The Roman Letter: A Study of Notable Graven and Written Forms from Twenty Centuries

R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company, The Lakeside Press, Chicago, [Published date: 1951]. Softcover in wraps, 54 pp; 26 cm. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographic reproductions, manuscript facsimiles, inscriptions, and typographic diagrams; bibliography. In good condition. Blue and gray illustrated paper wraps show light bumping and creasing to edges and corners with mild surface wear, rubbing, and age toning with mild color loss to spine and scattered light spotting and soiling; binding firm. Interior pages show light, even toning but remain clean and unmarked. Prepared by James Hayes, calligrapher and authority on Roman letter forms, on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Lakeside Press Galleries in Chicago. The work traces the development of Roman letterforms from early inscriptions of the seventh century B.C. through classical antiquity, the medieval manuscript tradition, and the Renaissance revival of classical capitals, culminating in their adaptation to modern printing. Illustrated examples include early Latin inscriptions such as the Praeneste Fibula and Lapis Niger, manuscript hands including uncial and half-uncial scripts, national hands of the early medieval period, and Renaissance inscriptional lettering and typographic constructions. Emphasis is placed on the evolution of form, proportion, and technique, with visual comparisons drawn from archaeological artifacts, manuscripts, and early printed sources.…