Letters and Lettering Part 2

The small or "minuscule" letter that we now use in all printed books attained its modern and definitive form only after the invention of printing. The first printed books were made to imitate, as closely as possible, the handwritten work of the scribes of the early fifteenth century, and as printing was first done in Germany, the earliest book types were those modeled upon German scripts, somewhat similar to that shown in 141, and their condensed or blackletter variants. The Italian printers, of a more cla.s.sical taste, found the German types somewhat black and clumsy; for though Gothic characters were also used in Italy, they had become lighter and more refined there. The Italians, therefore, evolved a new form of type letter, based upon the _Italian_ pen letters then in use, which though fundamentally Gothic in form had been refined by amalgamation with an earlier letter known as the "Caroline", from its origin under the direction of Charlemagne. The "Caroline" was in its turn an imitation of the Roman "Half-uncial." The close relations.h.i.+p 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 cla.s.sic 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. In Germany, on the other hand, the national blackletter form persisted, and is still in use to-day.

The minuscule "Roman" letters thus evolved were developed to their most perfect individual forms by the master-printers of Venice; and it is to the models which they produced that we must revert to-day when we attempt to devise or reproduce an elegant small letter of any conservative form. The modern pen draughtsman should bear in mind, however, that, perfect as such forms of letters may be for the uses of the printer, the limitations of type have necessarily curtailed the freedom and variety of their serif and swash lines, and that therefore, though accepting their basic forms, he need not be cramped by their restrictions, nor imitate the unalterable and sometimes awkwardly inartistic relations of letter to letter for which he finds precedents in the printed page. Indeed, the same general rules for s.p.a.cing and the same freedom in the treatment of the serifs, kerns and swash lines are quite as applicable to pen-drawn small letters as to the capital forms. The only true path of progress lies in this freedom of treatment; and if the same fertile artists of the Renaissance who have bequeathed to us such beautiful examples of their unfettered use of the capital had used the minuscule also, we should undoubtedly possess small letters of far more graceful and adaptable forms than those which we now have.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 50. SCHEME FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROMAN SMALL LETTERS.

F. C. B.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 51. SCHEME FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROMAN SMALL LETTERS.

F. C. B.]

In 50 and 51 may be found an attempt to formulate a scheme to a.s.sist in the reconstruction of an alphabet of Roman small letters, after somewhat the same fas.h.i.+on as [56] that devised for the Roman capitals by Mr. Ross, in 1 and 2. A small-letter diagram must, for obvious reasons, be less exact and detailed than one for the more defined capital form; but the diagram given will serve to determine sufficiently the main outlines and proportions. In their shapes the letters shown in 50 and 51 adhere fairly closely to the best type forms of the small letter; and the drawing will serve, further, to show the s.p.a.ce generally allowed by modern founders between one lower-case letter and another when set into type words. This s.p.a.cing is based on the m of the fount employed. The open s.p.a.ce between all but k, w and y (in which the outlines of the letters themselves hold them further away from their neighbors) and the round letters being the s.p.a.ce between the upright strokes of the m; an interval represented in the diagram by a square and a half. The round letters, as has already been said in speaking of the capital forms, should be s.p.a.ced nearer together; and it will be observed that they are only separated by one square in the diagram.

Although suggestive, the rules which govern the s.p.a.cing of types are not to be blindly followed by the pen letterer. In type, for instance, it would be impossible, for mechanical reasons, to allow the kerns of the f, j and y to project far over the body of the next letter, and in these letters the kerns consequently have either to be restrained or the letters s.p.a.ced farther apart. In pen lettering, however, the designer is not restrained by such limitations, and his s.p.a.cing of letters should be governed solely by the effect.

The disposition of the accented lines in the small letters follow the same general rules that govern those of the capitals (see page 2); the only deviation being in the case of [57] the g, in which the shading of the bottom seems to have been determined largely by the effect upon the eye.

It will be noticed in the diagram that the "ascenders" of the smaller letters rise about three squares to their extreme top points above the body of the letter; that the body of each letter is inclosed in a square that is three units high, and that the "descenders" fall but two squares below the letter body. These proportions are not by any means invariable, however, and indeed there is no fixed rule by which the proportions of ascenders and descenders to the body of the Roman minuscule may be determined. In some forms of the letter both are of the same length, and sometimes that length is the same as the body height of the letter. In general a better result is obtained by making both ascenders and descenders of less than the length of the body, and keeping the descenders shorter than the ascenders in about the proportion of two-fifths to three-fifths.

