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il^l 1(^1 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 Publishers
Hill Publishing 0>mpany
of Books for
World
TKe Engineering' and Mining Journal American Macniniit Engineering Record Coal Age Electric Railway Journal Power Metallurgical and ClKemical Engineering Electrical
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
6
WEST 3'iTH STREET, NEW YORK 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
i'otk.
Pa.
Press
6b d u
7 ^^ e
PREFACE There are two general those
who
among
classes of persons
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
tering in design, as art students, artists, designers
craftsmen.
The foundation
is
the
same
for
let-
and
both,
whether the application be on a mechanical drawing or The first class may be concerned mainly a poster. with legibility and speed, and the second with beauty, but there can be no distinction in the principles of the
given in the
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 is
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
subject.
There
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 designs
student in an engineering course must be given
training in lettering as a necessary requirement in the
execution of technical drawing, but that this lettering
considered
to
on account of
it is
its
too often true
application
be mechanical drawing.
Let
it
is
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
To
is
the engineering student
it
may seem
to
be only of
no engineers' lettering as distinguished from other There is simply the adaptation by each lettering.
general interest, but to the architect, art student, and
draftsman of the style suitable to his particular needs. The map draftsman, the architectural draftsman, the machine draftsman will each select appropriate letters "Engineers' lettering," sofor his kind of work. 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 subject should be taught to engineers with reference to their chosen branch. The civil engineer, for example,
and the
will practice the
Modern Roman and
the
stump
letter,
map drawing 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.
as these have
and
become standard
similar work.
The
letters in
architect,
designer,
some knowledge
of the history of the alphabet
different periods of
lutely essential.
It is
its
development
is
abso-
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 is
given in the
references
first
may be
historical outline
chapter in order that subsecjuent
understood.
be noticed that in the analytical plates the have been arranged in their family groups
It will
letters
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 Williams, 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
Design
— Optical —The Roman —Old Roman — Renaissance Roman — forms — Geometrical construction — Modillusions
Roman — Commercial
gothic
— Single
letters
— Single stroke inclined — Inclined Roman — Stump
—
.Art
III
— —
CH.A.PTER
—Method
—Freedom
of designing a
75
purpose
period,
successive,
monogram
and
continuous,
—De\nces and
letters.
CH.APTER 30
map
\1II 82
— —
—
—
Photomechanical processes Materials Size Methods of enlarging drawings Color Corrections Effects gained
—
—
through engraver's aid.
CH.APTER IX
in
in design
—
—Designs with separate
CHAPTER V Design Importance Old Roman
—
VII
Drawing for Reproduction
—
—
—
marks
rV'
Selection of Styles For architectural work Inscriptions and tablets For drawing For signals and signs For shop drawings.
—
M0N0GR.AMS, Ciphers and Marks Definitions Requirements The material Forms, superimposed, reversible
machine drawings, for architectural drawings, for maps Symmetrical composition P'ull panel Other title forms Record strip. Titles, for
—
64
different
CILAPTER
32
— Spacing—
—
script
Composition
.and
capi-
letters.
Composition and Titles
Letters
and
Principles
letters
stroke
letter
CHAPTER
—
Italic
—^The period, purpose and material — Ornament Legibility and beauty— Methods — Spacing—.Appropriate for branches of applied design — Suggestions.
letter
Single stroke vertical capitals
Principles
—
CH.APTER VI
for shading
— Reinhardt
Gothic writing
4
General proportions
tals
for
nouveau.
CHAPTER n
ern
—
—
i
Letter Construction
Analysis of letter
— Broad
and reed pens
Historical Outline
— Rules
Page pen construction Roman lower-case -The Uncial— The Celtic—The Gothic, or "Text letter"— Steel tion
42 in
composi-
Bibliography
85
Index
gi
CHAPTER
I
Historical Outline "If
we
invention
set aside the
of
speech,
may
fairly
still
the
more wonderful
discovery
of
ment about two thousand years ago, and have been
the
presen'ed for us on the
be accounted the most diflicult as well as the most fruitful of all the past achievements of the human intellect." aljthabet
For the general student
of history, as well as the art
student, the study of palaeography
Canon Taylor, from whom
is
an
interesting one.
the above quotation
is
taken,
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 exception of j, u, w, y, and z) reached their full develophas written a history of the alphabet*
*
The Alphabet,
Its Origin
and Development.
Roman
inscriptions of that
which we now call Old Roman, is the parent of all the styles, however diversified, which are in use to-day, and curiously enough, instead of being archaic, is the most useful and artistic one for the designer. period.
This early
letter,
in
Isaac Taylor, London.
li^"2^
IMPCAESARlDlVl
TRAIANOAVGCE MAXrMOTRI'SPOT Fig.
I.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 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 This form, also from the second to the fifth century. 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 surpassed. The wonderful book of Kells (early eighth century) in the Dublin
example
of lettering
museum
is
perhaps the
and illuminating
finest
extant.
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 It will
of lower case letters,
as
Caroline
the
present script writing
Caroline script,
is
this letter
of St. Martin's of Tours, developed
an alphabet
written,
will
it
be noted.
MtCauaBimuf indu^ae uxprtyruo itl rgno^2rt? imﾂｻ (iuato.munuf hooaaoimuLtaf
facrtc
窶｢
{jtr^jimuf uolwraca iT>
TuLLi cicen^oNis AJoheiLENNij
LiBeit pRjfnus e.xpLiciT-
)ncij>it iiBeiL Fig.
2.
secuN OuSv
窶認rom a Ninth Century Manuscript.
capitals
in
the church books.
Our
^emmixmen msmrabimufterauodrKmao
Abbot
all
minuscule.
the direct descendant of this
a reproduction of a ninth century manu-
showing
with a slanted pen.
Charlemagne
is
letter.
Figure 2
789 ordered the revision and In the activity in the monasteries which followed, Alcuin of York, the friend and advisor of Charlemagne, and who was writing.
rewriting of
which has been known ever since (Carlovingian)
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 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
When
the letter
is
had given place so
entirely to angles.
much compressed
that the black
strokes are wider than the white spaces between,
known as
as blackletter.
Old English
The
Italians,
larity of the
is
it is
The form commonly known
an English Gothic of
who never
English and
this period.
followed the extreme angu-
German
Gothic, went back
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 The Roman finally replaced in Roman and Gothic. 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
extensive revival of
Roman
this
the period of the Italian
capital letters for
At the invention
monumental
of printing in the
fifteenth century, the first types
use.
middle of the
were cut
in imitation
In the eighteenth century the
the Louis' followed.
modifications which resulted in the
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 in
occurred.
use of the bold Gothic.
The
movement
letter,
which we
present century
good
are the
is
lettering.
German
call
Commercial
witnessing a most
The
leaders in
secessionists
and the
which they are producing may be under the general term of Art Nouveau.
varieties of letters classified
modern Roman
In the nineteenth century was begun the
CHAPTER
II
Letter Construction
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
General Proportions. Before combining letters 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 into
very uncriual, but different alphabets vary in their
"measure," some being tall and narrow, others short There is a certain proportion or appearance as in the ordinary printed or drawn letters which may be called normal or standard. The styles whose widths are less than these in proportion are called compressed or condensed, and those whose widths are greater are known as expanded or
and wide.
extended.
There in the
is also in the different styles a wide variation proportion of the thickness of the stem or stroke
of the letters to their height, ranging
1/3 to 1/16.
all
the
way from
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 designwhich a horizontal line drawn across the middle In of a rectangle appears to be below the middle. 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 In for in what may be called the "rule of stability." 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 ers, in
Lettkr Construction point.
In order to give the appearance of equal round letters must be extended a trifle over
height, the
the guide line on top in regard/to the letter
and bottom.
This
pointed ends of the angular
is
renaissance are very similar in effect, and the general
A
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
corning to a sharp point at the guide line will
These general proportions and
peculiarities arc true
In this chapter we shall consider the two fundamental styles, the Roman Capitals and the all
styles.
Commercial Gothic.
THE ROMAN LETTER The Roman
is
the
foundation
there are countless variations of
it,
Although there may be said letter.
be three general forms, the early or classic, the and the modern. The classic and the
also true
letters.
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. of
to
renaissance,
is
not so significant.
The Roman
letter is
composed
of
two weights
of
corresponding to the down stroke and the up stroke of the broad reed pen with which it was origilines,
nally written;
which
will
and from
this
we can formulate
a rule
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
the inclined shaded strokes
all
downward from left to which makes a secondary or supplementary rule applicable to X and Y. with the exception of
Z
arc
right (\)
RULES FOR SHADING ROMAN LETTERS This includes all down strokes. (i) Heavy Lines all vertical lines (except as noted above in M, N, and
—
U), and all lines slanting downward, left to right. All strokes all horizontal strokes. (2) Light Lines
—
upward from In the is d..
left to
Roman
right (except Z)
heavy line (a) body mark, the light
letter the
called the stem or
line (b) the hair line, the cross stroke (c) Fig.
which
4.
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
period, that at the base of the Trajan
Rome Fig.
and
(114 A. D.)
I is
at
taken as a typical example.
a photograph of a portion of the inscription, an alphabet drawn carefully from this great
Fig. 5
classic
may be
Roman
Column
example.
ABCDE FGILM NOPRS T'OyX Fig.
5.
— Classic Roman.
Drawn from
the Trajan
Column.
OLD ROMAN
ITALIAN
1315
(renaissance)
TOMB OF HENRY
VII
N 11
ITALIAN 1455 Fig.
6.
MAR,SVPPIN1
—Two Examples
of
7
MONVMENT
Renaissance Roman.
Letter Construction At the time of the ItaHan Renaissance the architects went to the old Roman models for their letters, modifying 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
and the hair
of the width of the
a light face letter, the
body stroke
from two-fifths
line
body
to two-thirds
stroke.
and the narrow
of these that
and it is the combination gives the variety and beauty to this style.
The
is
division
letters,
as follows:
U
being used for
is it
of later introduction, the until
comparatively recent
PRS
EF IJKL Fig.
is
often pure affectation.
XY
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.
Some
in order to pre-
U
form, adopt the
serve legibility without using 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.
A CD GH MNO Q_TVW Z B
V
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
In the proportion of width to height the Old Roman alphabet may be divided into two parts, the wide letters
Similarly, the curved
sharp times.
being one-eighth to one-tenth of the height of the letter,
U, Y, and Z arc letters of a later period than the 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. J,
rest of
from a
chisel cut
made
These originated, probably,
across the end to prevent over-
and were copied by the penmen on account appearance which they gave. They are connected to the stems by small curved fillets or brackets, and great care must be observed in drawing cutting,
of the finished
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)
Old Roman. on some renaissance
the serif of the classical
is
a longer
(b)
serif
as found
appreciation of the beautiful in lettering.
examples. (c)
the serif on the hair line of the A,
top
(d)
The
M, and N.
and bottom
spurs on horizontal
such as
lettering
an intimate and knowledge of the <â&#x20AC;&#x201D; forms, second, and
critical
more important, ing for
the feel-
composition,
which can be gained only by continued observaFig. S.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Serifs 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
the is
that the student
is
familiar with the
drawing instruments. While not mechanical drawing, a T square, triordinary
angle and dividers are necessary adjuncts.
are, first,
letter
assumed
of
lettering
lines,
T. requirements for in
It is
use
E and
proficiency
26 alone, but with such, even a slight knowledge of the historical forms will greatly increase the power of
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
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
shown on
this plate are
and geometrical construction given for use in drawing the
I'lG. g.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Roman
Alphabet
(lirst hallj,
with a
Method 10
of Geometrical Construclion ior
Large
Letters.
Fig. io.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Roman Alphabet (second
half) with a
Method 11
of
Geometrical Construction for Large Letters.
Letter Construction letters to large size for architectural,
and other purposes
serifs,
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-
much
ably
larger,
and
the letters
drawn
letter firmly in the
The
on
letters
as in the
in outline,
given in their alphabet-
ical order for convenience, but in studying
well to take 13,
them
and learn the
it
A of Fig. 11. O family the
indicated.
relationships. -5.
Fig. 12.
13^4
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Stages
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Typical Order and Direction of StroUes.
The widths should be marked
off from the paper keeping the stems of uniform width, following the general order and direction of strokes outlined in Fig. 11, always drawing the outlines of the main strokes of the letter first, then the
and the
of Construction.
letters B, P and R are sketched 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
The narrow curved
by
scale
The analyzed H is The letters with outside lines made first
is
-S_l
Fig. II.
fillets.
in their family order as given in Fig.
ju
jr.
them
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
In the
mind.
this plate are
finally
inclined sides should have the
freehand, fixing the proportion and characteristics of
each
and
typical for all the straight letters.
letters sketched,
12
first
OLD ROMAN r
-<rT7»
rrn
-?--'
;
r=p^
=4-lZ^-.J-.^Aj
1
J.
;'w'""T""S7":
Fig. ij.
—A
Shorl Serif
Roman
Alphalicl, Construe loi
13 /
on Squares.
4-
Lktter Construction better to ink a broad line
a brush for large as
shown
and
fill
first
and writers followed with other construcsome very complicated. The construction given in Figs. 9 and ro is on the
(using
architects
to the outline,
tions,
in Fig. 12, rather than to ink in the outline
order of these great precedents, but (
its
the inside
in.
