Italic Letters: Calligraphy and Handwriting

by Inga Dubay, Barbara Getty

The most comprehensive guide to italic calligraphy! Italic Letters: Calligraphy & Handwriting by Inga Dubay and Barbara Getty is the most comprehensive "how-to" workbook that exists on learning italic: 128 pages of step-by-step, beautifully illustrated instruction. The teaching method is "hands-on": you learn to write beautifully by writing. The book provides page after page of models to trace and letters to copy. Each letter is presented in both a monoline tool, for informal and rapid writing, and an edged tool, for an elegant, formal hand. Dubay and Getty take you through basic italic, formal italic, chancery italic then cursive italic, four classic hands that will earn you a lifetime of compliments in both your formal calligraphy and everyday handwriting. Once you have mastered the letterforms, the authors show you how to use your calligraphic skills to design and produce posters, invitations, letters, cards, booklets, and envelopes. This resilient book is for serious calligraphers and those who simply want better penmanship. Italic Letters is for professional and amateur calligraphers, art teachers, and enthusiasts of the book arts. It's also for students, business people, homemakers; virtually anyone who wants to learn calligraphy and improve handwriting legibility. In this age of computer-generated letters and forms, people admire more than ever the beauty and personal impact of handwritten communication.

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best text I have found on Italic calligraphy (and there are many). The structure is well thought out and the format is both practical and informative with hands-on instruction and historical context. The different kinds of Italic are clearly presented, graphics are excellent, and the authors' script is beautiful and uniform. If you are looking for one book on Italic, this is it.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a workbook, an excellent introduction to formal lettering and calligraphy. Here the emphasis is on creating uniform lettering. Extraneous information about the history of calligraphy is sparse.

The first book Inga Dubay wrote is for improving handwriting, which is wholly uninteresting to me. It is obvious that I was a medieval scribe in other lifetimes (note the plural), I remember explaining to my father what a flourish was before I had learned to print. And I've always had strong feelings about certain letters (especially love G, L, and F's). Also, ironically, despite being a lefty my handwriting has always been described as pleasing to watch. I refuse to crab my hand the way our current president does.

The one fault I have with the book is that nowhere do the authors suggest the best way to create the difference between thin and thick lines with an edged pen is by rolling the pen. Did I miss this? Please let me know if I did!

[Jim Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, clear and easy book to follow. You WILL improve your writing IF you practice frequently. That is pretty relaxing too! I would recommend the first of their books if one wants a more rudimentary approach and is less interested in creating beautiful italic writing.