Letters and Lettering Part 1

Letters and Lettering.

by Frank Chouteau Brown.

NOTE

This book is intended for those who have felt the need of a varied collection of alphabets of standard forms, arranged for convenient use.

The alphabets ill.u.s.trated, while primarily intended to exhibit the letter shapes, have in most cases been so arranged as to show also how the letters compose into words, except in those instances where they are intended to be used only as initials. The application of cla.s.sic and medieval letters to modern usages has been, as far as possible, suggested by showing modern designs in which similar forms are employed.

In view of the practical aim of this treatise it has been deemed advisable to include a larger number of ill.u.s.trative examples rather than to devote s.p.a.ce to the historical evolution of the letter forms.

To the artists, American and European, who have so kindly furnished him with drawings of their characteristic letters--and without whose cordial a.s.sistance this book would hardly have been possible--to the master-printers who have allowed him to show types specially designed for them, and to the publishers who have given him permission to borrow from their books and magazines, the author wishes to express his sincere obligations.

F. C. B.

CHAPTER I

ROMAN CAPITALS

In speaking of the "Roman" letter throughout this chapter its capital form--the form in monumental use among the Romans--will always be implied.

The small or "minuscule" letters, which present nomenclature includes under the general t.i.tle of "Roman" letters, and which will be considered in the following chapter, were of later formation than the capitals; and indeed only attained their definitive and modern form after the invention of printing from movable types.

The first point to be observed in regard to the general form of the Roman capital is its characteristic squareness. Although the letter as used to-day varies somewhat in proportions from its cla.s.sic prototype, its skeleton is still based on the square.

Next to this typical squareness of outline, the observer should note that the Roman letter is composed of thick and thin lines. At first sight it may seem that no systematic rules determine which of these lines should be thick and which thin; but closer investigation will discover that the alternate widths of line were evolved quite methodically, and that they exactly fulfil the functions of making the letters both more legible and more decorative. Arbitrary rearrangements of these thick and thin lines, differing from the arrangement of them in the cla.s.sic examples, have, [2]

indeed, been often attempted; but such rearrangements have never resulted in improvement, and, except in eccentric lettering, have fallen into complete disuse.

The original thickening and thinning of the lines of the cla.s.sic Roman capitals was partly due to the imitation in stone inscriptions of the letter forms as they were written on parchment with the pen. The early Latin scribes held their stiff-nibbed reed pens almost directly upright and at right angles to the writing surface, so that a down stroke from left to right and slanted at an angle of about forty-five degrees would bring the nib across the surface broadwise, resulting in the widest line possible to the pen. On the other hand, a stroke drawn at right angles to this, the pen being still held upright, would be made with the thin edge of the nib, and would result in the narrowest possible line. From this method of handling the pen the variations of line width in the standard Roman forms arose; and we may therefore deduce three logical rules, based upon pen use, which will determine the proper distribution of the thick and thin lines:

I, Never accent horizontal lines. II, Always accent the sloping down strokes which run from left to right, including the so-called "swash"

lines, or flying tails, of Q and R; but never weight those which, contrariwise, slope up from left to right, with a single exception in the case of the letter Z, in which, if rule I be followed, the sloping line (in this case made with a down stroke) will be the only one possible to accent.

III, Always accent the directly perpendicular lines, except in the N, where these lines seem originally to have been made with an up stroke of the pen; and the first line of the M, where the perpendiculars originally sloped in towards the top of the letter (see 2). On the round letters [3] the accents should occur at the sides of the circle, as virtually provided in rule III, or on the upper right and lower left quarters (see 1-2), where in pen-drawn letters the accent of the down sloping stroke would naturally occur, as virtually determined in rule II.

The "serif"--a cross-stroke or tick--finishes the free ends of all lines used in making a Roman capital. The value of the serif in stone-cut letters seems obvious. To define the end of a free line a sharp cut was made across it with the chisel, and as the chisel was usually wider than the thin line this cut extended beyond it. Serifs were added to the ends of the thick lines either for the sake of uniformity, or may have been suggested by the chisel-marked guide lines themselves. Indeed in late stone-cut Roman work the scratched guide lines along the top and bottom of each line of the inscription are distinctly marked and merge into the serifs, which extend farther than in earlier examples. The serif was adopted in pen letters probably from the same reasons that caused it to be added to the stone-cut letters, namely, that it definitely finished the free lines and enhanced the general squareness and finish of the letter's aspect.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 1. ALPHABET AFTER SERLIO. RECONSTRUCTED BY ALBERT R. ROSS]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 2. ALPHABET AFTER SERLIO. RECONSTRUCTED BY ALBERT R. ROSS]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 3. WIDTH PROPORTIONS OF MODERN ROMAN CAPITALS. F.C.B.]