The ampersand &) word ct. It is made in one
down
and build out
letters)
in Fig. 13
is
a
monogram
of
the Latin
practical use,
a great variety of forms, the
13
is
The modulus
Roman
The
alphabet, grouped in
family order, and with the letters enclosed in squares to
show
shorter
their proportions.
and
or metal.
The
serifs
on
thicker, suitable for raised letters in stone
In drawing them great care must be exer-
or unit
is
one-ninth of the height and
All the
fillets
on
vertical
with four centers with the construction shown in
the dotted lines.
method
for
stems, as has been stated, are one unit wide and
made
and the
drawing Roman letters in single stroke with a broad pen is given in Chapter V, page 44. Mechanical Construction. Occasions will arise, such as in the design of inscrijUion lettering, when it will be necessary to construct letters accurately with drawing instruments. Leonardo da Vinci published a book in 15 14 with a beautiful alphabet constructed geometrically, and several other noted mediaeval description of the
made
stems have a radius of seven-eighths of a unit. The small figure in all the other circles is the radius in units. The ellipses of the inside lines of the curved letters are
getting of a club-footed effect.
A
is
believed, will be found very
the light lines one-half unit.
this letter arc
cised to avoid any exaggeration of this shape,
is
the dimensions are given in terms of this unit.
all
another
it
easy to follow.
being an early form which shows clearly
derivation. Fig.
and
are
of
shown
in the
The dimensions for this construction O, Fig. 10, and are the same for all
the letters, the angle of
tilt
being 15 degrees, and the
found by marking the thickness of the stems from the outside curve, which is always a
radii of course being
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
circle.
In constructing these the
letters for
comment on page 40 should be
execution in stone observed.
This geometrical construction is given as a close mechanical approach to the forms of the letters. No 14
Letter Construction mechanical subtlety
construction,
and character
Figures 14 and 15 contain the alphabet and numerals Modern Roman, drawn in a slightly expanded
can impart the
however,
of the freehand curves.
of the
form, which
THE MODERN ROMAN
its
old prototype,
is
essentially inartistic
and
The
of
absolutely no value in design, as in the attempt for
uniformity
it
more pleasing
each
has become only mechanical and mo-
it is the standard letter of our government bureau of engraving and printing, coast survey,
and curved
lines,
horizontal lines from
topographic survey, and geological survey, and is in general use throughout the country for maps and all civil
it
therefore
must be mastered thoroughly
made with a much Roman, a usual proportion
while
may give some
It is generally
it
The
strokes of
letter
tised
over
and over
is
is
only by
it.
until
the student
The Roman
prac-
perfectly
letter is diflicult
strict attention to details that it
and
can be
In large letters an optical illusion similar to those mentioned on page 4 may be provided for. The width of the thickest part of a cuned letter, as the O, in order to appear to be of the same thickness as the stem of a straight letter, should be made a very little
of
effect of delicacy or refinement,
legibility of the letter at
to right.
should be studied and the
mastered.
width of stem to height being one to sLx, with comparatively very light hair lines and long serifs. This violent contrast, reduces greatly the
left
carefully.
vertical
letter
it
heavier face than
lines,
all
each
familiar with
engineering students.
the old
As is and inclined are made downward, and all
and should be followed
usual in freehand drawing,
in the
similar work;
work than
order and direction of strokes are indicated on
letter,
notonous, but
by
for ordinary
Using the width of the body stroke as a unit, the letters are sLx units high, and the width of each letter is indicated by the dimension in units. A convenient scale to mark off these dimensions may be made on the edge of a card or strip of paper.
In the eighteenth century modifications were introduced by some of the type founders which resulted in the letter in common use now in our books and newspapers, and which we have called Modern Roman. This modern form has lost all the variety and beauty of
is
the compressed or even the standard form.
a distance. 15
MODERN ROMAN c
I
a
3
4
s
I— 4j-
v.f-
l-M
!2
1 V4 ^
3|
r^^
H^
It
l-Mi
Hi-
Jt
1
A Fig. 14.
r
r-
r"^
"Hd
ILJ
^
— Construction of Modern Roman Letters and Figures. IG
MODERN ROMAN g
3
a
^
6
3
i)^
5
)'
r±ri
r'-d
riG. 15.
^
rrin
rii
rjir\
r^d
rij
2|
1
— Construction
of
Modem Roman 17
Letters anil Figures.
-
Letter Construction This variation is only "the width of a line," and must not be exaggerated. The curve of the round letters is not circular as in Taking the O as typical the outside the Old Roman. line is flattened slightly at the diagonals, as if it were made up of four curves at the extremities of the axes, and these connected by four longer curves, as illusThis is characteristic of all the trated in Fig. 1 6. curved letters, and the observance will give a grace to
terminal ball of the J,
wider.
The
inner line
is
in
used
to
a
Serifs.
lines
as is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Modern Roman
In practising the alphabet three horizontal guide should be drawn, the top, bottom and waist lines,
Great care must be
Modern Roman
not
Fig. 17.
nearly straight, and connected to
of the
the
to the rule that horizontal strokes are light.
avoid the crescent shape of Fig. i6.
The appearance
of
and B, illustrating the rule that two heavy strokes must never touch each other. It will be noticed that the numerals 2, 5, and 7 are exceptions
Modern Roman.
the outer by a transition curve.
a circle joined to the
R
curves of
the letters otherwise not obtainable.
Curve Shape
2 etc., is
stem by a small fillet. At (f) is shown the cusp or intersection
marred
shown
in the
upper
line of Fig. 14
penciled lightly using the
2H
and the
letters
pencil, with sharp con-
always adding the serifs and fillets last. In inking smaller sizes, the same order of strokes should be observed. For larger letters the inking
by poor serifs than in any other way. Correct and incorrect serifs and spurs are shown in enlarged form in Fig. 17. This figure also indicates that the
ical point,
oftener
18
Letter Construction
omit them. In very careful map work and the like the straight lines are sometimes inked with the ruling pen, and the
It has sometimes this style "Commercial Gothic." been called Egyptian, and in the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Sun-ey, it is known as Block Letter. This letter should be used wherever boldness and Without legibility are of more concern than finish. the refinement and delicacy of the Roman, it is more easily made, and in "single stroke" form is used more on working drawings than all other styles
curves added freehand.
together.
should be done as described for the Old Roman, working out from a broad rough stroke between the lines.
In
letters
of the
smaller than 1/4" the
fillets
body strokes become so small
that
on the it is
serifs
best to
Figures 18 and 19 show the letter drawn with the thickness of stem one-sixth of the height, and in width a trifle expanded. In these plates a very
THE COMMERCIAL GOTHIC There is an unfortunate confusion about the term "Gothic" as applied to letters. All paleographers and art students apply the word, rightly, to the
"spur" has been added. In large brush or pen-made letters this spur adds materially in reslight
lieving the stiffness of appearance.
manuscript forms of the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries, written with a tilted pen and changing from the curved lines of the early or round Gothic But in this country to the angular of the later forms. the word Gothic is taken universally by printers, engravers, lithographers, the plain bold letter
and
sign writers to
made with uniform
For very bold, heavy
made
This in
serifs.
serif.)
Since the
letter is best
solid,
drawn
may be
stems
much
thicker are
in outline first
instead of building
it
and much care must be exercised
and
England the letter is called sansword is in such general favor by those who use letters commercially, we have called
without
one-fifth the height.
the
Strokes
not good except in special cases.
mean
strokes
effect,
to
(In
in
filled
Roman,
keeping the stems
Failure to obser\-e this rule results
uniform width. unpleasant appearance, as
in a very
The 19
and
out as the
order and
in Fig. 20.
direction of strokes for the outline
COMMERCIAL
60THIC
NHLFETN 1
1
1
1
1
1
2
3
4
1
5
'^
'^
d
4
COMMERCIAL.
GOTHIC
V
OQC G PP UT^
01
2
3
4
U51-I
Usi-I
U54-I
U5-J
5 6
R B S 8 3 2 U5-1
UaJ
U5J
6 9 5 7 & U^U
u^iJ
Iai^
Uj-J
L^iJ
Flc. 19.
— Spurred Commercial Gothic. 21
UaiA
UiJ
v-Al^
k5i-^
Letter Construction letter
is
in
may be
analyzed
in Fig. 21.
seen from the
already
entire
examples
typical
of
in
BB
will
made a
trifle
bull's-eye
/ncorrecr
be noticed that
O
O
By
of
ters,
done
in "single
of lettering
let-
and every engineer
must have absolute command of these styles. The and rapidly can be acquired by any draftsman, but it requires much careful practice with strict attention from the outset to the form and ability to letter well
proportion of each
and
letter, to
the sequence of strokes.
to the rules for composition.
The term
For the desired height,
"single stroke" does not
mean
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Typical Order and Direction
of Strokes.
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 drawing. 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 Payzant pens and Shepard pens are useful. The ruling pen should never be used for lettering. A coarse lettering pen may be made from an old ruling pen by rubbing
on draw-
stroke" or "one stroke"
either vertical or inclined,
pen, but the width
a pen must be selected which will give
Fig. :i.
the
amount
is
the exactly
of Fig. 16.
far the greatest is
letter.
the
pen
"full" to avoid the
effect
SINGLE STROKE LETTERS
ings
lifting
\^\
This is just the opposite of the rhomboidal shape
Roman
made without
is
circular shape.
Fig. 20.
is
the stem of the
therefore,
letter,
be drawn. It
letter
that the width of the stroke of the
guide lines as shown the upper line of Fig. 14 should
In the practice of this
of the
Roman
general similar to the
given, as
that the 22
STROKE GOTHIC
UPRIGHT SINGLE
|i
iH'
LW
E T N'- N' iK M M' j^ V
WXVZ
0>Q>C;GOUyL P a e s s; h 3 2 €> 6 a S i u—/'
£>,--'
>>—/-'
f/
*l v'^^
"'^—#'2
'v^'
i!!=r
->-•''
3>.
THE ABILITY TO LEITTEIR NA/ELL CAN BE ACQUIRED ONLV BV PERSISTENT AND CAREFUL PRACTICE ON WORKING DRAWINGS THE! STYLE! OF LETTERS IS USUALLY OF THE SIMPLEST CHARACTER, T H El '^COMMERCIAL GOTHIC"bE-
USED MORE THAN ANY OTHER STYLE LETTERS IN WORDS SHOULD BE CLOSE TOGETHER, BUT WORDS WELL SEPARATED.
ING
rsiOTES OM DF=!/=V\A'THE LETTERS SHOULD MOT BE LESS TMAM OME OME SIXTEENITM MOF=? Is/10F^E TI-I>^M EIGHTH OF^ /XM irvlCH IM HEIC3HT llvl
IMSS
THEiSE
SOtvlEWH/COFig.
—rE:i=?s
l_e:-i
/^p?e n/I/t^de FORrvl
ii^
EXTEMCDECS
— Analysis and Composition of Upright Gothic.
22.^
23
/^
Letti'.r
its
Construction
points very blunt and grinding a smooth ball end
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
on them.
Some draftsmen prepare
a new writing pen by dropby holding it in a match iiame for two or three seconds, and some break it in further by writing a word or two lightly, on a hard Arkan-
same time makes a
sas oil stone.
seldom used
ping
it
extended they should be. A low extended letter is more legible than a high compressed one and at the
in alcohol, or
Single Stroke Vertical Caps.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;The upright single
stroke "commercial gothic" letter
shown
in Fig.
better appearance.
This
letter is
Before commencing the practice of this alphabet, some time should be spent in preliminary practice to gain control of the pen. It
22
in
compressed form.
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. Fig. 24.
For the first practice, draw in pencil 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. nibs of the pen.
the
Fig. 2J.
is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Position for Single Stroke Lettering.
a standard letter for working drawings of
scriptions. lighter
face.
It is the letter of Figs.
The analyzed
letters
18
all
de-
and 19 with
of Fig.
22
/////\\\\\CCC3DD â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Practice Strokes.
are 24
top
Lettkr Construction
Remember
that
it
drawing, not writing, and that of the penman must be
is
Professor
Follows
in
his
dictionary*
says:
"The
writer believes that for mechanical drawing, sloping
movements
the flourish
all
is
An argument used lettering is better than vertical. 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 But as a get uniformity with the vertical lettering.
not so objectionable, but the aim should be to have them vertical. When this stroke has been mastered,
matter of fact, it is probably easier to get a sufficiently uniform slope than a sufficiently exact vertical,
the succeeding strokes of Fig. 24 should be taken up.
because a very slight deviation from the vertical is In the average mechanical drawing noticeable. there are so many truly vertical lines to compare with that the eye more readily detects a deviation from the
avoided. vertical,
It if
may be found
so,
difficult to
direction lines
keep the
may be drawn,
lines
as in
It is 23, an inch or so apart to aid the eye. ruinous to the appearance of upright letters to allow
Fig.
them
to slant forward.
A
slight
backward
slant
These strokes are the elements of which the single After sufficient pracstroke letters are composed. tice with them, they should be combined into letters one pattern letter then drawing directly
than from any given slope.
Then, again, the
in the order of Fig. 22, penciling in
vertical
and numbering
sloping lettering stands out more clearly by contrast with
its
strokes,
in ink several beside
it.
p- 11 C
M— Ik
yl
K
I
\
A/
f
the vertical
/
and the horizontal
lines of the
drawing."
