, lines ci and ce may be drawn from any point on it, as c, and will enclose a rectangle adce of the same proportion as the original. A line of letters, as the block ]ii]h, may be located both for size and position by extending its sides to the edges of the original sheet and drawing lines through these points from the corner a. Where these lines intersect the edges of the enlarged sheet will give points from which the enlarged block may be located, as shown. If more than one color is to be used, for example, if some letters or parts of the ornament are to be red , these parts may be drawn with an opaque vermilion, which will photograph the same as black, or they may be drawn in black and the color indicated on the margin. The engraver will make two plates from the same nega- tive, and will block out the colors on the zinc, giving two plates, one for the red and one for the black, of exactly the same size, and which will consequently register accurately in the printing. One ver}' convenient thing not permissible in other work, may be done on drawings for reproduction — any irregularities may be corrected by simply painting out with French white (blanc d'argent). If it is 83 Drawing for Reproduction X desired to shift a line after it has been inked it mav be cut out and pasted on in the required position. The edges thus left will not trouble the engraver as they will be tooled out when the etching is finished. Often time may be saved, and in many cases effects not possible in drawing may be secured with the aid of the engraver. If a design or border is symmetrical about a center line, one-half only need be drawn and the engraver can reverse the design for the other side. Plates may be "grained" to imitate very closely charcoal or pencil texture, and tints, backgrounds and textures may be added by the engraver's use of the method of mechanical shading commonly known as the Ben Day process. In this the drawing is made in outline, with the patterns to be used indicated on it by numbers. The shading films, which come in a great variety of stipples, cross-hatchings, grains and lines, are inked and applied directly on the plate, or in some cases on the drawing. 84 CHAPTER IX Bibliography The title of this book indicates its limits. For the student who expects to go into the subject thoroughly and seriously it is only an introduction. The aim has been not to multiply examples, but to give an adequate number of practical working styles for the ordinary draftsman and designer, with examples of composition in sufficient variety to illustrate the text. An indexed clipping file of good work in lettering and design should be started, and the habit of studying critically the work found in the magazines and other artistic publications cultivated. The following list of books is given to aid those who will pursue the study. Some of these will be found in most public libraries. Those marked * would be of particular value in the designer's library. (i) HISTORY, ETC. Clodd, Edward — The Story of the Alphabet. Apple- ton, 1907. An interesting little book on primitive writing, hieroglyphics, etc., disputing some theories of Taylor. De Vinne, Theo. L.— Plain Printing Types. The De Vinne Press, 1900. A history of printing types by the best .\merican authority. Gress, Edmund G.— The Art and Practice of Typog- raphy. N. Y. The Oswald Publishing Co., 1910. A history of printing, with reproductions of the work of early masters, and excellent chapters on composi- tion, with many modern e.xamples. 160 pp., over 600 ill. and specimens. Skinner, H. M. — The Story of the Letters and Figures. Orville Brewer, Chicago, 1905. A popular story for boys and girls, of the develop- ment of letters from the Phoenician. Good for supplementary school reading. Strange, Edward F.