Harry Lawrence Gage

“ He revived many of the old traditions and marked his books with his strong personality. We owe much of our present wide-spread reverence for good design in printing to his influence, even as we are similarly indebted to him for the well-designed and useful appurtenances of our daily life which have supplanted twisted and distorted furniture, stuffed birds under glass jars, and all the atrocities of a generation or two ago. ”

“ Beauty depends upon esthetic [Pg 8] qualities; that is, upon the characteristics of the design which will appeal to the eye and mind through the consideration of—
Harmony (of shape, tone, color, and conception) .
Balance and proportion (of mass, shape, and color) .
Rhythm (of shape, line, tone, and color) .
This conception of the elements of design covers all of the many things that mankind makes—buildings, or railroad trains, or sculpture, or paintings, or pottery, or furniture, or the printed page alike. ”

“ The physical equilibrium which exists in the balanced “seesaw” of our childhood and the optical balance which is the result of the proper adjustment of masses within the confining edges of a design are similar, in that each is an equalizing of forces of attraction. In the former the force is gravity; in the latter, the attraction to the eye, which varies with the size and tone of the mass. ”

“ Our definition of proportion as a comparative relationship of size is so broad that any sizes may be in proportion. The quality of proportion in design is always assumed to be a pleasing relationship of sizes. It thus becomes necessary to determine what relationship of sizes will be most pleasing.
The use of equal masses in a design is monotonous. ”

“ The dictionary defines harmony, in art, as “a normal state of completeness in the relation of things to each other.” This “state of completeness” in a harmonious scheme is such that we have no desire to change or modify any detail or characteristic.
Balance is defined as “the state of being in equilibrium.” In design this refers to the equilibrium or balance of attraction to the eye between the various masses. ”

“ All civilization and most forms of savagery demand that the equipment of routine life shall be pleasing to the eye after its prime purpose of usefulness has been developed.
If an article be pleasing in appearance its making will have involved some of the elements of design. The relationship of its parts, the lines of its construction, its coloring, the manner in which it is ornamented will depend first upon its purpose, but will be guided by a group of recognized traditions which we call the principles of design. ”

“ A departure from the exact details of the natural form, forming the design according to the rules of rhythm and symmetry, with strict attention to regularity leads to a result more artificial in character.
Whether the ornament you consider be naturalistic or artificial, the original source, which is the plant-form or other natural form from which the design was made, is called the motif of the design. ”

“ Utility is the first purpose of most of the works of man. But when the maker is moved by pride in his work and a desire for beauty to make his handiwork pleasing in appearance as well as useful a second purpose is fulfilled. ”

“ Among the present-day designers of printing whose work shows an intimate study of the principles and the traditions of the craft are such men as Rogers, Updike, Goudy, Cleland, and Currier. The product of their work may frequently be seen in reproductions in the trade publications. It should be studied by younger designers, for it shows the results of earnest and understanding effort to make modern printing reach and even pass the artistic standards which were established nearly five hundred years ago. ”

“ In printing, the successive lines of type which form a paragraph, block, or connected series of paragraphs or blocks, are considered as a mass. An initial letter may be another mass; a head-band still another; and ornaments or illustrations may form other masses. All must be considered as mass elements in the design of the page, with rule borders as surrounding lines, or heavier designed borders as surrounding masses. ”

“ While the force of gravity usually brings balancing masses to a horizontal alignment, optical balance may bring the masses in a design into equilibrium on any desired line, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
The attraction which a mass possesses varies directly with its size and tone. Thus a mass of four square inches, solid black, will be twice as strong in attraction value as a mass of two square inches, solid black. ”

“ The purity of line and form, the severe dignity, and the almost too perfect proportion which had been developed by the Greeks over a thousand years before were revived and interpreted with more human feeling by the Italians of the fifteenth century. ”

“ Thus all the component parts of the printed page are reduced to elements or materials of design, and with these materials an arrangement is to be made, for the sake of beauty, which will have the qualities of harmony, balance, proportion, and rhythm. ”

“ When the masses are unequal the point is at unequal distances from the centers of the masses. These unequal distances have the same ratio as the masses themselves, but the larger mass is always the shorter distance from the point. If 1 pound is to balance 4 [Pg 26] pounds it is obvious that the 1-pound mass must be 4 times as far from the point of balance as the 4-pound mass.
Fig. 13. Mass of 4 units balanced by 1 unit.
Hence, to balance two masses in a rectangle, the point of balance will be found by proportion, placing it [Pg 27] on a line which divides the rectangle into parts of 2 to 3. ”

