Frank Chouteau Brown

“ These writing masters often chose to show their skill by imitating type forms of letters with the pen, but though similar in the individual forms of the letters the written examples exhibit a freedom and harmony in composition impossible for type to equal, and therefore are immeasurably more interesting to the modern penman. ”

“ If the drawing is to be reduced in size (and that is the usual method, because, in general, it is easier to draw large rather than small) , the draughtsman must first decide on the amount of reduction to which his style of rendering and the subject itself are best adapted, remembering, however, that a drawing is sure to suffer from excessive reduction, not only in general effect but in interest, for the quality of the line is sure in a measure to disappear. A reduction of height or width by one-third is the usual amount ”

“ In illustrating the lettering of American artists it has been unfortunately found necessary to omit the work of many well-known designers, either because their usual style of lettering is too similar in fundamental forms to the work of some other draughtsman, or because the letters they commonly employ are not distinctive or individual. ”

“ The late Gothic or Blackletter is condensed and narrowed in the extreme. No circles are employed in the construction of the small letters, which have angular and generally acute corners. As in all pen-drawn letters, the broad lines are made on the down right-sloping strokes, and the narrow lines are at right angles to these. Blackletter shapes, like those of the Round Gothic, cannot, as has been said, be defined by any set of general rules; the intrinsic quality of all Gothic letters almost demands a certain freedom of treatment that would transgress any laws that could be formulated. ”

“ The designer should therefore endeavor to steer a middle course, making his panel as black as he can without rendering the individual letters illegible.
No style permits more of liberty in the treatment of its separate letter forms than the Blackletter. The same letter may require a different outline at the beginning of a word than in the middle or at the end. The ascenders and descenders may be drawn so short as hardly to transcend the guide lines of the minuscules, or may grow into [136] flourishes up and down, to the right or to the left, to fill awkward blanks. ”

“ Unlike the Roman letters, which attained a complete and final development, Gothic letters never reached authoritative and definitive forms, any more than did Gothic architecture. Every individual Gothic letter has several quasi-authoritative shapes, and all of these variants may be accepted, as long as they display an intelligent conception of the spirit of the style as a whole. Because of this lack of finality, however, it is impossible to analyze each of the letter forms as we were able to do with the Roman alphabet in Chapter I ”

“ It is by no means essential to draw the same letter always exactly alike even in the same line; in fact, variation is generally demanded by the different surroundings and neighboring letters. So long as the general character of the letter remains unchanged in its distinctive features, such as weight, [206] treatment of serifs, angles, height of waist and cross lines, etc., its width and outlines may be varied and arranged to help out the spacing without interfering, to any noticeable extent, with the uniform appearance of the line. ”

“ Among modern American designers, Mr. Bruce Rogers has admirably succeeded in catching the French and Georgian spirit in his treatment of the Script characters; yet, nevertheless, his lettering in this style is still modern in feeling. In the title from a book cover, 204, Mr. Rogers has allowed himself just the proper amount of interlacement and flourishing—both of which require the restraint of a subtle taste or the result may prove to be over-elaborate. ”

“ In inking-in letters the swing of the arm should be as free and unobstructed as possible. For the best result it is absolutely necessary to work at a wide board on a solid table of convenient height and angle. It is impossible to letter well in a cramped or unsteady position. One thing cannot be too strongly urged upon the beginner. Never use a T-square, triangle or ruling pen in inking-in lettering. ”

“ The photograph of a panel of lettering from the upper part of the Arch of Constantine, Rome, shown in 6, well indicates the effect of shadows in defining the classic Roman letters; and the effect of shadows on an incised letter may be clearly observed by comparing 4 and 5, the former showing a drawing for an inscription in which the Serlio-Ross [14] alphabet was used as a basis for the letter forms, and the latter being a photograph of the same inscription, as cut in granite. It will be noted how much narrower the thin lines appear when defined only by shadow than in the drawing. ”

“ The "Caroline" was in its turn an imitation of the Roman "Half-uncial." The close relationship of the first small type letter forms in Italy with the current writing hand of the best Italian scribes is well indicated by the legend that the "Italic," or sloped small letter, was taken directly from the handwriting of Petrarch. The new Italian types, in which classic capitals were combined with the newly evolved minuscule [53] letters, were called "Roman" from the city of their origin, and sprang into almost immediate popularity, spreading from Italy into England, France and Spain. ”

“ Even in the cases of those capital letters that extend both above and below the guide lines it will be found possible to so adjust the spaces [135] and blacks as not to interrupt the general uniformity of color, and it is sometimes advisable to fill awkward blanks by flourishes; although flourishing, even in Blackletter, is an amusement that should be indulged in cautiously. As a general rule the more solidly black a panel of Blackletter is the better (a principle too often disregarded in the modern use of the form) ”

“ When a [200] narrow line of even width and sharpness is desired it is best to use a new pen; an older pen will, on the other hand, allow of more ease in swelling and broadening the line under pressure. A thin dry line may be obtained by turning the pen over and drawing with the back of the nib, although if the pen so used be worn it is apt to have a "burr" over the point that may prevent its working satisfactorily in this way. A new hard pen is likely to be the cause of a "niggling" line; a too limber one of a careless or undesirably broad line. ”