An excellent model for constructing the Roman capitals in a standard form will be found in the beautiful adaptation by Mr. A. R. Ross, 1 and 2, from an alphabet of capitals drawn by Sebastian Serlio, an Italian architect, engraver and painter of the sixteenth century, who devised some of the most refined variants of the cla.s.sic Roman letter. Serlio's original forms, which are shown in 39 and 40, were intended for pen or printed use; but in altering Serlio's scheme of proportions it will be observed that Mr. Ross [6] has partially adapted the letter for use in stone, and has further varied it in details, notably in serif treatment. In most modern stone-cut letters, however, the thin strokes would be made even wider than in this example, as in 14. Mr. Ross's adaptation shows excellently how far the cla.s.sic letters do or do not fill out the theoretical square.

Width proportions, which may be found useful in laying out lettering for lines of a given length, are shown in 3 in a more modern style of the Roman capital. In the cla.s.sic Roman letter the cross-bar is usually in the exact center of the letter height, but in 3 the center line has been used as the bottom of the cross-bar in B, E, H, P, and R, and as the top of the cross-bar in A; and in letters like K, Y and X the "waist lines," as the meeting points of the sloping lines are sometimes called, have been slightly raised to obtain a more pleasant effect.

The Roman alphabet, although the one most in use, is unfortunately the most difficult to compose into words artistically, as the s.p.a.cing 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; but the shape of this area will be determined in every case by the letters which happen to be juxtaposed.

Individual letters may, however, be widened or condensed to help fill an awkward "hole" in a line of lettering;--the lower lobe of the B may be extended, the center bar of the E pulled out (in which case the F should be made to correspond), the lower slant stroke of the K may be used as a swash tail, and the R may have its tail extended or drawn closely back against the upright line, and so on. Indeed, each and [8] every letter of the alphabet is susceptible to such similar modifications in shape as may make it best suit the s.p.a.ce left for it by its neighbors. Observe, for example, the s.p.a.cing of the word MERITAE in 34, and notice how the tail of the R is lengthened to hold off the I because the T on the other side is perforce held away by its top. In the page of capitals, 124, by Mr. Bridwell, see also how the different s.p.a.cing of the word FRENCH in the first and second lines is managed. In the advertis.e.m.e.nt, 123, also by Mr. Bridwell, note how the letters are s.p.a.ced close or wide in order to produce a definite effect.

The whole problem of s.p.a.cing 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. The round letters C, G, O and Q often seem to be shorter and smaller than the other characters in a word unless the outsides of their curves run both above and below the guide lines. For the same reason S should be sometimes slightly increased in height, though in this case the narrowness of the letter makes less increase necessary; and J, on account of its kern, is governed by the same conditions as S, save when letters with distinct serifs come closely against it at the bottom.

Theoretically the right side of D would require similar treatment, but actually this is seldom found necessary. The pointed ends of [9] the letters V and W should, for similar optical reasons, be extended slightly below the bottom guide lines, the amount of this extension being determined by the letters on each side of them. In the A, the Roman letterer at first got over the optical difficulty caused by its pointed top by running this letter also higher than its neighbors; but he later solved the problem by shaping its apex as shown in I, thus apparently getting the letter into line with its companions while still obtaining a sufficient width of top to satisfy the eye. Because of its narrowness, I should generally be allowed more proportionate white s.p.a.ce on either side of it than the wider letters.

Some idea of the proportionate variations required to counteract the optical illusions of the letters above named may be obtained from the practice of type-founders. In making the designs for a fount of type, it has been customary to first draw each letter at a very large size. Taking an arbitrary height of twelve inches as a standard, the points of A and V were made to extend about three-quarters of an inch above or below the guides, the letter O was run over about half an inch at both top and bottom, and the points of the w were made to project about the same distance. In pen lettering, however, it is possible and preferable to adapt each letter more perfectly to its individual surroundings by judgment of the eye than to rely upon any hard and fast rules.