— *Alphabets. Geo. Bell & Sons, 1898. \ valuable book, both historical and practical. 298 pp. 200 ill. S5 Bibliography Taylor, Isaac — The Alphabet. Its Origin and Devel- opment. 2 V. 2d ed. London, 1899. The most exhaustive and authoritative work on the subject. Thompson, Sir E. M. — Handbook of Greek and Latin Palaeography. Appleton, 1893. A standard work on the history of writing. (2) PRACTICAL BOOKS FOR DESIGNERS Brown, F. C. — *Letters & Lettering. Bates & Guild, 1902. By an architect. A collection of alphabets and examples with accompanying text. 214 pp. 211 ill. Day, Lewis F. — *Alphabets Old and New. 3rd ed. Revised and enlarged. Scribners, igii. An Essay on ".Art in the .\lphabet," and nearly 200 working alphabets. 256 pp. Day, Lewis F. — *Lettering in Ornament. Scribners, 1906. Many historical examples on stone, wood, bronze, etc. Chapters on monograms, ciphers, conjoined letters, initials, etc. 218 pp. 186 ill. Johnston, Edward — ^Writing & Illuminating & Let- tering. The Macmillan Company, 1906. In the Artistic Crafts series of Technical HandbooLs. Complete practical instruction in preparing reed and quill pens, formal writing, manuscript hooks, laying and burnishing gold, etc. 500 pp. 218 ill. 23 pi. Larisch, R. von — * Unterricht in Ornamentaler Schrift. Second ed., enlarged. Wien, 1909. Dr. V. Larisch is the recognized European authority on modern letters. Stevens, Thos. W. — ^Lettering for Printers & De- signers. Inland Printer, Chicago, 1906. .\n artistic and useful little book, particularly for Roman lower-case. 117 pp. 65 ill. Strange, E. F. — * Alphabets (See i). (3) COLLECTIONS OF ALPHABETS, ETC. Johnston, Edward — *Manuscript and Inscription Letters. London, John Hogg, 1909. A valuable working supplement to Writing & Illum- inating & Lettering. 16 pi. Koch, Rudolf — Klassische Schriften, Dresden. 25 plates illustrating the letters of Gutenberg, Diirer, W. Morris, Koenig, Hupp, etc. Larisch, R. von — Beispiele Kunstlerischer Schrift. Anton Schroll, Wien. 3V., 1900-1906. Drawings illustrating composition, by well known artists in their characteristic letters. 86 Bibliography Lehner, Jos. and Mader, Ed. — Neue Schriften und Firmcnschilder Im Modernen Stil. Wol- frum & Co., Wien, n. d. A collection of Art Nouveau composition. Beauti- ful color schemes. 60 pi. Petzendorfer, L. — * Schriften Atlas. Jul. Hoffman, Stuttgart, 1898. A varied collection of type specimens and drawn alphabets and initials. 123 pi. Petzendorfer, L. — *Schriften Atlas. Neue Folge, Stuttgart, 1905. Newer type specimens, initials, monograms and examples of composition in .-Vrt Nouveau. 141 pi. Rhead, G. W. — An Alphabet of Roman Capitals, to- gether with three sets of lower case letters, etc. B. T. Batsford, London, 1903. Old Roman from Trajan's column. 26 plates, one letter 7 in. high on each plate. Smith, P. J.— Lettering and Writing. B. T. Batsford, London, igo8. By a pupil of Edward Johnston. 15 plates of pen drawn Roman. Turbayne, A. A. — Alphabets and Numerals. Van Nostrand, 1904. 17 pp. 27 pi. Large letters. Weimar, William — Monumental Schriften. Gerlach und Schenk, Wein, 1898. 68 plates of inscriptions on stone, bronze and wood. (4) ILLUMINATING Bradley, John W. — Illuminated Letters and Borders. Board of Education, South Kensington, 1901. A history of the .\rt of Illumination, and list of manuscripts in the Victoria and .Mbert Museum. 175 PP- 19 P'- Bradley, John W. — Illuminated Manuscripts. Lon- don, Methuen & Co. 1905. An interesting and scholarly story of the art of illumination. i6mo., 290 pp. 21 pi. Delamotte, F. — A Primer of the Art of Illumination. London, Crosby, Lockwood & Son, 1S97. 