PI IN YV L. Care must be taken to much Ink. 1 Fig. 2=;. Too 11 J ^ keep all angles and mtersections clean and sharp; getting too much ink on the pen is responsible for appearances of the kind
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.
shown
proportion of
•
1
in Fig. 25.
Single
Stroke
Inclined
Capitals.
—The
stroke letter inclined to a slope of between Go is
preferred
by perhaps a majority
The
\
of
A common
slope for the inclined letters is to the giving an angle of 68° -|-, which
2 to 5,
may be made by
single
and 70°
line
draftsmen.
and
five
on a
laying off two units on a horizontal Triangles of 67 1/2° vertical line.
* Universal Dictionary of
25
Mechanical Drawing.
G. H. Follows. 1906.
STROKE GOTHIC
INCLINED SINGLE Order and d'fVCf'On of sfrvi'es used
or higher
ML EF TMiN/'KmhMhAW
II
^
Ib^ 'ef'ers^
^
/
i
'^
j"
I
'-air
'
"^
WtMumvmMwimx/wyff^'z jiMiLE'P TMMKmf-mmywx yzm o> o c
O/zfer arrd dtnec/ion ofsfrokes for smaller /effers
Compressed
/br^r?
^
AmCDEF6HIJKLMNOP0RSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Fig. 27.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Analysis
of Strokes for Single Stroke Inclined
26
Caps and Lower-case.
Letter Construction by the dealers and are very convenient. In rapid lettering some find it easier to use a somewhat
cipher
are sold
greater slant (as If
much
O
the cur\'e
should
will
be noted
is
narrower than the O, and the
back-bone of the 6 and 9 are made of the same
ciu-\-es.
as 60°).
containing
a rectangle
flexible
it
be
a
inclined,
would take the form
illustrated in Fig.
26,
sharp in
upper right-hand and lower left-hand corners, and stretched flat in the other two corners. It is the
the observance of this characteristic that
is
the secret
of success with the inclined letters.
Fig. 29.
— Practice Strokes,
witii
Direction Lines.
ARE USED BY MANY DRAFTSMEN IN PREFERENCE TO THE UPRIGHT INCLINED GOTHIC CAPITALS
D6 9 Fig. 28.
SINGLE STROKE CAPITALS.
KEEP THE LETTERS CLOSE TOGETHER AND THE STROKES UNIFORM IN SLANT AND THICKNESS.
— 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
Fig. 30.
close relationship of the
In practising the inclined letters the top and bottom guide lines should be drawn, and a sufficient number
and 3 should be noted. The second line of Fig. 28 shows the relationship of the o, 6, and 9. The
B
,
—Composition.
S, 8
27
Lettkr Construction This
keep the letters This slope must be observed
of direction lines at the given angle to to
a uniform slope.
with particular care in the case of the letters with sloping sides as ecjual
shown
^4,
11',
etc.,
whose
lines
It is
must make
Figs.
27
and
29.
Fig.
30
illustrates
is
its
fast.
swing has been mastered These letters are used
with the inclined gothic capitals and are made with two-thirds the height of the capitals, the
ascending
—
use for this purjiosc
very legible, and after
bodies
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
all
can be written very
angles on each side of the direction line, as in
minuscule reduced to its lowest unnecessary hooks and appendages.
letter is the
terms, omitting
letters
the capitals
hdfltkll
extending to the height of
and the descenders gjpqy dropping the
same distance below.
Fig. 31.
—Basis
All the letters of the
— the
of Reinhardt Letter.
Reinhardt alphabet are based
straight line, and the ellipse whose conjugate axes are the slope line and the horizontal line, and consequently whose major axis
on two elements
the single stroke in-
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." clined letter, called the
is
about 45°. Fig. 31. The general direction of is always downward or from left to right, and
strokes
their order
The 28
is
effect
given in the last three lines of Fig. 27. of this letter depends almost entirely
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Design and Composition on the uniformity of slope, and constant care must be observed to keep the strokes parallel.
BeginnersVardcssMisUkes
ahedfhopquvN xys
Then
the sharp extremities.
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.
^c
Fig. 32.
Draw and
Fig. 34.
top and bottom guide lines, and slope lines,
practice the
7776'
O
as the basis of the curved letters,
''Reinhardf letter is
As soon as the shapes of the letters have been learned way the entire practice should be devoted to In this their composition into words and sentences. the one rule must be remembered Keep llie letters The close together, and with full, uniform bodies.
used
in this
for notes on working drawings,
and can be made of especial
very rapidly. It is
value on drawings
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Fractions.
made
beginner's invariable mistake
cramp the
for photo - reproduction.
too
far
letters
apart.
is
to
and space them
Fig.
32.
Words ^
When necessary, on account ofrestricted space, it may be very much compressed and
an example
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
rhythm and swing has been acquired, the
pen moving faster in the middle of the stroke than
of spacing of letters,
words and
Ovi
IS
lines.
Special attention should be paid to the practice of the numerals, getting them round and full-bodied.
and
distinct still be held clear Composition (Drawn by C. W. Reinhardt). Fig. ^i. until a certain
wu
should be separated to a distance Fig. about equal to the height of the Paragraphs are always indented. Fig. letter.
Fractions are
made with
a horizontal line
ing over the guide lines as
at
29
shown
and extend-
in Fig. 34.
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 simform ofthe printer italic, and is much used in map drawing, patent office
plified
drawing and similar work. Fig. 36.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Inclined Roman,
with
30
Stump
Letters for Lower-case.
Letter Construction
A
variation of the Reinhardt letter,
"pumpkin seed" In
letter is preferred
the curves of
it
elliptical, as in Fig. 35. is
the
same
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
ROMAN CAPITALS
inclined or italicized
shown in Fig. and as capitals
36,
is
form
of
Roman
capitals,
stump
letters
which
lines.
slant letters,
requirement
the
first
letters,
two strokeriKould be/ In
this, is
as in
all
tht
uniformity of
and width of line. The hafi- lines may be made same stroke as the body, or added with a quick down stroke. This second method is preferred 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. either with. the
follow.
a fine flexible pen, the very small
one stroke, springing the pen for the shaded by making two strokes for the
lines, the large sizes
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
Except for the smallest used for the shaded slope
used for water features on maps
for the
made with
sizes in
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,. /
as the Reinhardt.
as
It is
much more
as the
abdgpq are pointed instead of The remainder of the alphabet
INCLINED
The
known
by some draftsmen.
body marks should not be attempted. 2, 5 and 7 are shown.
Alternate forms of the numerals,
mill uiillo
STUMP LETTERS
The stump letter is a simplified form of the printer's and is much used in map drawing, patent office
I
italic,
a
%i( l,U^
drawing, and other careful work. It is more difficult than the single stroke letter of Fig. 27 and requires
U U U4
Fig. 37.
31
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Practice Strokes for Stump Letters.
CHAPTER
III
Composition and Titles becoming familiar with
After
individual
we
letters
are
ready
the to
forms of the
is
compose them
gained not by spacing the
at equal
letters
dis-
tances apart, but so that the areas of white space
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.
between the
into
makes
it
letter in
letters
are approximately equal.
This
necessary to consider the shape of each
connection with the following
for example,
the
word
letter.
LETTERING.
Take,
In Fig. 38
the letters have been spaced so that the clear dis-
LETTERING
LETTERING
Fig. 39.
In
this
letters
in
spacing of
we
shall
words,
have
(2)
to notice (i)
lines, all of
(3)
which are design problems
the disposition of white
tances between
the spacing of
the spacing of words,
and black, and
the
ever,
sideration, the L,
be given. letters
in
words uniformity of
The
equal. first
eflect,
how-
appear much But if the word be
letters
letters
into
con-
and T would be set closer gether because of the amount of white space cluded between them, the two T's still closer
solution
In spacing
them are
not uniform; the
farther apart than the last ones. spaced taking the shapes of the
in
their suc-
depends on the artistic perception of the draftsman more than on any rules which might cessful
is
they have a
effect
32
E
maximum
of white space
to-
in-
as
under them.
Composition and Titles
N
while between the vertical stems I and
and
the widest space,
left
closer than the
IN
the
G
would be
would be a
set
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
little
away from
as
its
stroke cun'es
Thus while no two
of
the letters are the
the line of the N.
distance apart,
the
word appears
to
same be uniformly
spaced.
A with
word or all
line
one-half times the height of the
should be sketched in very lightly
the details of the letters omitted, the effect
lettering,
it is
In inscription
letter.
usually less than the height.
should be penciled more carefully and the details
For single stroke caps the space may be from and three-fourths, and for single stroke lower case and stump letters two to three
added.
times the height of the body.
studied and the letters shifted until the appearance is
uniform.
When
this
is
satisfactory,
the
three-fourths to one
lino
must be kept close together. The snap and "swing" of the professional 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
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.
mentioned.
necessary information concerning
In single stroke
lettering, the letters
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
TITLES
Every drawing should have a
in
compressed
lettering)
should
never
giving
the
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
Words should be spaced so as to be read easily and naturally. The clear distance between words (except
title,
be 33
it
in
Composition and Titles
Even
date.
be dated.
(2)
a machine or structural
(3)
Name and Name and
the merest sketch should always
In general, the
of
title
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
(6)
usually date of completion of tracing.
(7)
Number
(8)
Key
and address
of architect.
(in the set).
to materials.
Signed
approval of
trustees
or commission
A map
title
would contain as many as necessary
of the following items:
marks
(i)
Kind— "Map
of the draftsman, tracer, checker, approval of
(2)
Name.
chief draftsman, engineer or superintendent.
(3)
Location of
tract.
(4)
Purpose,
special features are represented.
Drafting room record; names,
initials
or
Numbers; of the drawing, of the order. The filing number is often repeated in the upper left hand corner upside down, for convenience drawing should be reversed
in the
drawer. architectural drawing
would have part or
Kind
if
whom
(5)
For
(6)
Engineer
(7)
Date
(8)
Scale
of," etc.
made.
in charge.
(of survey).
—stated and drawn.
(9) Authorities. (10) Legend or key to symbols.
all
of the following: (i)
Name
for public buildings.
often omitted from fully dimensioned detail
in case the
An
(6)
(10)
drawings.
(8)
Scale.
Scale or scales; desirable on general drawings, •
(7)
(5)
address of client or owner.
(9) Office record.
address. (5) Date;
(4)
Date.
location of building.
—
of view elevation, plan, perspective (sometimes put on different part of sheet). 34
(11)
North point.
(12)
Certilication.
Composition and Titles which
In each case these items must be "displayed" to their relative importance judged from the point of view of the persons who would use the drawing, the more important lines being made prominent by the size and arrangement of the letters.
and
according
is
balanced or "justified" from a center
of elliptical or oval outline, as Fig. 42.
times the wording pyramid form.
necessitates a
1
I
a^
1
1
1
1
1!
I
I
line,
Some-
pyTamid or inverted
AW or 'f lAi!. 1/
I
OlHIIiq
/Âť
A*toC.
[
lAfi Al [.J
\Ca
111
M
^
M.
^^
rii lUi i|KijÂŤ,
f'
l.S'oo
({)lllh
IK'IIIK
)S
cq o
aasoo. I
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 location, and in laying out a drawing this corner is reserved The shape is a matter of design. The if possible. commonest form is that of the symmetrical title
^^12 Fig. 41.
In designing a symmetrical
title
one would
write out the arrangement on a piece of paper
count 35
the letters in
each
line,
first
and
counting a space be-
Composition and Titles tween words as a
letter,
and, after making allowance
for letters of different widths, as I
the
middle
first
layout for the
of
each
40
Fig.
line.
title
illustrates
A
of Fig. 42.
only enough of the letter to show the space
and W, marking
The
occupy.
length
in.
Some
prefer to
half sketched
backward from
this half
practice the
little
will
first
TERDM
OIL FIELDS CO.
F.
first
it
then be
FRONT -ELEVATION
SHOWING
&
and the
the center line, but after a
CENTRAL OHIO U. S. G.
work
should
half
this
transferred to the other side
the
vertical center
MAP OF
GAS AND
of
CiARLEJ-P-WCDDJ •ARClilTE.CT •
COLUMBUS. SCALE
O.
67^)
62500
Fig.
1912 Fig. 42.
is
then
tant line
ing
is
lines
line
for
letters
first
to
and the work
commenc-
effect
the right,
if
and drawing ,3a
43.— a
Full-panel Title.
After this most
be found preferable.
line
the other lines
of
The most impor-
and working
the last half of the line
will
important
then sketched in very lightly,
on the center
making
method
— Symmetrical TiUe.
drawn, and guide appropriate size for each line. line
WILLIAMJONBV1LDING--CLEVEIAMD
is
satisfactory
may be
in
size
and spacing,
executed in the same way,
at this stage will
be as
in Fig. 41.
The
should then be studied, lines or letters shifted necessary and the title completed in pencil. As a rule, all letters should be inked entirely free-
Composition and Titles hand. ings
Sometimes, on highly finished maps or drawfor 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
BUILDING
37 WtiT
34.".5T
The
full
panel
5CALE:
DATE
HOWELL & THOMAS ARCHITECTS
COL-SAV. & TRUST
a variation of the symmetrical
form, often used in architectural work,
5ID£ ELEVATION
3-13-09
— "Left Edge" Composition.
title,
5
179
GREEN ARCHITECTS NYC.
Fig. 44.
Alo.
/io.
