Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering

Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering is a classic source book of the most beautiful type and letters of all time selected by Jan Tschichold, internationally renowned typographer and master of lettering. It contains only letters of timeless and lasting beauty--the true mainsprings of the art of lettering. One hundred and seventy-six type specimens are presented, most of them in complete alphabets.

The introductory text provides a perceptive analysis of letter forms. Tschichold discusses lettering as a work of art, good and bad letters, older and recent letter forms, the use of capital and lower-case letters, word spacing, line spacing, the selection of appropriate letter styles, and the layout of groups of letters and signs.

The type specimens are handsomely reproduced, most in their original size. Every alphabet was specially arranged by Tschichold, and forms a well-balanced graphic design. Many of the outstanding historical sources appear better here than in the often poorly printed originals. The book is identical to the original edition, first published in 1966, with a new introduction by designer and writer Ben Rosen.
176 type specimans

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German