43 PP- 20 pi- Johnston, E. F.— *Writing & Illuminating & Letter- ing (See 2). Herbert, J. A. — Illuminated Manuscripts. Putnam, 1911. An exhaustive history of manuscript books with illustrations in color. 51 pi. 356 pp. ,Laing, J. J. — *Manual of Illumination. Windsor & Newton. A practical lilllc handbook. 100 pp. 87 Bibliography Laing, J. J. — *Companion to Manual of Illumination. Windsor & Newton. "Borders, capitals, texts and detail finishings, etc." 28 pi. Middleton, J. H. — Illuminated Manuscripts in Clas- sical and Mediaeval Times; their Art and their Technique. Cambridge, 1892. Pctzendorfer, L. — Schriften Atlas (See 3). Contains many illuminated initials. Quaile, Edward — Illuminated Manuscripts. Liver- pool, Henry Young & Sons, 1897. An interesting sketch of their origin, hi.story and characteristics. 149 pp. 26 pi. Robinson, S. F. H. — Celtic Illuminative Art. Dtiblin, 1908 A beautiful book with full sized reproductions from the Gospel books of Durrow, Lindisfarne and Kells. Colored plates. Stokes, Margaret. — Early Christian Art in Ireland. Board of Education, South Kensington. An illustrated handbook. Whithard, Philip. — Illuminating and Missal Painting, London, Crosby, Lockwod & Son, 1909. A practical treatise on materials and methods of working. 145 pp. The older books, such as Shaw, Humphreys and The Art of Illuminating by Wyatt, now out of print, may be found in many of the large libraries. (5) MONOGRAMS Auriol, George — *Le Premier Livre des Cachets Marques et Monogrammes. Paris, Librairie Centrale des Beaux-Arts, 1901. A most artistic little book. Auriol, George — *Le Second Livre des Cachets, Marques, Monogrammes et ex Libris. Paris, Henry Floury, 1908. Uniform with the first book. Benker, H. — Das Monogramm der Gegenwart. Plau- en, C. Stoll. 20 plates of monograms especially for needle work. Bergling, J. M. — Art Monograms and Lettering. Chicago, 1912. A portfolio of modern designs particularly for engravers. Day, L. F. — *Lettering in Ornament (See 2). Diebener, Wilhelm— Monogramme und Dekorationen. Leipzig, 19 10. "Ftir Uhren und Kdelmetall-gravierung." 145 plates of Monograms and Devices. 88 Bibliography Nowack, Hans — Das Moderne Monogramm. Wicn, Ferd Schenk. 26 plates containing 676 two-letter ciphers. Petzendorfer, L. — Schriften Atlas, Neue Folge (See 3). Contains about 20 plates of modern monograms. Turbayne, A. A. — *Monograms & Ciphers. The Caxton Co., London, 1909. 135 plates containing all the two-letter and many three-letter combinations drawn in large size, with 27 plates of alphabets and numerals. (6) ENGINEERING LETTERING Jacoby, Henry S. — A Text-Book on Plain Lettering. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. 3d ed., 1909. Written for Civil Engineers. Elaborate rules for mechanical spacing. 82 pp. 48 pi. Reinhardt, C. W. — Lettering for Draftsmen, Engineers and Students. Van Nostrand, 1895. "A practical system of freehand lettering for working drawings." 23 pp. 8 pi. Sherman, C. E. — The Theory and Practice of Letter- ing. Midland Publishing Company, Colum- bus, Ohio. 6th ed., 1904. Showing in detail the construction and strokes of modern Roman Capitals, and stump letters. One of the original te.xt-books on the subject. 49 pp. 11 pi. Wilson, Victor T. — Free-hand Lettering. John Wiley, New York, 1903. Development of letter-forms and composition by the sketch-method. 95 pp. 23 pi. Daniels, Fish, Esser, Valpey, Parsons, Copley, Meinhardt, Cromwell and many others have prepared text-books or collections of alphabets for draftsmen. (7) SHOW CARD AND COMMERCIAL LETTERING Davids, Thaddeus — Davids' Practical Letterer. New York, 1903. Heyny, William — Modern Lettering, .Artistic and Practical. Comstock, 1909. Strong, Chas. J. — The Art of Show Card Writing. Detroit School of Lettering, Detroit, Mich., 1907. (8) SCHOOL WORK, ETC. Bailey, Henry T.