1
NEW YORK CITY KIRBY PETIT "•"
DD.WD.PORim OMcmnAn, OHIO. SHEET
RtSIDCliCC rOR
p-OOT POR AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO.
=
OFFICE BUILDING
and is therefore of value for quick sketchesSpace 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 ornapenciling,
is
-
made by Fig. 45.
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 distinct advantage in not requiring careful preliminary
BLD6.
COLVMBUO,
OHIO.
— 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
^07 Z^
title
on a working drawing
is
usually boxed
Composition and Titles from the drawing as
off
illustrated in Fig.
large offices the parts of this kind of
common
to
all
45.
In
which are drawings are often printed on the title
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 of orders,
changes,
of such a title
ings to
it is
is
in the title, etc.
shown
The
and space
for record
general arrangement
in Fig. 47.
In shop draw-
often printed in blank on the paper or cloth
be used.
The
lettering
on
all
in single stroke, often
titles is done very quickly without preliminary penciling.
such
CHAPTER
IV
Selection of Styles amount
In lettering a drawing the style selected and the of time spent in its execution must be appropriate to the kind of drawing. A carefully rendered
in each stroke as in Fig. 48 giving being incised.
map
or display drawing will require careful lettering
a single stroke
and
will
shop
detail requires only legibility
permit of time for
its
For Architectural Work.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
For smaller
all
INCISED -EFFECT IS -OBTAINED -BY
the
titles,
and notes
put on drawings for information; the second. Design Lettering, covering drawings of letters to be executed in stone or
USING-THIRD-LINE Z J'R
bronze or other material in connection with
design.
The Old Roman pose all
letter,
his
is the architect's one general purwhich serves him, with few exceptions, for
work
in
both divisions.
and lettering on working drawings, Old Roman, Fig. 49, based on the
titles
execution, while a
and demands speed. There are two dis-
tinct divisions in the architect's use of letters, the first,
Office Lettering, including
Its
Fig.
48.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; An
Effective
Roman
center line of the regular letter
Old Roman
given
is
usually is
drawn
Letter.
characteristics
have been fully discussed and illustrated in Chapter II. For titles on finished architectural drawings the
Sometimes emphasis
the appearance of
it
very effective.
in outline, as in Fig. 13.
A
given by running a center line 39
much
It
can be
of
is
much used and is and may be
rapidly
and beauty of its parent. freedom may be taken with this
of the variety
good deal
made
Selection of Styles letter
if it is
done with a
real regard
and
feeling for
to
its
be used.
Letters on stone are generally incised,
V
form, and depend for their effect not on
beauty.
or sunk, in
For notes on architectural drawings the Reinhardt The letter is well adapted, as it is simple and legible. key to good form is simplicity. The day of the wild letter on which the architects allowed their fancy free There is an individuality in lettering rein is passed. often as marked as in handwriting, but there must be
the outline but on the shadows cast by the sides.
Consec^uently the strokes must be wider than for the
same
This
is
also true
for all letters
which
of difference in color.
PQR5T0VV/WXY.^
W
^&
ABCbcrotijjriLnno
— Single Stroke Roman.
P ClRoSTU
of flourishes,
riot
and indeed
/X\6CDErQ11!JKl/AriI10
OPQR5TUVWXYZI; no grossncss of exaggeration, nor nor wandering of free lines.
when drawn on paper.
depend on shadow instead
ABCDEFGHIJKLAAN Fig. 49.
effect
for "scjuare-sunk,"
Fig. 50.
AYZlfc:
— Free Modifications.
JModificatifns »f the proportions, whli^aare legiti-
mate and sometimes
m^B,
])lcasing, are often
such as
construction of Figs. 9 and 10 may be used for accurate drawings for this purpose, keeping the diam-
mscrip-
eters of fillets
The
the "high-waistecl'lletters of Fig. 50.
The
architect slrould not attempt to desi,
tions for
permanent structures
until
he
is
limitations
pf^e
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-
'loroughly
familiar with lette^lt their construction ajig spacing,
and knows the character and
and curves
material 4U
Selection of Styles zontal
than the standard form,
lines
to
allow
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
for
foreshortening.
In designing lettering for large inscriptions, to be cut on public buildings for example, the architects will
draw the
often
letters
to
full
size,
each on a
of this kind of lettering.
For signals, signs or other lettering designed to be painted in connection with railway or other engineering, legibility is the first requirement, and no letter
separate sheet, and tack them up on a wall to study
In very careful work model
the spacing.
letters are
sometimes made
One
rule
in plaster and studied in place. must be remembered Never crowd Old
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
but
Roman. Bronze
tablets are usually
either flat-top or
made with raised The body
modeled round.
making
on the tablet illustrated in Fig. 96 are and the hair lines 2/3 of this width. In
should
be
but executed rapidly. The single stroke capitals, either upright or inclined, for titles, and the Reinhardt
full size
letters as
for notes should
be familiar with the Uncial
stump
given in the succeeding chapter,
clerks'
architect should
and Gothic
On
for use with the appropriate architectural styles.
For
gothic
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
design drawings for cast bronze work, a shrinkage of 1/8" in 10" should be allowed.
The
commercial
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,
letters,
strokes
of the letters
1:7 1/2,
upright
the
permitted.
Map Drawing. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;The
style of lettering
done
on a
map
will depend upon the purpose for which the map made. If for constructive purposes, such as a railroad or sewer map, the single stroke Gothic for titles and the Rcinhardt for notes, are to be preferred.
letters,
be used exclusively. Roman letters, "geometrical" letters, and shipping
marking
letters are all
out of plac%.
patent office drawings the lettering in
stump
occasion to
make
letters.
is
generally
Any draftsman who has
patent drawings should send to the
Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C, requesting a copy of the " Rules of Practice," which gives all the requirements for drawing and lettering.
is
41
CHAPTER V Letters The
in
comparison the most useful 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
were written for those use lettering only as an adjunct to the "graj)hical language" of their office drawings. Lettering in design is a far wider field. preceding
who
Here the designer uses statement
words
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;but
for
it
information
own
its
He
composition.
lettering not only to
convey
to
uses
by
The
artist
the
make
a
written
the designer to
forms.
a back-
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
They must will
Referring to the historical outline of Chapter I
it is
THE OLD ROMAN that the
Old Roman
is
familiar with these
to
the adjoining letters.
not be tortured out of shape nor driven to 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
be considered.
remembered
become thoroughly form is shown
early
do things they do not want
In this chapter the principles and peculiarities of
and periods
It will
considered with reference
place.
the useful letters of different styles
An
all
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
with his ornament, he uses fill
and beyond
letter for the designer.
inherent beauty of line and it
as ornament, to break a space or to
ground.
the styles,
chapters
students and draftsmen
Design
may be extended and the following letter, a vowel usually, perched on it, the swash lines of the letter
the parent of all
42
Letters in Design 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
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 lengthened, all easily and naturally if the designer be on sufficiently intimate
Roman
,
(D\PRSEDRQM^
terms with the family; but the
in its dignity resents
any such familiarity from
0,UFbD0UBTv5 -AR^ -Tl^AfToRS
V5INGJVCNORAM-6
-
•A^D•MAKi -US -LP^E'TE-QOOD WE-OFT-MIGHT-WIN-BY- FEARING. •TO -ATTEMPT- - -^HAJ^PEARi^
(PNJOMDMEI^
•
Fig. 51.
To make
a stranger. its
— Freedom
in
WH-SQEFRIKDM
Composition.
Fig. 52.
a letter larger or smaller than
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 regarded as a draivn letter, to be outlined and finished
no more apparent reason than the desire pure affectation. illustrates something of the freedom
fellows with
for oddity
is
Fig.
51
referred
to.
Old Roman
letters should not be stretched out in extended form, but the spaces between the letters may
43
Letters as has been described. effectively,
after the
single stroke with a
It
may however be
manner
in
corner
ivrillcn
Large
of Fig.
72, tilted at a slight angle as shown in Fig. 53 and N W, etc. The figure turned for the thin lines of shows also the little extra stroke used to form the fillet.
used for such touches as
serifs
Roman
letters
may be made
easily
and rapidly same
position as the pen.
IIBCE EM
roman -written- in
//AAFIB
thin-l1ne5 bgj qvxy
Fig. 5j.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Broiid Pen
Roman
surprising
how
single-stroke- with tie;- pen -turned- for -
Fig. 54.
Construction.
After the forms of the letters have been learned
they almost shape themselves
on
in single stroke with a flat sable brush held in the
M
is
may be
horizontal lines, etc.
of the old scribes, in
broad pen, such as those
Design
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Broad Pen Roman.
ROMAN LOWER-CASE. The
it
when
so-called
Classic
forms of the Old
consist only of capital letters,
and designs
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 Its across or at a slant, to fit the hand of the writer.
and
calling for stateliness or dignity of
sition capitals
Roman
in titles, inscriptions,
would be used throughout.
compo-
A
para-
graph or page of solid caps, however, is not easily read, as we read words by their shapes and are accustomed to these shapes in lower-case letter combinations, hence in longer sentences, quotations and the 44
Letters in Design vention of printing, so for models to combine with our Roman capitals we go back to the type forms of Jenson
a less formal effect and at the same time greater legibility is secured by using caps and lower case. like,
of the fifteenth centurs".
and the master printers
Type
degenerated so steadily after that period that William Morris once exclaimed, "There has not been a decent
so^^^^
m^^^mi
from which
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
*° *^^^ examples M^^M ^^^ithis perfected Ro-
of
man
type^ to wit, the
works
of
daLccideefg^nijklmn
the great Venetian printers of the fifteenth century, of whom Nicholas Jenson produced the
(®pqrisstuvwxyz<S Fig.
and most Roman characters from 1470 to 1476,
completest
like print.
Roman
and reached
its
definite
form
It
should look
much
better, or at least
very different.
lower-
The body
case letter was the final step in the evolution from the Caroline,
Lower-case.
body as arc the printers, and can extend lines or combine shapes, giving an individuality to the It is no lettered page impossible to the printed one. compliment to a designer to say that his lettering looks
— Jenson Type.
Referring again to the history, the
— A Roman
size of the type
—W. MORRIS. Fig. 55.
-lb.
after the in-
fifths
45
letters are
made from
one-half to three-
the height of the capitals, with the ascenders
-
Letters in Design Cap line Waist line -
Baseline-^
equal to the caps and the descenders slightly shorter. Much care and Judgment must be exercised in having the small letters "fit" the caps; the usual fault is
pai£"*^ cc
light.
The
strokes will be thinner
EUEKE KAISERLICH
-t" line
mno
UnD k'ONlGLICHE MAIEST^T/ALLEB CN^DIGSTER
pqrstuvwxyz
Eine
HERR,!
Empfindung beseelt
unsere Herzen: aie Treue
Si7ic)le'5tTokeRomarL writ
und Land/w/elche seinahrhunderlen die
zu Furst
tea witK broad pea is a letter
oFmuch piTLctical value as it b DotK artistic and legible. Fig. 57.
them too
in getting
Fig. 58.
— A Light Face German E.itample.
than those of the caps but are not reduced in the same proportion as the heights, and the bodies of the letters same time be a little wider in proportion
— Broad Pen Lower-case.
will at the
than 40
the
corresponding
capitals.
The
principal
Letters in Design diiEculty in
the page to
The
drawing lower-case a uniform color.
letters is in
keeping
tion,
A
spacing
for
Fig. 55
with a
is
a once popular type face, Fig. 56 a free
pen-drawn style. Fig. 58 a light face letter from Dr. von Larisch's "Unterricht," and Fig. 59 a modern
MODERN TYPE FACE .
practice
satisfactory results with lower-case can be obtained.
a page' of lower-case composition is to divide the sp^^ between base lines into three equal parts, making the caps and ascenders simplest
Much
must be spent in composiwith careful study of good examples, before
as the w.
type-face of classic beauty.
The examples
distinctive, classic
of printer's type are given as care-
examples Their composition is not fully
beauty, named after a famous old family of art-craftsmen,
studied
of
the
individual
to be copied.
Far
writer to try to imitate their regularity. of the lettered
page
is
in its
letters.
less is the
The charm
freedom and individuality.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
THE UNCIAL
BGHIJKLQSUVWXZ^ â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
In historical order the next letter for the designer is the Uncial, although it is the later or Lombardic form
Fig. 5g.
Delia Rubbia Type.
shown in Fig. and j are on the "t line" half-way between the "waist line" and the
two-thirds and the bodies one-third, as 57.
The
which
"cap
is
dots on
the
Bat!iiiimniiiiiii[in)ix:)[iHH
i
Fig. 60.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; From a German Bronze.
line."
The letters of Fig. 57 are wTitten with a broad pen held in the same position as for the single stroke capitals, turning it when necessary for such letters
that
is
of particular value
and
interest.
There
is
not
form of the Roman. It has many and wide variations developed by different
in this letter the fixed
47
^mmmmm'i' GERIMAN
LJMCI/\J_ =
L
FRENCH Fig. 6i.
-^•l^-J
UMCIALS
—Two Practical Uncial Forms. 48
Letters in Design scribes
and
in
different
characteristics are easy to
countries,
but
remember and
its
Several practical working examples are given in the accompanying figures. The upper alphabet of Fig. 61 was drawn from German bronzes, and the lower
general
the letter
is
CiHOPftM Fig. 62.
vsaxyz
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Compressed Uncial.
