History and Technique of Lettering

Nesbitt, Alexander

ISBN 10: 0486204278 / ISBN 13: 9780486204277

Published by Dover Publications Inc., New York, 1957

About this Item

xvii, 300pp., index, biblio., ill. Later (70s)-era Dover facsimile. Edges and corners rubbed.

Seller Inventory # 012823

Bibliographic Details

• Title: History and Technique of Lettering
• Publisher: Dover Publications Inc., New York
• Publication Date: 1957
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0486204278
• ISBN 13: 9780486204277
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: Facsimile
• Condition: Fair
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art and Design
  • Books About Books

About this title

Synopsis

This comprehensive, well-illustrated volume ranges from the earliest pictographs and hieroglyphics to the work of 20th-century designers. Subjects include early writing forms; Roman lettering; runes and medieval hands; the Carolingian minuscule and derivative types; humanistic writing and derivative fonts; and much more. 89 complete alphabets and more than 165 additional specimens.

From the Back Cover

The only inexpensive and thorough chronicle of the development of letter forms from the point of view of the artist or typographer, The History and Technique of Lettering ranges from the earliest pictographs and hieroglyphics to the work of 20th-century designers. This comprehensive, well-illustrated volume offers readers a fascinatingly detailed historical overview as well as a practical course in lettering techniques.
Subjects include early writing forms; Roman lettering; runes and medieval hands; the Carolingian minuscule and derivative types; humanistic writing and derivative fonts; the effects of the Industrial Revolution on lettering; and much more. Hand-lettered illustrations accompany the text, along with comments on the stylistic and historic position of each style. The second portion of the book offers a 65-page practical course in lettering, including thousands of insights and technical hints for achieving numerous classic styles of letter formation.Perfect for anyone wishing to learn the history of lettering, or to study exquisite specimens of the major lettering styles from the Greeks to the present day, this volume also offers an outstanding resource for students who need a supplementary text that covers not only letter forms and their history but also layout and other techniques.Unabridged and corrected Dover (1998) republication of the work originally published in 1950 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., under the title Lettering: The History and Technique of Lettering as Design.