Parallel lines of small letters cannot be s.p.a.ced closer to each other than the ascenders and descenders will allow; the projections above and below the line are awkward, and interrupt the definite lines of demarkation at the top and bottom of the letter-bodies; the capitals necessarily used in connection with the small letters add to the irregularity of the line--all of which reasons combine to limit the employment of minuscule for formal or monumental uses. On the other hand, the small letter form is excellently adapted for the printed page, where the occasional capitals but tend to break the monotony, while the ascenders and descenders strongly characterize and increase the legibility of the letter forms.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 52. SPANISH ROMAN LETTERS. PEN DRAWN. FRANCISCO LUCAS, 1577]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 53. SPANISH ROMAN LETTERS. PEN DRAWN. FRANCISCO LUCAS, 1577]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 54. SPANISH ITALIC LETTERS. PEN DRAWN. FRANCISCO LUCAS, 1577]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 55. SPANISH ITALIC LETTERS. PEN DRAWN. FRANCISCO LUCAS, 1577]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 56. ITALIAN SMALL LETTERS. J. F. CRESCI, 1560]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 57. ENGLISH 17TH CENTURY INCISED LETTERS. FROM TOMBSTONES]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 58. MODERN SMALL LETTERS. AFTER HRACHOWINA]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 59. MODERN SMALL LETTERS. CLAUDE FAYETTE BRAGDON]

[64]

Figures 52 to 59 show several forms of small letter alphabets; those shown in 52 to 56 being taken from "Writing books" by Spanish and Italian writing masters. 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. Figure 61 ill.u.s.trates a type form of minuscule which may be commended for study. Other examples of small letters by modern designers will be found in 105, 110, 118 and 131, where they are used in connection with their capital forms.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 60. INSCRIPTION FROM ENGLISH SLATE TOMBSTONES, 1691.

F. C. B.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 61. ROMAN AND ITALIC TYPE. FROM THE SPECIMEN BOOK OF WILLIAM CASLON, 1734]

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 various other examples of the small-letter forms ill.u.s.trated evidence how original and interesting modifications of conservative shapes may be evolved without appreciable loss of legibility.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 62. MODERN ROMAN TYPE "MONTAIGNE". BRUCE ROGERS]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 63. MODERN ROMAN TYPE "RENNER". THEO. L. DE VINNE]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 64. MODERN ROMAN TYPE "MERRYMOUNT" BY B. G. GOODHUE]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 65. MODERN ROMAN TYPE "CHELTENHAM" BY B. G. GOODHUE]

Figure 61 shows the capital, small letter and italic forms of a type based on old Venetian models, cut by William Caslon in the early part of the eighteenth century, and ever [69] since known by his name. This face has comparatively recently been revived by modern type-founders; and though this revival has provided us with a text letter far superior to the forms previously in use, the modern imitation falls short of the beauty of Caslon's original, as may be seen by comparing the letters shown in 61, which are reproduced from Caslon's specimen-book, issued by him about the middle of the eighteenth century, with the type used in printing this volume, which is a good modern "Caslon."

Figures 62 to 67 show some newly devised type faces, all designed by artists of reputation. Figure 62 ill.u.s.trates a fount called the "Montaigne"

which has been recently completed by Mr. Bruce Rogers for the Riverside Press, Cambridge, Ma.s.s., and cut under his immediate direction, with especial insistance upon an unmechanical treatment of serifs, etc. As a result the "Montaigne" is, for type, remarkable in its artistic freedom, and its forms are well worthy the study of the designer. Both its capitals and small letters suggest the purity of the Italian Renaissance shapes. The letters s.p.a.ce rather farther apart than in most types, and the result makes for legibility. Although several other modern faces of type have been designed on much the same lines, notably one for The Dove's Press in England, the "Montaigne" seems the best of them all, because of its freedom, and its absolute divorce from the overdone, exaggerated, heavy-faced effects of the Morris styles of type.