— The School Arts Alphabet Sheets. School Arts Press, Boston, Mass. Ever)- public school art teacher should have this set. Bull, Schuyler— The A B C of Lettering for Public Schools. Rochester, N. Y., 190S. Four plates and sheet of instructions. 89 Bibliography Shaylor, H. W. — Book of Alphabets for Use in Schools. Ginn & Co., 1908. A 24-page copybook of good forms. The cards and leaflets issued by Alfred Bartlett, Boston; Paul Elder, San Francisco, and other publishers give beautiful and suggestive examples of lettering in design. Photographs of Trajan's Column and other classical inscriptions may be had from the Director of Victoria and Albert Museum, S. Kensington, London. This should not be considered as a complete bib- liography, but it contains most of the better known works in the various divisions. Many books out of print and rare are not included, as they would not ordinarily be accessible. The list contains sufficient titles to guide in the selection of a reference library for school or individual. 90 INDEX Abbey, E. A., 66 Accidental letter, 76 Alcuin of York, 2 Aldus Manutius, 59 Alphabets, books of, collections of, 86 Ampersand, 14 Applied design, 71, 72 Appropriateness, 64 Architects' use of letters, inscription lettering, 40, 41 office lettering, 39 Architectural drawing, contents of title, 34 forms of titles, 37 Art-crafts, 63, 72, 80 Art Nouveau, 3, 61, 62, 63 uses of, 63, 72 Auriol, George, 62, 80, 81 Autograph monograms, 78 Beginners' mistakes, 29 Ben Day films, 84 Bibliography, 85 Blackletter, 3, 52 Blank title forms, 38 Block letter, 19 Bold face, 4 Book covers, 71 Book of Kells, 2, 51 Book plates, 73 Books on lettering, 85 Boxed title, 37, 38 Brackets, 6, 8 Broad pens, 44, 46, 47, 50, 54, 55 Bronze tablets, 41, 65, 68, 71 shrinkage, 41 Brush letters, 19, 44 Cachets, 80 Caroline minuscule, 2 Celtic, 2, 51 Charlemagne, 2 Ciphers, 75 Civil engineers, 15 Colonial composition, 60 Color in reproduction, S3 Commercial Gothic, 3, 19 91 Commercial Gothic alphabets, 20, 21, for signals, etc., 41 uses of, 72 Composition, 64 Colonial, 60 freedom in, 42 Reinhardt in, 29 Compressed letters, 4, 29, 43 Contents of titles, 34 Continuous monograms, 78 Day, Len-is F., 64 Delia Robbia type, 47 Design, in lettering, 64 of monograms, 75 laws of, 69 symmetrical, to reverse, 84 with separate letters, 80 Development, i De\ices, historical, 80 separate letter, 80 Drawing instruments, g Drawings, for reproduction, 82 23 Index Drawings, to enlarge, 82 to correct, 83 Drop line, 46 Durer, Albrecht, 52, 58. 66 Dwiggins, \V. A., 52, 67, 69 Ellipses, 14 Engineering lettering, books on, 89 Engraving, 82 Engrossing, 56 Evolution, I Extended letters, 4, 24 Fillets, 6, 8, 14 Flourishes, in Gothic, 57 in script, 60 Follows, G. H., 25 Fractions, 29 Freedom in composition, 42, 43 French script, 59 uses of, 72 General proportions of letters, 4 Geological survey, 15, 41 Geometrical construction, 9, 14 German text, 3, 53, 58 Gothic, 52, 62 alphabets, 55, 56, 57, 58 commercial (see Commercial Gothic) Gothic, in monograms, 79 position for writing, 54 uses of, 58, 72 Government Bureaus, 15 Half-tone process, 82 Half-uncial, 51 Henry VH, tomb of, 7 Historical devices, 80 Histor}', books on, 85 Hunter, Uard, 63, 67 Illuminating, 73 Incised letters, 39 Inclined Roman, 30, 31 single stroke caps, 25 alphabet, 26 Individuality, 40, 45, 80. Initials, ornamental, 50 Inking, 5, 12, 18, 19, 25, 36 Invention of printing, 3 Irish half-uncial, 2, 51 Italic, 3, 30, 58, 59 J, use of I for, S Japanese, 71 Jenson type, 45 Kells, Book of, 2, 51 92 Koch, Rudolph, 