Fig. 6;.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; E.xtended
The normal square may be compressed as
not difficult to draw.
adapted from French sources.
called
proportion of these alphabets
These letters are sometimes Versals from their use on the manuscript page
to indicate the
beginning of a section or paragraph.
in Fig. 62 or
49
extended as
Uncial.
in Fig. 63.
Letters in Design Fig. 64 Fig.
is
an American
tyj^e
form of pleasing design.
65 contains suggestions for treatment of orna-
mented initials, drawn from various sources. Much of the charm of such work, however, lies in the color, which cannot be indicated in black and white.
The
Uncial bodies
single stroke in the
drawing the
may be made
same way
as the
successfully in
Roman
letters,
finer lines with the corner of the reed,
or with a finer pen.
GSHCQQOQQR Fig. 64.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Missal Type.
The Uncial may be used in all caps, although some regard must be had for the reading public's lack of familiarity with
it.
It is apjjropriate in ecclesiastical
work or wdth any Gothic design, and is of particular value for initials, and as caps for Gothic lower-case letters.
Lines of Uncial should be kept close together,
Fig. 65.
50
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ornamented
Initials
from Manuscriiits.
Letters in Design forms are obsolete and rnust be modified to be deit has a primitive strength that com-
always closer than the height of the letter. Fig. 66 from the shrine of St. Simeon illustrates the extreme
and
of this close spacing,
modern example
that
is
Fig. 67
is
cipherable, but
a single stroke
6a bist ip hicDcneL/GG'heiliqeT 0)613?
VATGT^ a^s6^^/66^^
well spaced.
oe oem nBoie/ -zukocnme ans oem Reic]i/6ein a3ill6 Qeschehe cDie im himmeL
:^.-r;m'^-:rju<fy :L:/.:&&m
fiLso fiuch fiUF
ei^en- qib
ans heare anseR TfiqLiches BROT an6 vGRqiB ans an^*
^f^m-f}!:
iur/^mTmi:
Fig. 67.
— From Dr.
v.
Larisch's " Unterricht."
bines well with the characteristic spirals
ments of the ornament of that period.
and
interlace-
Fig. 68
is
a
y\a:6ccIt)eii^hiLTn Fig. 66.
— Embossed
wnopqRSt7u_;c(^^
Silver, 13S0.
THE CELTIC
The
Irish
centuries,
half-uncial
known
of
the
Fig. OS.
sixth
in design as Celtic,
been used recently with good
is
effect.
— Celtic Alphabet.
Book
of Kells.
and seventh working alphabet adapted from the Book of Kells and Fig. 69 is an example showing its derivation from
a style that has
Many
of
its
ol
.
Letters in Design the Celtic, ful
by Mr. Dwiggins, one
of the artists success-
with this style, and whose work for Mr. Alfred
Bartlctt, the publisher,
o
is
well
known.
turmun^icmralcm* ^imc accepwte famfWumi ,
|N£ da^, with
life
and
^
heaRUT
m(ftticoft(tttOttc$ et|o(otau|
more than time enough to find a woR^d ldwell
jiimncmtponcmfuperalta!
Is
I'lG. 6y.
—
Ii\'
iJtmumDimlo$*6(6na*
Sanac ctmt)iuit)ucmmwt5
W". A. Dwiggins.
jupplor muocotio*
THE GOTHIC The
general term Gothic
is
^
given to the manuscript
9ototct)mmpatr(mt
They
afjimmctfpirttulon^
letters of the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries.
are essentially "written" letters
made
with one stroke
from Roman and Uncial which may be called "drawn" letters. Their lowercase changes from the Round Gothic* following the of the pen, as distinguished
ientglouatttcoctmtam
*
biackletter as a printing type
nW
ic(?atcm:mc0t)cu$t)mi$:et
Caroline, to the pointed Gothic or "biackletter" of the twelfth and following centuries.
The
i
nocflalm$pc(a:tc:aic$at>o
was gradually
The name proposed by Mr. De Vinne.
Fig. 70.
52
— Gothic Page by Albrecht
Diirer, 1515.
— Letters in Design
may
made without changing the direction of the 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
Roman, and by the seventeenth cenGermany was the only country still using Gothic. As is well known that country now uses Roman for displaced by the
publications,
scientific
but adheres to the
illegible
©erman ^ractur as the popular type.
The is
letter
to the
Gothic.
form.
generally
known
as
Wih
lEngltsI)
ordinary reader the most familiar style of Its bristling angularity
The
it
to
be a
late
become more and their only
"Sonnecken" are the numbered in
capitals of these later forms
compKcated and weak advantage
shows
is
in
that in such
design,
be
pen.
tury
of eleven
work as engrossing they
used alone they
will
best, are usually
half sizes
inii iairiiiTilTi^^
Fig. 71.
— A German Bronze, 53
1514.
(Weimar.)
i
sold in sets to 6.
When
only carry sufhcient ink without
riiiiiiii!iriiiiriWiPitiTi!iiiiiiyiii!i.aii!iTi.iiii»i ai fMinin'ii^^^
KUMiULiNtfliiiiuii
from
Letters in Design 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 blotting
shown
The
in Fig. 72.
on the under side
Fig. 72.
The
or goose are sometimes used for smaller writing, but
for
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is
The pen
held as illustrated in Fig. 73, and the whole secret is to maintain this position and angle
is
much more
is
comfortable, as well
shape with a sharp penknife or narrow blade surgeon's scalpel and an ink holder of annealed watch spring bent and inIt is cut to
Fig. 73.
English or Japanese reeds are the satisfactory, although those from India are thicker
throughout,
and harder.
made from
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Position
for
Gothic Writing.
whatever the direction of the stroke. The first practice should be the drawing of the elements in Fig. 74. When these are mastered lettering in Gothic will be found to be easy and interest-
serted as in Fig. 72.
Quill pens
(|uill
and Reed Pens, with Ink Holders.
as better artistically.
most
more trouble cutting a
than a reed.
JiUed behind the rubber
of the pen.
Steel
reed pen
ink
the average student has
the wing feathers of turkey 54
Letters in Design pen as large as No. i 1/2, rule guide 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 ing.
space between
Select a
same
lines three-eighths of
in turn
should not be
of the stroke.
ways
letters
wherever possible being just the
as the space between strokes of the letters, which
A
much
if
any more than the width
printed page of text letters
is
al-
unsatisfactory, because the letters cannot be set
cut off clean at 45°.
* Fig. 74.
When
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Practice Strokes for Gothic Writing.
motion has been mastered, practise the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, a'nd 7, which are the elements of which the small letters are composed, then strokes
this
numbered
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 requirement
is
to
keep the
letters close
l^fi|fl)p|fte dose tD0flbfp Fig. Lower-case. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Analyzed 75.
sufficiently close,
exactness.
Gotliic
and because
machine-made and spontaneity of
of the
It lacks the irregularity
the written page.
An
alphabet of round forms similar to those used in The order of strokes will is given in Fig. 76.
Fig. 70
together, the 55
Letters in Design be evident
On account
after practicing the angular.
the variety in combination this letter
Similarly B, H, I, K, L and R are closely related, having the same beginning strokes.
of
makes a more
The alphabet
interesting page than the angular form.
The
uncial capitals have already been
recommended
for use with the Gothic lower-case, as being
In
English.
of Fig.
79
is
all
a usual form of Old
this th^ spikes, hairlines
and
flourishes
much
stronger in design than the Gothic capitals, but several
81 is
forms of the
latter. are
and the order shown in Fig. 77.
given in Figs. 79, 80 and
of strokes for the
typical letters
They may be made with
the
'3-
same Fig. 77.
-3'
3
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Typical Gothic Capitals Analyzed.
j
are added with a line pen after the page has been written,
p'ig.
80
is
a simpler form, written without re-
touching, and suitable for rapid engrossing and similar
work. '
I
Fig. 76.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Gothic Alphabet.
pen as the small
letters,
(After Durer.)
making
the
small letters
three-fifths to two-thirds the height of the capitals.
Fig. 7S.
arranged in their family groups, their forms, which appear complicated, can be remembered 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 are developed as shown in Fig. 78.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Family
Groups.
If the capitals are
Fig. 81, letter of
adapted from the tomb of Richard II, is a beauty, and popular among designers,
much
although not so well
W
known and consequently
legible to the general reader.
56
not so
Letters in Design 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. legibili for legibility, Words should be separated only enough tor Fig. 82
<-r/^ (rf{ qr'^
rrfj -T^^lV
^'^
/Vl\
i^mmlUiiiPllili^'iiti'
^
is
^p^^g^ ^jdely. Short lines are often out with space fillers of spots or running figures *° ^^'°'^'^ ^">' ^^'^'^'^ "holes" on the page. Flourishes on the ascenders and descenders are characteristic of the later Gothic, and may be used
^^^
^
jj^^^ ^^^
filled
M^ O
1^ /t ^li'7'0 ClfT Tff^'fl '^ "t int l/!Jv vPi'O'^U
'
>5J Fig.
judiciously with good effect.
79.—"Ofd English."
57
Letters in Design
The Gothic
is
priate use
is
good or allowed to pass, where equally poor Roman would be immediately condemned. as
essentially a letter for ecclesiastical
and other serious work, and
its
misplaced or inappro-
The
a grave mistake.
beautiful letters of Albrechl Diircr, Fig. 70, are
worth careful study.
In the original, which
Fig.
82.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Old "German
the size of this reproduction, the
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; English Gothic.
twice
m^^^^^
UIDIi Fig. 8i.
is
lines just (Westminster Abbey, 1400.)
above
it
Te.\t."
initial
and the two
are in red, as are also the spacing
lines.
ITALIC
Although Gothic is easier than Roman, it is worse maltreated by amateurs and inexpert designers, and impossible things in initials and designs are accepted
Thus
AND SCRIPT
far all the letters considered in this chapter
have been ujiright forms. 58
In the period of the Italian
Letters in Design Renaissance some of the historians and scribes, probfast, acquired a slanted
ity to
ably from the habit of writing
Its effect is the e.xact opposite of Gothic, giving light-
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
ness for blackness and caprice for dignity.
work
in
perhaps greater degree than any other.
ends of the unaccented strokes
The
in the capitals
free
become
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
PQRSTUVWXYZ& 'e/^m/KL mnop grsiuiiMxyx^ &S-&0
aa
abcdefglnjklmnopqrstuvwxyz Fig. its stiff est
form now
83.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Italic.
Italic is
simply an inclined
Roman,
Fig. 84.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;French
Script.
such as Fig. 36.
which often
is a freer inclined or sometimes showing its origin from the cursive or written form. For the designer the so-called French
swash
Script of the period of the Louis, a letter full of quaint-
effect is fatal.
Script, in lettering,
and grace
tie
up with each other and
A general rule has been stated
most interesting and valuable, as it admits of a freedom of treatment that gives individualness
lines
with the ascenders and descenders of the small letters; but the curves must be spontaneous. A labored
vertical letter
is
slopes 59
that styles of different
should not be used together.
The
notable
Letters in Design exception to this rule
is
in the case of
Script used in combination in
what
Old Roman and
The angle of slant varies widely both in historical and modern examples and is as explained on page 27.
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. is
a matter of individuality.
Some
are only a few degrees
the perpendicular, others are nearly 30 degrees.
ofT
The
2 to 5
average.
slojje
If the
le
mentioned on page 25 is a pleasing has been well mastered, the
Roman
formafe SSonfieif eines ^uc6jfaben
bei
denkbar gunjiigjjem ^nfc6faJJ an TlacHbar im ^ori= und Satjbifd
^einen
giebt den ^afifiab fur den (cunflferfc/ien
^ert einer Scfirifi, kfar
Fig. S6.
abcdaf^nvj^Imnopgrs/t italic
Italic
and
Script
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Script,
in all
caps or caps and
In practising inclined
letters
Script,
zu
fefen fein
by Heinrich Wieynk.
not be
practice,
Qanzes muf.
(Larisch.)
but the script will probably with discouraging difficult,
made
in
same proportion as the upright lower case, but their widths are somewhat narrower. There must be careful discrimination and restraint
the
lower-case.
and
much
die dabei afs
uberfichtfidj
results before the curves will come smoothly. ' The heights of the lower case letters are
by RudoLf Koch.
may be used
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
letter will
require Fig. S5.
und
such as Figs. 83, 84 be drawn
85, slant direction lines should always
in
60
order that the flourishing shall not be overdone.
Letters in Design Fig.
103
is
be taken as a license for carelessness. The lines of the letters have been studied with the same seriousness
an appropriate and clever example of
script in design.
as the apparently free lines of the characteristic orna-
"ART NOUVEAU" Under
this
general head
we have
classified all those
variations which have been developed in the
modern (^
\>
{IIWOPQI Fig. 87.
:VWXY
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A Stencil Form.
Fig.
school of "secessionists," particularly in
Germany.
Using the old forms as a basis a new
has been
life
Stencil
Form,
(.\fter Gras.set.)
ment of this school, which have their "points of interest" and rules of composition definitely established. In range these modern letters e.xtend from forms but
given them in their adaptation in the characteristic style of those artists, who appreciate so thoroughly the
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
value of letters as ornament.
The
88.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; .\
apparently free or formless character must not Gl
e
Letters them, tp weird conceptions inspired only by
tlie
in
Design
wild
desire for novelty.