Mr. De Vinne of the De Vinne Press, New York City, has introduced a new type called the "Renner", 63, which was originally cut for some of the Grolier Club's publications. The letters were first photographed from a selected page of Renner's "Quadrigesimale," then [71] carefully studied and redrawn before the punches were cut. Mr. De Vinne has added small capitals and italics to the fount, as well as dotted letters to serve as subst.i.tutes for the italic for those who prefer them. The "Renner" type would have been more effective on a larger body; but for commercial usefulness it is generally deemed expedient to employ as small a body as the face of a type will allow. Mr. De Vinne notes, in this connection, that all the important types of the early printers were large, and that a fount designed to-day with regard only to its artistic effectiveness would be cast upon a large body and be of good size.

Mr. Bertram G. Goodhue has designed two founts of Roman type, and is now at work on a Blackletter face. His first fount, cut for Mr. D. B. Updike, of the Merrymount Press, Boston, and known as the "Merrymount," is shown in 64. Intended for large pages and rough paper it necessarily shows to disadvantage in the example given, where the blackness and weight of the letters makes them seem clumsy, despite the refinement of their forms.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 66. MODERN GREEK TYPE. SELWYN IMAGE]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 67. MODERN ROMAN TYPE. C. R. ASHBEE]

The "Cheltenham Old Style," 65, is the other Roman face recently designed by the same artist. It was cut for the Cheltenham Press of New York City; and embodies in its present form many ideas suggested by Mr. Ingalls Kimball of that press. Observe especially the excess in length of the ascenders over the descenders, and that the serifs have been reduced to the minimum. Contrary to the usual custom in type cutting, the round letters do not run above or below the guide lines. The capitals compose excellently; but the small letters are too closely s.p.a.ced and seem too square for the best effect, and weight has been obtained by so thickening the lines that much delicacy and variety has been lost. [72] The "Cheltenham Old Style"

is, however, very legible when composed into words, and is effective on the page.

Any attempt to get the effect of Blackletter with the Roman form is likely to result clumsily. The celebrated Roman faces designed by William Morris (too familiar to require reproduction here) are, despite their real beauty, over-black on the page, and awkward when examined in detail. While the stimulus Morris's work gave to typography was much needed at that time, the present reaction toward more refined faces is most gratifying. By precept and example Mr. Morris produced a salutary revolt against the too thin and light and mechanical type faces before in use, but he went too far in the opposite direction, and we are now certainly falling back upon a more desirable mean.

Mr. Herbert P. Horne is at present designing a new fount of type for the Merrymount Press, Boston, to be [73] known as the "Mont' Allegro," which seems, from the designs so far as at present completed, likely to prove in some respects the most scholarly and severe of modern faces.

The Greek type designed for the Macmillan Company of England, by Mr. Selwyn Image, 66, is of sufficient interest to be shown here, despite the fact that it is not strictly germane to our subject. In this face Mr. Image has [74] returned to the more cla.s.sic Greek form, although the result may at first glance seem illegible to the reader familiar with the more common cursive letters.

The type shown in 67 is a new English face designed by Mr. 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. It is noteworthy, too, after so long a period of the dull copying of bad forms, and particularly of bad type forms, that the modern trend is distinctly in the direction of freedom; though this freedom is more marked in French and German [75] than in English or American work. Hand in hand with this increased freedom of treatment has naturally come a clearer disclosure of the mediums employed; and indeed in much of the best modern work the designer has so far lent himself to his tools that the tools themselves have, in great measure, become responsible for the resulting letter forms. [76] 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 68. MODERN GERMAN CAPITALS. AFTER J. M. OLBRICH]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 69. MODERN GERMAN CAPITALS. GUSTAVE LEMMEN]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 70. MODERN GERMAN CAPITALS. AFTER ALOIS LUDWIG]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 71. MODERN GERMAN CAPITALS. AFTER OTTO ECKMANN]

Another noticeable tendency in modern lettering seems to be the gradual promotion of small letter forms to the dignity of capitals, (see 79 and 98 for examples) in much the same way as the Uncial letter and its immediate derivatives produced the present small letter. It is surely to be hoped that this movement may not lose vitality before it has had time to enrich us with some new and excellent forms.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 72. MODERN GERMAN CAPITALS. OTTO HUPP]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 73. MODERN GERMAN CAPITALS. JOSEPH PLeCNIK]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 74. MODERN GERMAN CAPITALS. AFTER FRANZ STUCK]

[82]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 75. MODERN GERMAN CAPITALS. F. C. B.]