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. The thin lines of a letter to be V-sunk should generally be made slightly thicker in proportion to the wide lines than is the case with the pen-drawn letter, especially as the section is likely to be less deeply and sharply cut nowadays than in the ancient examples, for the workmanship of to-day seems to be less perfect and the materials used more friable. A slight direct sinkage before beginning to cut the V-sunk section is a useful method of [11] partially atoning for modern shallow cutting, as shadows more directly defining the outlines are thus obtained. The student should, however, be warned at the outset that all reproductions or tracings from rubbings of ancient stone-cut letters are apt to be more or less deceptive, as all the accidental variations of the outlines are exaggerated, and where the stone of the original has been chipped or worn away it appears in the reproduction as though the letter had been actually so cut.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 4. DRAWING FOR INCISED ROMAN CAPITALS IN GRANITE. F.C.B]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 5. PHOTOGRAPH FROM INCISED ROMAN CAPITALS SHOWN IN 4]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 6. INCISED ROMAN CAPITALS. ARCH OF CONSTANTINE, ROME]

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 cla.s.sic 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 model used for the lettering on the frieze of the Boston Public Library, 7, which shows some interesting modern forms intended for cutting in granite, should be studied for the effect of the cast shadows; while 14, a redrawing of inscriptions on the Harvard Architectural Building, Cambridge, Ma.s.s., exhibits an excellent type of letter with widened thin lines for v-cutting in sandstone.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 7. MODEL FOR INCISED ROMAN CAPITALS. McKIM, MEAD & WHITE]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 8. ROMAN INCISED CAPITALS. FROM A RUBBING]

The special requirements of the stone-cut forms for either incised or raised inscriptions are, however, quite apart from the subject of this book, and are too various to be taken up in greater detail here. It is important, nevertheless, that the designer should be reminded always to make allowance for the material in which a letter was originally executed.

Otherwise, if exactly copied in other materials, he may find the result annoyingly unsatisfactory.

[15]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 9. ROMAN INCISED INSCRIPTION. BOLOGNA]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 10. ROMAN INCISED INSCRIPTION. BOLOGNA]

The examples of letters taken from Roman and Renaissance Italian monuments, shown in the pages of this chapter, will ill.u.s.trate the variety of individual letter forms used by the Cla.s.sic and Renaissance designers. The shape of the same letter will often be found to vary in the same inscription and even in apparently a.n.a.logous cases. The designers evidently had in mind more than the directly adjacent words, and sometimes even considered [16] the relation of their lettering to objects outside the panel altogether. This is especially true in the work of the Italian Renaissance, which is almost invariably admirable in both composition and arrangement.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 11. DETAIL FROM A ROMAN INCISED INSCRIPTION. F.C.B.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 12. ROMAN CAPITALS OF PEN FORMS CUT IN STONE. F.C.B.]

Figures 8 to 22 show examples, drawn from various sources, which exhibit different treatments of the cla.s.sic Roman letter forms. The differentiation will be found to lie largely in the widths of the letters themselves, and in the treatment of the serifs, angles, and varying widths of line. Figures 11 to 13 and 16 to 22 are redrawn from rubbings [17] of Roman incised inscriptions. Figures 16 and 17 show beautifully proportioned letters cut in marble with unusual care and refinement, considering the large size of the originals. A later Roman form of less refinement but of greater strength and carrying power, and for that reason better adapted to many modern uses, is shown in 18 and 19. In this case the original letters were cut about seven and [27] one-half inches high. The letters in 20 are curiously modern in character. Part of the panel of Roman lettering shown in 21 exhibits the use of a form very like that shown in 18 and 19. Figure 11 shows a detail composed in a quite representative fashion; while on the other hand figure 12 depicts a Roman letter of quite unusual character, and of a form evidently adapted from pen work, in which the shapes are narrow and crowded, while the lines are thickened as though they were of the cla.s.sical square outline. The bits of old Roman inscriptions shown in 8 to 10 and in 13 are included to exhibit various different forms and treatments of cla.s.sic capitals.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 13. ROMAN CAPITALS FROM INSCRIPTIONS. FROM RUBBINGS. F.C.B.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 14. MODERN INCISED ROMAN CAPITALS IN SANDSTONE.

ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING, CAMBRIDGE, Ma.s.s.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 15. LETTERS SHOWN IN ALPHABET 1-2, IN COMPOSITION. ALBERT R.

ROSS]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 16. CLa.s.sIC CAPITALS CUT IN MARBLE. ROMAN FORUM. F.C.B.]