“ Certain variations between the stone-cut forms of the Roman letters and their forms as drawn or printed should be understood before an intelligent adaptation of stone forms to drawn forms, or the opposite, is possible. When drawn or printed a character is seen in black against a [10] white ground with no illusory alterations of its line widths caused by varying shadows. In stone-cut letters, on the other hand, where the shadows rather than the outlines themselves reveal the forms, different limitations govern the problem. ”

“ He will ultimately ascertain for himself what is best adapted to his own individual needs.
Though every draughtsman will recommend a pen that he has discovered to be especially suitable for his own use, few will be found to agree. Perhaps it is safe to say, however, that the best all-round pen for lettering is the Gillot No. 303. It is not too sharp, and when broken in is flexible and easy. The crowquill pen will be found of little use. It is an advantage to have at hand a large coarse pen of little flexibility and smooth point for drawing heavy lines of even width. ”

“ Bridwell, note how the letters are spaced close or wide in order to produce a definite effect. The whole problem of spacing is, however, one of such subtle interrelation and composition, that it can only be satisfactorily solved by the artistic sense of the designer. Any rules which might be here formulated would prove more often a drawback than a help.
Certain optical illusions of some of the Roman letter forms should be briefly mentioned. These illusions are caused by the failure of certain letters to impinge squarely with determining serifs against the demarking top and bottom guide lines. ”

“ H. L. Bridwell has originated the singularly excellent letter shown in 124, which is founded upon some of the modern French architectural forms. He uses it with great freedom and variety in spacing according to the effect that he desires to produce. In one instance he will jam the letters together in an oddly crowded line, while in another we find them spread far apart, but always with excellent results as regards the design as a whole. ”

“ In outlining letters which are ultimately intended to be solidly blacked-in, the beginner should guard against making his outlines too wide, especially as regards the thin lines, for the eye in judging an outline sketch follows the insides of the bounding lines rather than the outsides which will really be the outlines of the blacked-in letter, so that when finished the letter is likely to look heavier and more clumsy than in the sketch. ”

“ When it is necessary to lay out a border of a predetermined width within the required panel, the foregoing method can only be used to determine the outside lines of such a border, and it becomes necessary to make the drawing some numerical proportion, say, one-half as large again, or twice as large as the finished panel. The width of the border will then be of the same proportionate width.
The beginner will find it always wise to base his lettering on penciled top and bottom guide lines, and occasionally to add "waist" guide lines, as in 193. ”

“ The Roman alphabet, although the one most in use, is unfortunately the most difficult to compose into words artistically, as the spacing between the letters plays a great share in the result. The effect of even color over a whole panel is obtained by keeping as nearly as possible the same area of white between each letter and its neighbor ”

“ C. R. Ashbee for a prayerbook for the King. Interesting as it is, it seems in many ways too extreme and eccentric to be wholly satisfactory: the very metal of type would seem to postulate a less "tricky" treatment.
It is interesting to attempt a discrimination between the various national styles of pen letters which the recently revived interest in the art of lettering is producing; and it is especially worth while to note that the activity seems, even in Germany, to be devoted almost exclusively to the development and variation of the Roman forms. ”

“ Moreover modern designers are showing a welcome attention to minuscule letters, and it even seems possible that before long some small letter forms that shall be distinctively of the pen may be developed, and that the use of type models for minuscule pen letters will no longer be found necessary or commendable. ”

“ The Italian forms of Gothic Blackletters are generally too fussy and finikin to be of practical value for modern use, though they often possess suggestive value. The letters shown in 182 are fairly typical of the characteristic Blackletter minuscules of Italy. Figure 187 exhibits an example of beautiful lettering in the Italian style, redrawn from a rubbing of an inlaid floor-slab in Santa Croce, Florence. The omission of capitals in long, confined lines is typical of many Blackletter inscriptions, as may be seen in 149, as well as in the plate just mentioned. ”

“ Edward Edwards employs a letter, 128, which, though rather conventional in its lines, is noteworthy for its treatment of serifs and its spacing.
Mr. Guernsey Moore's letters shown in 130 are naturally better both in intrinsic form, spacing and composition than the widely used "Post Old Style" types which were based upon them. The large and small letters displayed in 133 show a form that, at the present writing, seems to be in considerable favor. It is, however, too extreme, and its peculiarities are too exaggerated to allow it to become a permanent style. ”

“ The minuscule alphabet by Mr. Claude Fayette Bragdon, 59, is a carefully worked-out form which in its lines closely follows a type face devised by Jenson, the celebrated Venetian printer who flourished toward the end of the sixteenth century. This example together with those shown in 50, 51 and 56 exhibits some conservative variations of the standard models for minuscule letters; and the same may be said of the modern type faces shown in 62, 63 and 64. ”

“ The Italian designers of letters have not yet evolved any very distinctive national forms. In many ways Italian work resembles the German. It has less originality, but greater subtlety and refinement. ”