Lettering: For Students and Craftspeople

by Graily Hewitt

Both a history and a how-to book, this landmark work by a great British calligrapher is required reading for every serious student of the art. Graily Hewitt introduces the general principles and the importance of the pen in the history of writing, tracing the development of minuscules and majuscules and other lettering styles. He then devotes a major portion of the book to Roman capitals, arrangement, legibility, and materials, including pens and inks, paper and parchment, pigments, gilding, and other methods. Full, detailed chapters on numerals, the double stroke, the theory of letters, and other topics round out the text.
More than 400 illustrations offer instructional guidance on correct form, spacing, proportion, serifs, paragraph initials, raised letters, and much more. Complete letter-by-letter sequences show how to write the alphabet in formal minuscule and Roman capitals. In addition, samples of great calligraphy from Greek and Roman sources, The Book of Kells, medieval Italian manuscripts, and the author's own work document the glorious results achieved by master calligraphers of the past.

352 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

Reviews

[Amy Rhoda Brown]

This is a neat book for historical reasons, but not a reading book. It's an interesting dip into the art of handwriting in a particular point in time. The author is very attached to certain ideas about writing (he doesn't like too much of a slant, he thinks diagonals are horrid, he abhors loopy cursive and copperplate) which are very much of a certain period in time when people still used ink pens cut to a certain angle, and most utilitarian writing was done by hand, so speed and legibility were very important.

I think this would be an interesting book to have on the shelf if you're a calligrapher or student of handwriting. He discusses each letter individually, as well as matters of layout and design.