C7yXTnP:6(ITe nBERO ;sYMPHoi)Y;av;mTfiy KeiiVfiR!Wf.liBYHMn
|lmigun^ettccr3)cnkcr
m m
RlD0tJFQ;rflRPi;Z18KHI Fig. 89.
—An Uncial Adaptation.
(After Otto
Fig. 91.
— Gothic, by Rudolf Koch.
m^t
(Larisch.)
Hupp.)
^BCPCFGHIJ TT.GcoK^cyXuuiol. EUtJ esX 0'\m se%^meIt^fn.\ncItcnlCll^mo^eKne ct poascOc
une r
IG. 90.
— A Free Uncial Adaptation.
The modern forms
iiw>i\>i<)iu\lilc
lijjncs
Lcs
hic5 inM'quec.
inleKKompues <^utflnel^Icn^ dc
®A ^\> bcMicoup ccfeffeT f $t $t le ^<9^V ^w ^w Fio. 92. — In the Style of George Auriol. *"
of real value are all designed
with an intimate acquaintance and regard for the 02
<0^
tf)^
Letters in Design
tions of their
The "new
and 88 are modern adapta89 and 90 show derivation from the Uncial, 91 is a modern Gothic
historical forms.
Roman
Figs. 87
application in
in stencil form, Figs.
in carding, stenciling or
in
a good practical form
sibly incapable of judging, feel that they are being
and
of
which works well
of Fig. 94 in
advertising, but
its
use will be criticized by persons
composition in Fig. 98. tall letter
needlework, and in posters
adoption in any design must be considered carefully. An inappropriate use will be offensive, and sometimes even a correct and appropriate
and 92 a cursive or script form. Fig. 93, an original alphabet by Mr. Hunter East Aurora, is strongly Viennese. It is shown
The
art" letter naturally suggests itself for modern craft work in metals or leather,
is
monograms and marks.
who although
imposed upon.
1234^ iWXYZi 6789 Fig. 93.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;By Dard Hunter.
Fig. 94.
63
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;A
Compressed Form.
pos-
CHAPTER
VI
Design and Composition For the general designer or decorative designing of lettering does not
new shapes tion
of
for the letters,
suitable
pleasing
long ago, and
an
artist
design to
styles
The
form.
it
and
mean
means simply their
be called invention, but as has been said these are working with an intimate knowledge of the
the
artist
the invention of
torical forms.
into
and others
general shapes were designed
would be inordinate presumption for to create a new alphabet and through his say to the public: "This is my letter, you
in
the second, to
No
real letter
some both; but such forms
necessary to add here that lettering
is
ornament, and that all the misguided attempts to make letters appear solid by adding shadows, 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 appropriate combinations and by arrangement and spacing to make a pleasing effect. In this there should be
make reading make writing
shapes are ever invented, they are
The new work
that of beauty,
It is scarcely
satisfactory to the eye."
evolutions.
is
essentially flat
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: whatin the hrst place, to
It
are not to be taken seriously.
it
ever he docs ought, run smoother, and,
his-
but natural that in the attempt at novelty some designs miss the requirement of legibility,
the selec-
composition
men
considered
all
of the continental artists
(i)
the period, (2)
the purpose,
(3)
the
material.
shows a freshness and variety and beauty of line, and an originality of design that may in some cases almost
The
period or general historical style of the other
parts of the design or ornament must be noted, the lettering
Alphabets Old and New.
64
must
first
of all
be appropriate.
and
Gothic
— Design and Composition letters for
example would
Renaissance or Barocco
of course be out of place in a
design.
Similarly,
if
the
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!
From
a
GJJLAJTL'iJi •K£COG>JrrJO>i
^_GI PI All
Fig. 95. "Religion," by E. A. Abbey. CopyriHht 1908, E. A. Abbey a Copley Print, Copyright 190S, by Curtis & Cameron.
lettering is
1 -a
-'
'J
predominant the ornament must fit the even if the ornament be only a border.
letter selected
Fig.
65
96.—Bronze
Tablet, by T. E. F,
1 I
Design and Composition
On some
page 72 the
letters
discussed in Chapter V, and
of their appropriate uses
tabular form and
may be
have been
set forth in
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.
Ons SKINNER! Tf^ES ENTinC
Clearness and legibility are of course fundamental conditions, but these are relative terms; they do not necessarily
what Dr.
FRANCESCAI D^ RIMINI
mean
v.
the property of being read at a glance, Larisch calls brutal legibility. The leg-
ibility of a sign or advertisement is not necessary nor even desirable in lettering used as ornament. Beauti-
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 fully
of
one of the
(Art,
Science,
\
WITH AK.'APPIiECIATIOT^ By
LYMAN BGLOVER. IRALPH FLETCHER. SEYMOUR CHICAGO MDCCCCI
Edwin A. Abbey's four medallions Justice and Religion), in the Penn-
late
ITublisher
sylvania State Capitol.
Mr. Abbey, one of the greatwas at the same time the greatest 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. est of
modern
painters
Fig.
66
97.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Title
Page, by Ralph Fletcher Seymour.
Design and Composition
The backgrounds
and not the outline that defines the letter (page 40); the same is true to a lesser extent in wood or bronze,
of these medallions have not the an advertisement, indeed at first sight of the originals one does not notice the lettering at all. legibility of
or other materials where the surface of the letter the
EIME
:
TRR^^ENE
Fig.
:
in
iEIMEM
i
color as the background.
is
Stubborn mater-
such as beaten silver or copper, or cast metals, cannot have the same delicacy of design as engraved
ials
HM
98.— By Dard Hunter.
HE IS WISEST WHO HAS THE MOST CAUTION HE ONLY WINS WHO GOES FAR ENOUGH' Fig. 99.
same
— Roman, by
\V. A.
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
Dwiggins.
The material upon which the lettering is to be done must of course be considered. In stone it is the shadow
designer will begin his problem.
After deciding
upon
the general form of the space to be used he will write 67
— Design and Composition 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.
make Fig. ioi.
a
number
Inc., N. Y.
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
—Title Page, by Ralph Fletcher Seymour. 68
•
Design and Composition important step, and the
top and bottom guide lines for each line of letters very If the design is symmetrical the method of lightly.
drawing cannot be scheme of composition has
full size
started until a satisfactory
procedure will be as given under the head of title designing on pages 35 and 36, working from the
been determined.
center line,
and
desired effect
is
shifting letters
obtained.
and
lines until
If the design is
the
unsym-
metrical or massed, suitable treatment will suggest
'^IJn^^dA
FlDM
far
awa^we come
t^e snow in the stRcet: &
to )ou, the
winJ on
Xjo tdi ofgReat-tidings strange and MinstRcZs er maids, stand toRth Fig.
104.— By
\\\
.\.
it-
the door.
—
tRue
on the
floor.
Dwiggins.
but in every case the copy should be \\Tittcn down adopted arrangement and the letters counted approximate spacing. the for
self,
in the
Fig. 103.
artist using letters in design is assumed to know laws of design and will follow the same principles the It in the lettermg as in any other part of the design. is, however, more difficult to bring letters under these laws than landscape or figure composition.
The
— Cover Desigt^of "An Unofficwl Lo\'e Story." Published by the Century Co. N. Y. .
When
the design in the
little
balanced and harmonious the laid
sketch seems to be
final
drawing should be
When one
out carefully in the same proportion, penciling 69
has become a master of the
letters
he
may
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 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 it
is
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 it and the word sketched in this space, starting at 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
to
a
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.
"0
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Method of Spacing
to
Given Length.
Design and Composition has been adapted perfectly to its surroundings, 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 each
letter
full size in pencil only,
and from
on
detail
paper or tracing paper
this transferred to the material.
an alphabet designed with Japanese is no real alphabet in that language), appropriate use may be found in occasional for which Fig.
1
06
is
characters (there
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
letters are inked,
and
when
the
has taken the place This part of designing
solid black
of the gray pencil outline.
it is gained only by experience. 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
cannot be taught, If the
work
is
a great aid in studying the effect before final enlarged drawing for the engraver. Suggestions on drawing for reproduction will be
printing
is
making the
Fig. 106.
found
in
Book
Chapter VIII. covers in cloth are printed with brass stamps,
and the drawing, made to fmished size in smooth binder's cloth, of the selected shade, sent for the die-cutter to work from.
color on is
often
Designs for execution in stone or bronze are made
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
.\
Japanese Suggestion,
connection with Japanese design. vertical panels.
The two
fillers
It
may be
on the
or words, for the well-known symbols, '
and "long
The
used in
last line are
"good luck"
life."
following page gives a summary, in tabular
The Letters and Their Uses (Propriety)
OLD ROMAN
—The "general purpose architectural All
initials.
plates, etc. (Sincerity)
miamii ® m
—
P"or classic and renaissance design. All caps for corner stones, tablets, signs, titles on drawings, or caps and lower-case for posters, book covers, book letter."
inscriptions,
caps Permits of wide letter-spacing.
All caps, or caps
Gothic design.
and Gothic lower-case.
For
Initials, versals, illuminating,
ecclesiastical
monograms,
work or with anv etc.
Lines close
together.
—Never
(nignity)
all caps. Ecclesiastical work, inscriptions, illuminating, engrossing, work medieval design; book covers of appropriate titles. May be etched or engraved on metal. Letters must be kept close together.
in
(Caprice)
^-rre/pc/)
/cr(pl6^^
—
.Ml caps, or better caps
for posters,
(I.cEil.ility)
Roman lower-case —Less
(Boldness)
COMMERCIAL GOTHIC — All caps.
titles,
•
headings, etc.
Effect crude.
For graceful,
fanciful, quaint effects.
covers, ciphers, etc.
Colonial
With Old Roman
style.
MODERN ROMAN
—For
^m
—For
ART MQa^EAU
map
Single letters readable at a greater distance than any other
For bold brush-work,
stone, etc. Letters
(Novelty)
Book
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.
style.
(ironotony)
and lower-case.
Louis XV, XVI, &c., design.
may
be
titles
on working drawings,
much compressed
signs, inscriptions
on
or extended but not widely spaced.
—
titles and important features, all caps, less important land and lower-case. Water features inclined. Used by sign writers and engravers. Inartistic and useless in design.
w'ork
features, caps
all
work in the "moderne stil." Etching, stenciling, saw-piercing, work in general. Monograms, marks, posters, etc.
crafts
72
arts
and
Design and Composition form, of the letters used in design, with suggestions as The characterto the appropriate uses for each style. designation given to each may seem fanciful, but it simply an effort to " personify " the styles and to aid in giving that sympathetic acquaintance which the istic is
successful designer
must
attempt to go into detail in any of the branches of design in which lettering is used would carry us past
r$Sil%mtuVoi â&#x20AC;&#x201D; By R. F.
the limits of this book. for
example
is
Seymour.
The
really the
than at any time since printing was invented, the " Art of Illuminating" is coming again to a rightful place
among
feel.
To
Fig. 107.
Ages, and naturally declined ^after the invention of In the present revival of lettering, when the printing. beauty of the hand-written page is appreciated more
lettering on a book-plate most important part of it,
the arts.
Beautiful things
may be done
The
wishing to go into illuminating
referred to
design.
particularly to " Writing
Another special subject into which we the art of illuminating, which may be defined as the brightening of a page by the use of colors and gold and As an art it flourished throughout the Middle silver. is
by the student
for temporar}' work.
but the design of ex libris is a subject in itself. Fig. 108 is a book-plate in which letters have been used as cannot enter
easily
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 illuminating the initials and border. In the simplest design it would mean only the boxing of the initials as in Figs. Real illuminating always implies the 55 and 65. Pure gold, application of metals in addition to color. of shell the form in either used, burnished, should be only useful bronzes are silver and Gold gold, or leaf.
ing,"
student
the books mentioned
is
in the last chapter,
and Illuminating and Letter-
by Edward Johnston.
that the student in practicing in any branch of design do not application lettering for that he set a delinite probbut simply copy alphabets, It is
recommended
Design and Composition
The
title page, and gain from it not forms, but experience in letter knowledge of the only important part, the composition. more far the
lem, as a book cover or
l''iG.
loS.
figures in this chapter are given to illustrate
good design and composition in a variety and should have careful study.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Book Plate by Thomas Moring.
From
"
One Hundred Book 74
Plates."
of subjects,
CHAPTER
VII
Monograms, Ciphers and Marks One
of the severe tests of a designer's skill is
monogram
or cipher.
with
not only knowledge and intimate and sympathetic
It requires
of the laws of design,
acquaintance
and
design of letter combinations in
in the
originality
the
letter-forms,
ingenuity and inventive ability
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a
but a
power
certain
to devise
combinations where none are evident.
A monogram, two or more
strictly
speaking,
is
a combination of
which a part of each letter forms common to speak of any combination 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 definitions have sanctioned the broader use of the word, we shall make the distinction, mainly for convenience in letters in
part of another.
It is
A
not as pleasing as a well designed cipher.
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 possible. It should be pure monogram or pure cipher. In this distinction it should not be understood that a
monogram
device
is
essential
is
better than a cipher as a design.
for ornament, indeed
requirement
is
beauty.
is
The
ornament and an
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,
The laws
if
not beautiful, cipher.
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
reference.
necessary, but balance must be maintained.
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
considered.
The and
period, purpose,
The
the letters
and material must again be
period or style must be appropriate,
must
all
belong to the same
stvle.