“ In teaching from these books it is very important that these questions and such others as may occur to the teacher should be made the basis of frequent written work, and of final examinations.
The importance of written work cannot be overstated. It not only assures knowledge of material but the power to express that knowledge correctly and in good form. ”

“ Each publication has been compiled by a competent author or group of authors, and carefully edited, the purpose being to provide the printers of the United States—employers, journeymen, and apprentices—with a comprehensive series of handy and inexpensive compendiums of reliable, up-to-date information upon the various branches and specialties of the printing craft, all arranged in orderly fashion for progressive study. ”

“ The application of these principles of balance to the problems of typography is largely a matter of influence. The typographer should be guided by them but he need not make mathematical calculations if his eyes be trained to judge relative attraction values so that he can arrange his various masses to secure balance. ”

“ The following questions, based on the contents of this pamphlet, are intended to serve (1) as a guide to the study of the text, (2) as an aid to the student in putting the information contained into definite statements without actually memorizing the text, (3) as a means of securing from the student a reproduction of the information in his own words.
A careful following of the questions by the reader will insure full acquaintance with every part of the text, avoiding the accidental omission of what might be of value. These primers are so condensed that nothing should be omitted. ”

“ If the reader lacks this experience and is interested in undertaking to devise ornament or decoration with pen, pencil, or brush, he is advised to consult some one or more of the books on the subject which are listed in the bibliography. If he has facility with his pencil and enthusiasm for the work he will find it a most fascinating undertaking. ”

“ In C the division gives a feeling that the lower part is too large; it is crowding the upper and the result is not pleasing. The relationship in D is so nearly equal that the division seems to have been an inaccurate effort to locate the center. Somewhere [Pg 20] between the division point in C and that in D will probably be the best point. Repeated trials will locate the point about as in E, which will be found to lie about two-fifths of the distance down from the top. This will give the upper area in E an area of 2 and the lower an area of 3. ”

“ Wherever practicable, simple and well-defined drawings and illustrations have been used to assist in giving additional clearness to the text.
In order that the pamphlets may be of the greatest possible help for use in trade-school classes and for self-instruction, each title is accompanied by a list of Review Questions covering essential items of the subject matter. A short Glossary of technical terms belonging to the subject or department treated is also added to many of the books.
These are the Official Text-books of the United Typothetae of America. ”

“ Name some of the modern men whose work is of interest to the typographer.
[Pg 68]
GLOSSARY TERMS OF DESIGN AS APPLIED TO PRINTING Assyrian (Art) —The Assyrian Empire lay in Southwestern Asia between the Tigris and the Euphrates, now part of Turkey in Asia. Its art was largely expressed in the treatment of flat surfaces, using enameled bricks, painted stuccoes, figured bronzes, etc. Bricks were the only building material. The period dates from 4000-3000 B.C. to about 500 B.C.
Attraction—The force exercised upon the eye by a mass through its tone, color, size, or shape. ”

“ Japanese (Design) —Derived from the Chinese and usually commercialized in its application. Of chief interest to printers in the arrangement and rendering of wood-block prints.
Mahometans—Followers of the Prophet Mahomet, including Arabian, Indian, Moorish, Persian, and other nations.
Mass—One of the main portions of a design, readily distinguished and having some unity in itself, yet remaining in proper relationship to the whole scheme. ”

“ The eye finds variety of size more interesting. But to determine what form of variety is most interesting we must find, if possible, the ideal area relationship between masses in a design. This problem has of necessity been solved by the designers of all nations and all periods, and it is interesting to note that the result has everywhere been practically the same.
Let us arrive at the expression of good proportion by the simple means of dividing a rectangle into two parts which will have the most interesting relationship. This rectangle is A in Fig. ”

“ Brief history and non-technical description of modern methods of engraving; woodcut, zinc plate, halftone; kind of copy for reproduction; things to remember when ordering engravings. Illustrated; review questions; glossary.
A primer of information about the processes of electrotyping and stereotyping. 94 pp.; illustrated; 129 review questions; glossaries.
PART II—Hand and Machine Composition
A handbook for beginners, giving information about justifying, spacing, correcting, and other matters relating to typesetting. ”

“ Suggestions for the apprentice compositor in setting his first jobs, especially about the important little things which go to make good display in typography. 63 pp.; examples; 55 review questions; glossary.
How the job compositor handles business stationery, programs and miscellaneous work. Illustrated; review questions ”