60, 62 Larisch, Dr. v., 47, 66 Laws of design, 69, 75 Legibility, 28, 44, 66 Leonardo da Vinci, 14 Light face, 4 Lombardic letters, 47 Lower-case, Roman, 44 proportion of capitals, 46 single stroke, 28 Machine drawing title, 34 Manuscripts, 2 Map title, 34 Map w^ork, 19, 31, 41 Marks, 80 Marsuppini monument, 7 Material, 67, 76, 82 Mechanical construction of Roman, 14 Missal type, 50 Modern Roman, 3, 15 alphabets, 16, 17 uses of, 72 Monograms, 75 books on, 88 definitions, 75, 76 Morris, William, 45 Index \pA- Art, 6i in monograms, 79 uses of, 63, 72 Old English, 3, 53 Old Roman, i, q alphabets, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 39, 40 angle of tilt, 14 compressed, 43 for architectural work, 39, 40 geometrical construction of, 10, it, 14 in design, 42 inking, 12 in monograms, 78 in titles, 37 monogram-combinations, 43 proportions, 8 spacing, ^3 wide letter-spacing, 37, 43 written with broad pen, 44 uses of, 72 Optical illusions, 4, 15 Order and direction of strokes, for Old Roman, 12 for Commercial Gothic, 22 for Gothic capitals, 56 for Gothic lower-case, 55 for single stroke upright letters, 23 for single stroke inclined letters, 26 Ornament, 70 Celtic, 51 excessive, 76 flat, 64 in monograms, 75 on titles, 37 Ornamental initials, 50 Paper scale, 9, 15 Patent oflice drawing, 41 Pencil texture, to imitate, S4 Penciling, 9, 18, ^;^ Pens, 22, 31, 44, 53 to prepare, 24 Photo-mechanical processes, 82 Practical books for designers, 86 Practice strokes, for Gothic writing, 55 for stump letters, 31 incHned single stroke, 27 upright single stroke, 24 Printing, invention of, 3 plates, 82 Pumpkin seed letter, 31 Punctuation marks, 37 Quill pens, 54 Record strip, 38 Reducing glass, 82 93 Reed pen, 44, 54 Reinhardt, Charles W., 28 Reinhardt letter, 28, 29, 40, 41 Renaissance Roman, S, 7, 8 Reproduction, drawing for, 82 Reversible monograms, 76, 77 Richard II, tomb of, 56 Roman letter, 5 accented lines, 5 in design, 42 lower-case, 44 alphabets, 45, 46, 47 uses of, 72 modern, 3, 15, 16, 17 uses of, 7 2 old (see Old Roman) "oldstyle," 5 Renaissance. 5. 7, 8 rules for shading, 6 Round Gothic, 52, 55 Round-writing pens, 53 Rules, of stability, 4 for composition, 29 for Gmhic letters, 53 for shading Roman letters, 6 for spacing, 53 Rustic, 2 Sans-serif, 19 Index Script, 3, 58, 5Q, 60 in monograms, 79 Serifs, 6, 8, 9, 14, 18 Seymour, R. F., 66, 68, 73 Show^ard lettering, books on, 8g Signals and signs, 41 Single-stroke letters, 22 inclined caps, 25 inclined lower-case, 28 vertical caps, 24 Sketches, 68, 71 Slope of inclined letters, 25, 27, 60 Sonnecken pens, 53 Space fillers, 57 Spacing, 32, 3i, 57, 70 Stencil letters, 61 Stone, letters on, 40, 71 Stump letters, 31, 41 Superimposed monograms, 77 Symmetrical title, 25 "t" line, 47 Table of letters and their uses, 72 Tablets, bronze, 41, 65, 68, 71 Taylor, Isaac, i Text letters, 55 Tomb of Henry VII, 7 Trajan's column, i, 6 Triangles, slope, 25 Type, Delia Robbia, 47 Jenson, 45 Missal, 50 U, use of sharp V for, 8 Uncial, the, 2, 47 alphabets, 48, 49, 50, 89, 90 in monograms, 79 use of, 50, 72 use with Gothic, 53 Upright single stroke, 23, 24 Vorsals, 49 Vertical single stroke caps, 24 Waist line, 18, 47 White, use of, 83 Wieynk, Heinrich, 60 Working drawing titles, 37, 38, 41 Zinc etching, 82 General p Gcologica Gcomclri< German t Gothic, 5 alph: comt OJ CXD GD CD CD 94 A Li^^' ^y *nc n(ir\/f:!")r;,. fi If iiiti\/ci"ir, RJ/A .s>;lOSANCflfj> ^^^^fllBRARY<3^ ^. ;R% ^lOSANCflfj^ % -< ''.I/O J II ^.yojiivojo'^ V3J0-'^ 'l ^ Vn I uwunn iv^"^ * VJo i uwuan ^\iN- |^^v.>^c^■'^ */0 1 MtJtinii -^^NV V/1 I iiwiioii "t^V^ lYO/. ■'% « V \\1M ■ICFlfj-^ \\r iron rrnc . 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