It
Monograms, Ciphers and Marks is
The
absolutely intolerable to mix styles.
The
position.
florid
"Louis
XV"
The important
ness.
designs sometimes
letter
Care must be taken, especially
may
be.
It is
permissible to reverse any letter but the
order.
The legibility.
A
trademark or commercial device must read easily, mark may be decipherable with difficulty but both must be decorative, and hence good design.
The
material on which the device
ment and
is
to
be executed
amount
These are
of orna-
work.
the character of the background.
Monograms and
ciphers
successive or condnuous.
may
be either superimposed, In the superimposed design
the prominent letter will be emphasized by
device of the
its size,
Rookwood
Pottery, Fig. 117,
last. is
of particular value in applied design in craft
Fig.
109 illustrates possibilities with
all
the
letters of the alphabet.
In attacking the problem the shape of the space
by
the
first
consideration.
If
the
monogram
is
to
the quality of line composing
enclosed in a circle or other geometrical outline
The
must be arranged as free ornament
successive
naturally
formed
in
a
well-known example. Many of these are found in the French designs of the seventeenth century, when perfect 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.
while a private
will influence the style of letter, the
com-
in three-letter
event will destroy the value of the design however good
(the last, in initials of
to
purpose will again determine the
form the last and placed
binations, not to get an "accidental" letter, as such an
it
The
in the successive
larger than the others
in the middle.
be prominent by position, size or strength. The monogram to be perfect must read in the correct is
made much
letter is
used by engravers are of no value to craftsmen. Excessive ornamentation is an acknowledgment of weakpersons)
Sometimes
free ends.
desire
should be for simplicity and purity of line and com-
it or by its position on top. and continuous designs will read
from left to right, the continuous being one stroke and therefore having only two
the place 76
it is
to its
is
be it
and even if to be used proportions must be designed for
fit
the space,
to occupy.
Monograms, Ciphers and Marks
The
letters to
studied.
and
AH
I
be combined should be
them
several of
set
down and
M O T U V W X Y are symmetrical, reversible (upside
down) along
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. with
Fig.
Pairs such as
no.
CD, CO, GD, EB
(script)
and doubles
balance left and right and as symmetrical arrangement in of possibility suggest the successive, form. Fig. 1 1 1. the second, either the first, or
HH, DC, QD,
a?
This form Fig. log.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Superimposed Forms.
usually
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Reversible Monograms and Ciphers. 77
is
more
etc.,
possible oftener than the legible.
first,
and
is
Monograms, Ciphers and Marks If strict monogram is being striven for, a careful study should be made to find common strokes. Thus in R L, Fig. 112, the has four possible lines for use as stems for the R and L. Evidently using the
M
M
first
stem would give a faulty
result, as in
RM L.
Fig. III.
The
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-
free
(i),
reading
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Successive Forms.
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-
FiG. 113.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 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
ticularly good.
78
Monograms, Ciphers and Marks possibilities
seem
to suggest
variation
is
its
much more amenable
probably with the given
be worked into acceptable design in either
themselves pass on to the
Uncial, which on account of
admitting of more to treatment;
letters there will
monogram
or cipher.
The
and
next form, script,
is
the favorite letter of the
be several
Fig. 115.
engravers.
It
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Script,
Designed by \.
.\.
combines much more
Turbayne.
easily into cipher
than into monogram, and allows such freedom that it is safe to say that any combination may be done passably in
Fig. 114.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; O.
S.
U.
Uncial and Gothic.
suggested Uncial combinations, in both
and
it.
monogram
I'lG.
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
116.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
J.
R. C.
Various Treatments of the Same Monogram.
The modern, "new
art," letters offer the
tractive field for the ingenious
The 79
monogram
variations of form which they present,
most
at-
designer.
and the
Monograms, Ciphers and Marks possibilities
them
originality
for
the most interesting of
and individuality make all to play with. This
It
pierced,
etched,
effects are
and
stenciled
work.
Striking
WiLUAM (74j OVTON Fig. 117.
hominum Salvatop
jesu
possession of such marks the literary
is
very
people of
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Various Historical and other Devices.
monogram may be made by
letters
artistic
The Studio"
I'lG. iiS.
real
and
France and Germany. M. George Auriol is the acknowledged master of
letters from a black Often a pleasing device, although not a
secured by cutting the
background.
be a monogram, or initial, or even a device letters; it need not be legible but it must be
distinctive. The common among
style naturally suggests itself for use in the art-crafts,
in
may
without
using
enclosed with good composition in some shape,
this decoration,
and
his published
designs form two most fascinating
Fig. 118.
The modern
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Designs with Separate Letters.
separated
cachet or
mark bears much
the
same
1
his
business house, being the stamp of individuality with his
shows examples
books.
Fig.
of his style, the lirst device being
own characteristic signature. The illustrations of this chapter are selected from monograms designed by the authors (except as cred-
relation to an individual that a trade-mark does to a
which he may mark
19
drawings of these little
productions or possessions. SO
Monograms, Ciphers and Marks while some unite easily and others with difficulty, a satisfactory monogram or cipher in some style is pos-
and, with some exceptions, are in actual use; and may be said for the benefit of the beginner who may
ited), it
think his
initials
are impossible of combination, that
J.O.
JR. Fig. 119.
sible
'" H
with any two or three
B.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Designs by George Auriol.
81
letter
combination.
CHAPTER
VIII
Drawing for Reproduction As the for
greatest
amount
of designed lettering
reproduction the student should
make
done
paratively
is
familiar with the modern graphic processes and the requirements necessary in drawing for them. Line drawings are usually reproduced by the jjhoto-mcchanical
process
ing
is
known
as zinc etching, in
photographed on a process
some reduction
fully), in
the
hand-drawn character and quality
smooth
and
effect is
as three or four times as large as the cut.
if
a very
The
best
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
(when a particularly fine result is desired a copper 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 process, in which the negative is made through a ruled "screen" in front of the plate, which breaks up the
the rej^roduction and
plate plate
is
mar
the effect.
As suggested on page 71 a sketch the
from.
The
to the
proj)ortions of this sketch
desired size by proportional dividers, or by
made on com-
If
S2
size of the
made to work may be enlarged
finished cut should usually be
paper
size.
for zinc etching should be
is
wanted the drawing may be as much
general size
Drawings
board
of the original
the reduction should be very slight, but
plate, generally with
a series of dots of varying
(Bristol
black drawing ink, and preferably larger than If it is desired to preserve
printed so as to give a positive on a sensitized zinc
tints into
paper
the required reproduction.
which the draw-
in size, the negative film reversed
smooth white
generally used, and tracing cloth works very success-
himself
scale, or
by diagonals as
making a
illustrated in Fig. 120.
a diagonal ab across the original sketch afbg be
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Drawing for Reproduction
f
extended, lines ci and ce
'W^
on
it,
as
c,
and
may be drawn from any
will enclose
point
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 Where these lines these points from the corner a. 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 negative, 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 reproduction simply painting
may be done on drawings for any irregularities may be corrected by
work,
Fig.
1
20.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Method of Enlarging a Drawing.
out with French 83
white
(blanc
d'argent).
If
it
is
Drawing for Reproduction desired
mav
be
to
is
out
The
position.
engraver
shift
cut
a
line
after
it
has been inked
and pasted on
in
Plates
it
left will not trouble the be tooled out when the etching
may be
saved, and in
not possible in drawing
many
may be added by
textures
to
imitate
tints,
very closely
backgrounds and
the engraver's use of the
mechanical shading commonly known as In this the drawing is made the Ben Day process. in outline, with the patterns to be used indicated on The shading films, which come in a it by numbers.
method
finished.
Often time
may be "grained"
charcoal or pencil texture, and
the required
edges thus
as they will
X
cases effects
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.
of
great variety of stipples, cross-hatchings, grains and inked and applied directly on the plate, or
lines, are
in
84
some cases on the drawing.
CHAPTER
IX
Bibliography The
De
For the indicates its limits. go thoroughly into the subject student who expects to 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 An indexed in sufficient variety to illustrate the text. 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 title
book
of this
De Vinne A
The
following
list
of
most public
books
Some
Gress,
is
given to aid those
libraries.
raphy.
(i)
Edward
by the best .\merican
N.
Y.
Art and Practice of TypogThe Oswald Publishing
work and excellent chapters on composi160 pp., over tion, with many modern e.xamples. 600 ill. and specimens.
A
history of printing, with reproductions of the
of early masters,
who
Skinner, H.
of these will be
M.
—The Story
of the Letters
and Figures.
Orville Brewer, Chicago, 1905. A popular story for boys and girls, of the development of letters from the Phoenician. Good for supplementary school reading.
HISTORY, ETC.
—The Story of the Alphabet.
Apple-
Strange,
interesting
Edward F.—*Alphabets.
Geo.
Bell
&
Sons, 1898.
ton, 1907.
An
The
Co., 1910.
particular value in the designer's library.
Clodd,
history of printing types
Edmund G.—The
found in * would be of Those marked
pursue the study.
Printing Types.
Press, 1900.
authority.
cultivated.
will
L.—Plain
Theo.
Vinne,
little
book
hieroglyphics, etc., disputing
on
some
primitive
\
writing,
valuable
298 pp.
theories of Taylor.
S5
200
book, ill.
both
historical
and
practical.
Bibliography Taylor, Isaac
—The Alphabet.
opment. The most
2 V.
Sir E.
M.
formal writing, manuscript hooks, laying gold, etc. 500 pp. 218 ill. 23 pi.
and burnishing
von
R.
Larisch,
—* Unterricht Second
Schrift.
—Handbook of Greek and Latin
Palaeography.
A
quill pens,
exhaustive and authoritative work on the
subject.
Thompson,
Origin and DevelLondon, 1899.
Its
2d ed.
Dr.
V.
Larisch
on modern
Appleton, 1893.
standard work on the history of writing.
Stevens, Thos.
Brown,
PRACTICAL BOOKS FOR DESIGNERS
F.
C.
—*Letters
&
Lettering.
W.
Roman
&
Strange, E. F.
Guild, 1902.
By an
architect.
A
collection
examples with accompanying
—
text.
of
211
(3)
Johnston,
Essay on ".Art in the .\lphabet," and nearly 200 working alphabets. 256 pp. in
&
De-
useful
little
book, particularly for
117 pp.
65
ill.
i).
Ornament.
COLLECTIONS OF ALPHABETS, ETC.
Edward
Letters.
A
Scribners,
examples on stone, wood, bronze, etc. Chapters on monograms, ciphers, conjoined letters, initials, etc. 218 pp. 186 ill.
Koch, Rudolf
Edward ^Writing & Illuminating & Lettering. The Macmillan Company, 1906.
Larisch,
historical
—*Manuscript
and Inscription London, John Hogg, 1909.
valuable working supplement to Writing
1906.
Johnston,
and
lower-case.
—*Alphabets (See
inating
Many
for Printers
ill.
ed.
An
—*Lettering
—^Lettering
alphabets and
214 pp.
Day, Lewis F. *Alphabets Old and New. 3rd Revised and enlarged. Scribners, igii.
Day, Lewis F.
European authority
Inland Printer, Chicago, 1906.
.\n artistic
Bates
the recognized
Ornamentaler Wien, 1909.
letters.
signers. (2)
is
in
ed., enlarged.
&
Lettering.
&
Illum-
16 pi.
—Klassische Schriften, Dresden.
25 plates illustrating the letters of Gutenberg, Diirer, W. Morris, Koenig, Hupp, etc.
—
In the Artistic Crafts series of Technical HandbooLs. Complete practical instruction in preparing reed and
—
R. von Beispiele Kunstlerischer Schrift. Anton Schroll, Wien. 3V., 1900-1906. Drawings
illustrating composition,
artists in their characteristic letters.
86
by well known
Bibliography
—
—
Weimar, William Monumental Schriften. und Schenk, Wein, 1898.
Lehner, Jos. and Mader, Ed. Neue Schriften und Firmcnschilder Im Modernen Stil. Wolfrum & Co., Wien, n. d. A collection of Art Nouveau composition. Beautiful color
Petzendorfer,
L.
schemes.
60
68 plates of inscriptions on stone, bronze and wood.
Atlas.
Jul.
Bradley, John
Hoffman,
A
varied collection of type specimens and drawn
alphabets and
initials.
L. — *Schriften
Petzendorfer,
123
Stuttgart, 1905. Newer type specimens, examples of composition
Rhead, G. W.
initials, .-Vrt
Folge,
monograms and
Nouveau.
—An Alphabet of Roman
141 pi.
Delamotte, F.
letters,
Herbert,
i6mo., 290 pp.
20
Large
art
of
pi.
A.
J.
pi-
Illuminating
&
Letter-
2).
—Illuminated
An
Manuscripts.
Putnam,
exhaustive history of manuscript books
illustrations in color.
and Numerals.
21
Lon-
1911.
Van
,Laing,
J. J.
—*Manual
51
pi.
A
letters.
87
practical
lilllc
of Illumination.
handbook.
with
356 pp.
Newton.
Nostrand, 1904. pi.
of
P'-
F.—*Writing &
ing (See
drawn Roman.
27
list
Museum.
—
—
43 PP-
Johnston, E.
high on each plate.
—Alphabets
and
A Primer of the Art of Illumination. London, Crosby, Lockwood & Son, 1S97.
Capitals, to-
J.—Lettering and Writing. B. T. Batsford, London, igo8. By a pupil of Edward Johnston. 15 plates of pen
17 pp.
19
illumination.
B. T. Batsford, London, 1903. Old Roman from Trajan's column. 26 plates, one
Turbayne, A. A.
history of the .\rt of Illumination,
Illuminated Manuscripts. Bradley, John W. don, Methuen & Co. 1905. An interesting and scholarly story of the
etc.
Smith, P.
Borders.
South Kensington, 1901.
manuscripts in the Victoria and .Mbert 175 PP-
Neue
gether with three sets of lower case
letter 7 in.
— Illuminated Letters and
of Education,
pi.
Atlas.
in
W.
Board
Stuttgart, 1898.
A
ILLUMINATING
(4)
pi.
—* Schriften
Gerlach
100 pp.
Windsor
&
Bibliography Laing,
J. J.
—*Companion &
Windsor
to
Manual
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.
of Illumination.
Newton.
"Borders, capitals, texts and detail finishings, etc." 28
pi.
—
H. Illuminated Manuscripts in Clasand Mediaeval Times; their Art and Cambridge, 1892. their Technique.
Middleton,
J.
— Schriften Atlas (See many Edward — Illuminated Manuscripts.
Pctzendorfer, L.
Quaile,
pool,
An
illuminated
Henry Young
&
interesting sketch of
characteristics.
Robinson,
S. F.
Auriol,
George
H.
149 pp.
A Liver-
Auriol,
Sons, 1897. 26
hi.story
and
Livre
Cachets
des
Paris, Librairie
Benker, H.
Dtiblin,
book.
1908. first
book.
— Das Monogramm der Gegenwart.
Plau-
en, C. Stoll.
beautiful
book with full sized reproductions from Durrow, Lindisfarne and Kells.
20 plates of monograms especially for needle work.
Bergling,
Colored plates.
Margaret.
— Early
J.
M.
—Art
Monograms and
Lettering.
Chicago, 1912. Christian Art in Ireland.
A
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
portfolio
modern
of
designs
particularly
for
engravers.
Day, L. F.
—
working.
artistic little
—
Uniform with the
the Gospel books of
Stokes,
most
Henry Floury,
1908
A
Premier
Monogrammes.
George *Le Second Livre des Cachets, Marques, Monogrammes et ex Libris. Paris,
pi.
— Celtic Illuminative Art.
et
Centrale des Beaux-Arts, 1901.
initials.
their origin,
—*Le
Marques
3).
Contains
MONOGRAMS
(5)
sical
Diebener,
—*Lettering
in
Ornament
(See 2).
Wilhelm— Monogramme und Dekorationen.
Leipzig, 19 10. "Ftir
145 pp.
Uhren
plates of
88
und
Kdelmetall-gravierung."
Monograms and
Devices.
145
Bibliography
Nowack, Hans
— Das
Moderne Monogramm.
modern Roman
Wicn,
Wilson, Victor T.
26 plates containing 676 two-letter ciphers.
Petzendorfer, L.
New
— Schriften Atlas, Neue Folge (See A. — *Monograms & Ciphers. The 3).
135 plates containing
all
Daniels,
the two-letter
and many size,
—
— —
1907.
Draftsmen, Engineers Van Nostrand, 1895. for
"A practical
system of freehand lettering for working
drawings."
23 pp.
8
(8)
Bailey,
pi.
—
Sherman, C. E. The Theory and Practice of Lettering. Midland Publishing Company, Columbus, Ohio. Showing in
and strokes
SCHOOL WORK, ETC.
T.— The
School Arts Alphabet Sheets. School Arts Press, Boston, Mass.
Henry
Ever)- public school art teacher should have this set.
Bull,
Schuyler—The
A B C
of Lettering for Public
Rochester, N. Y., 190S. Schools. Four plates and sheet of instructions.
6th ed., 1904. detail the construction
Copley,
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.,
Written for Civil Engineers. Elaborate rules for mechanical spacing. 82 pp. 48 pi.
and Students.
Parsons,
others have prepared
SHOW CARD AND COMMERCIAL LETTERING Davids, Thaddeus Davids' Practical Letterer. New
—
—Lettering
Valpey,
many
the
pi.
(7)
ENGINEERING LETTERING
W.
Esser,
and composition by
23
text-books or collections of alphabets for draftsmen.
with
A Text-Book on Plain Lettering. S. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. 3d ed., 1909.
Reinhardt, C.
Fish,
95 pp.
Meinhardt, Cromwell and
combinations drawn in large 27 plates of alphabets and numerals.
Jacoby, Henry
of letter-forms
sketch-method.
Turbayne, A. Caxton Co., London, 1909. three-letter
—
York, 1903.
Development
Contains about 20 plates of modern monograms.
(6)
and stump letters. One of on the subject. 49 pp. 11 pi. Free-hand Lettering. John Wiley, Capitals,
the original te.xt-books
Ferd Schenk.
of
89
Bibliography Shaylor, H.
W.
Ginn
A
The
cards
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Book
of
Alphabets for Use
in Schools.
Victoria
&
and
leaflets
issued
by Alfred
give
beautiful
examples of lettering
and
S.
Kensington,
This should not be considered as a complete bibit contains most of the better known works in the various divisions. Many books out of
Bartlett,
liography, but
Boston; Paul Elder, San Francisco, and other publishers
and Albert Museum,
London.
Co., 1908. 24-page copybook of good forms.
suggestive
in design.
and rare are not included,
ordinarily be accessible.
Photographs of Trajan's Column and other classical inscriptions may be had from the Director of
titles to
list
as they
would not
contains sufficient
guide in the selection of a reference library for
school or individual.
90
The
INDEX Blank title forms, 38 Block letter, 19 Bold face, 4
Commercial Gothic alphabets,
Composition, 64
Ampersand, 14
Book Book Book
Applied design, 71, 72 Appropriateness, 64
Books on lettering, 85 Boxed title, 37, 38
Compressed
letters, 4, 29,
Architects' use of letters, inscription lettering,
Brackets,
Contents of
titles,
Abbey, E. Accidental
A.,
66 76
letter,
Alcuin of York,
2
Aldus Manutius, 59 Alphabets, books of, collections
of,
86
forms of
titles,
Art-crafts, 63, 72,
Art Nouveau,
of Kells,
2,
6,
title,
34
freedom
63
42
in,
29 43
34
Continuous monograms, 78
Day, Len-is F., 64 Delia Robbia type, 47 Design, in lettering, 64 of monograms, 75
shrinkage, 41
44
80
3, 61, 62,
in,
Reinhardt
8
letters, 19,
72
of,
Colonial, 60
51
plates, 73
Brush
37
uses
covers, 71
Broad pens, 44, 46, 47, 50, 54, 55 Bronze tablets, 41, 65, 68, 71
40, 41 office lettering,
39 Architectural drawing, contents of
for signals, etc., 41
Cachets, 80
Caroline minuscule, 2
laws
Auriol, George, 62, 80, 81
Celtic,
symmetrical, to reverse, 84
Autograph monograms, 78
Charlemagne,
Beginners' mistakes, 29
Ciphers, 75 Civil engineers, 15
Ben Day
Colonial composition, 60
uses
of, 63,
films,
72
84
2,
51
of,
69
with separate
2
Development,
letters,
80
i
De\ices, historical, 80
separate
letter,
80
Bibliography, 85
Color in reproduction, S3
Drawing instruments, g
Blackletter, 3, 52
Commercial Gothic,
Drawings, for reproduction, 82
3,
91
19
20, 21,
23
Index Drawings,
Drop
line,
Gothic, in monograms, 79 position for writing, 54
82
to enlarge,
to correct,
83
uses
46
72
of, 58,
Larisch, Dr.
Government Bureaus, 15
Durer, Albrecht, 52, 58. 66 Dwiggins, \V. A., 52, 67, 69
Laws
books on, 89
of, 7
Historical devices, 80
Engrossing, 56
Histor}',
Extended
Fillets, 6, 8,
59
72
General proportions of
letters,
4
Initials,
ornamental, 50
Inking,
5, 12, 18, 19,
25,
German
text, 3, 53,
9,
14
58
34
Marsuppini monument, 36
Mechanical construction of Roman, 14
2,
Missal type, 50
Italic, 3, 30, 58,
59
51
Modern Roman,
J,
use of
I for,
uses
S
3,
15
of,
72
Monograms, 75
Japanese, 71
books on, 88
Jenson type, 45
Commercial Gothic)
7
Material, 67, 76, 82
Irish half-uncial,
definitions, 75,
alphabets, 55, 56, 57, 58 (see
title,
w^ork, 19, 31, 41
alphabets, 16, 17
Gothic, 52, 62
commercial
Map Map
Invention of printing, 3
Geological survey, 15, 41
Geometrical construction,
34
Marks, 80
Individuality, 40, 45, 80.
43
title,
Manuscripts, 2
single stroke caps, 25
in composition, 42,
of,
Machine drawing 30, 31
alphabet, 26
Fractions, 29
uses
Roman,
Inclined
in script, 60
script,
47
single stroke, 28
Illuminating, 73 Incised letters, 39
14
Follows, G. H., 25
French
letters,
24
Flourishes, in Gothic, 57
Freedom
Lombardic
Lower-case, Roman, 44 proportion of capitals, 46
books on, 85 Hunter, Uard, 63, 67
I
letters, 4,
66
Light face, 4
Henry VH, tomb
Engraving, 82 Evolution,
66
47,
of design, 69, 75
Leonardo da Vinci, 14
Half-uncial, 51
Ellipses, 14 lettering,
v.,
62
60,
Legibility, 28, 44,
Half-tone process, 82
Engineering
Koch, Rudolph,
Kells,
Book
of, 2,
Morris, William, 45
51
92
76
Index
in
monograms, 79
uses
alphabets,
angle of
q 6, 7, 10, 11, 13,
tilt,
39,
40
Paper
for architectural work, 39,
geometrical construction
of, 10, it,
14
oflice
drawing, 41
Pencil texture, to imitate, S4
in design, 42
Penciling,
inking, 12
Pens, 22, 31, 44, 53 to prepare, 24
in
monograms, 78
9,
Richard
tomb
II,
alphabets, 45, 46, 47 uses of, 72
modern,
3, 15, 16,
monogram-combinations, 43
Practical books for designers, 86
old (see
Practice strokes, for Gothic writing, 55
"oldstyle," 5
spacing, ^3
for
wide letter-spacing, 37, 43 written with broad pen, 44
incHned single stroke, 27
Optical illusions,
Order and
Roman, for
letters,
31
upright single stroke, 24 Printing, invention of, 3
4,
plates,
15
direction
of
strokes,
for
12
Old
Pumpkin
82
seed
letter, 31 Punctuation marks, 37
uses
Old Roman)
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
Quill pens, 54
for single stroke upright letters, 23
Record
for single stroke inclined letters, 26
Reducing
Rustic, 2 strip,
letters,
38
glass,
82
Sans-serif, 19
93
53
Roman
for spacing, 53
Gothic capitals, 56 for Gothic lower-case, 55
17
of, 7 2
for shading
Commercial Gothic, 22
for
56
lower-case, 44
proportions, 8
72
of,
lines, 5
Photo-mechanical processes, 82
of,
82
letter, 5
in titles, 37
uses
for,
in design, 42
18, ^;^
stump
41
8
Reversible monograms, 76, 77
accented
scale, 9, 15
Patent
40
S, 7,
Reproduction, drawing
Roman
14
compressed, 43
letter, 28, 29, 40,
Renaissance Roman,
64
in monograms, 75 on titles, 37 Ornamental initials, 50
53
3,
Reinhardt
excessive, 76 flat,
i,
44, 54 Reinhardt, Charles W., 28
Celtic, 51
72
of, 63,
Old English, Old Roman,
Reed pen,
Ornament, 70
\pA- Art, 6i
letters,
6
Index 60
Script, 3, 58, 5Q,
in
Serifs, 6, 8, 9, 14,
Seymour, R.
Show^ard Signals
Stump
monograms, 79 18
F., 66, 68,
lettering,
and
letters, 31,
41
Uncial, the,
books on, 8g
"t"
line,
Table of
signs, 41
letters
and
their uses,
inclined lower-case, 28
Text
Tomb
vertical caps, 24
Sketches, 68, 71
of
57
Spacing, 32, 3i, 57, 70 Stencil letters, 61 Stone, letters on, 40, 71
60
72
Upright single stroke,
23,
24
Vorsals, 49
Vertical single stroke caps, 24
55
Henry VII,
Trajan's column,
Sonnecken pens, 53 fillers,
letters,
72
of, 50,
use with Gothic, 53
47
inclined caps, 25
letters, 25, 27,
monograms, 79
use
Tablets, bronze, 41, 65, 68, 71 Taylor, Isaac, i
Space
in
73
Single-stroke letters, 22
Slope of inclined
2, 47 alphabets, 48, 49, 50, 89, 90
Superimposed monograms, 77 Symmetrical title, 25
i,
7
6
Waist
Triangles, slope, 25
line, 18,
White, use
Type, Delia Robbia, 47 Jenson, 45 Missal, 50
of,
47
83
Wieynk, Heinrich, 60
Working drawing
titles,
37, 38, 41
Zinc etching, 82 U, use of sharp
V
for,
8
OJ CXD
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German
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t
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Gothic, 5 alph:
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